Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, international students are eligible to apply. 

Please note that UKRI limits the number of international students to 30% of our annual intake, so competition is high. 

Successful international candidates will not be charged the international top-up tuition fee as there is a fee waiver arrangement in place. The studentship does not cover visa costs or health insurance surcharges. 

To be classed as a home student, candidates must meet at least one of the following criteria and the associated residency requirements. They must:

• be a UK national
• have settled status
• have pre-settled status
• have indefinite leave to remain or enter
• be an Irish national

If a candidate does not meet any of the above criteria, they would be classed as an international student.

You are eligible if you have an upper second (2.1) or higher undergraduate degree, or the international equivalent. You are not required to have a Masters degree.

If you do not hold an undergraduate degree with a minimum 2.1 (or equivalent), but you have a Master’s degree (or equivalent) or significant relevant professional experience, we may still consider your application for assessment.

The following documents are mandatory for your application:

1. EastBio application form.
2. Your academic transcripts.
3. Two references on the EastBio Reference form.

Any other documents that you submit (e.g. CV) will be disregarded.

We recommend contacting your referees as early as possible to give them plenty of time to complete their reference. 

They must submit their reference on the EastBio reference form, and should submit the reference to the hosting institution (either via email or the online application portal depending on the institution, please check the project advert on FinaAPhD for instructions) before the application deadline 16 November.

It is your responsibility to supply them with the EastBio reference form, and to remind the referee to submit their reference.

If you think their reference submission will be delayed, please contact the host institution as they may be able to extend the deadline. Applications with missing references will be disadvantaged during shortlisting.

If you are still studying or have completed your degree but do not have your final certificate or transcript, you can request a provisional transcript from your university.  

Any offer made would be conditional on completion of your degree with a certain classification, and production of your final certificate and transcripts. 

If your transcript, degree certificate, or any other academic document is not in English, you must upload both the original document and an official English translation. Requirements may vary depending on the hosting institution so please check with them.

You may need to provide proof of English language proficiency, please check with the hosting institution what their requirements are. Generally you can meet English language requirements by: 

• an English language test
• certain professional qualifications
• a degree that was taught and assessed in English 

You can apply for EastBio before you take an English Language Test if you do not currently hold a certificate, but you may need to complete this before a formal offer can be made.

An EastBio studentship will cover tuition fees at home-fees level, a stipend, and an annual research grant. 

If you will require a visa to study in the UK, please note that the studentship does not cover visa costs or health insurance surcharges. 

Most advertised projects can be carried out part-time, although in some cases this is not possible due to the nature of the project. Please check with the project supervisor before you apply.

Part time study is set at 50% of full time study (17.5 hours per week). A part time PhD takes around seven years to complete (compared to four years full time).  Funding is spread over this longer period, so the monthly stipend is paid pro-rata. 

It may be possible to switch to part-time study during your PhD if your personal circumstances change.  Such requests are considered on a case-by-case basis.

No, all PhD students, whether full or part-time, are expected to be based within commuting distance of their host institution for the duration of their PhD. The only exceptions are during periods of field work and your PIPS/CASE placement.

If you have any questions, related to the application process, you can contact the local administrator contact that is listed on each project. 

For questions specific to the project, contact the project supervisor using the details provided on the project advert.

For more general enquiries and accessibility requests, you can contact EastBio at recruitment.eastbio@ed.ac.uk

Join us for an online Q&A session at different dates up to the closing date

• Meeting date TBC
• Meeting date TBC
• (after closing date) Meeting date TBC

The sessions will be hosted by the EastBio Partnership Manager and student reps (first and second-year). All questions will be treated with discretion.

You can also contact our student reps using the details at Student Representatives but please be aware our student reps cannot advise on the specifics of your application.

We strongly recommend that you contact the lead supervisor before submitting your application. This helps you to understand the project fully and allows the supervisor to get to know you as a potential candidate. You can contact them using the details provided on the project advert on FindAPhd or their institutional webpages. 

A guide to 'How to meet my supervisor' is available if you have not previously been in touch with the project supervisor.

If they do not reply at first, you should follow up with them. If you do not hear from them before the application deadline, you can still apply but it may be that they have chosen to move forward with a different applicant.