How to Apply

All EastBio projects are listed on FindAPhD, normally in October each year for a start date of October in the following year. Our projects span the full remit of BBSRC and include many that are co-delivered by non-academic partners. 

All projects will be based at one of our EastBio partners, and all supervisors listed on projects have received written guidance and in-person briefing sessions to ensure their awareness of the EastBio programme. An example of the Project Request form for supervisors can be found at the bottom of this page. All project requests submitted to EastBio are reviewed for fit to the BBSRC remit by the Management Group. Projects that are co-delivered by non-academic partners are additionally reviewed by the Industry Engagement Sub-Committee to ensure that they are feasible as PhD projects and cover sufficient risk mitigation. 

As an applicant, you can rest assured that EastBio has done rigid quality assessments on all projects that have our name on it! 

Each EastBio project will link you to an Eligibility Checker. You are eligible if you have an upper second or higher undergraduate degree, or the international equivalent. You are not required to have a Masters degree. Our studentships are open to students worldwide and will cover tuition fees, 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. 

We offer comprehensive support for all applicants, including Q&A sessions with EastBio staff and student representatives. If you have any questions at that stage, the handling admin contact will be listed on each project, and EastBio also has a dedicated support email for general enquiries. 

After finding your dream project, the first step will be for you to contact the supervisor associated with that project; you can find their name and details on the advert. A guide to 'How to meet my supervisor' will be available ahead of each recruitment round. 

Application forms include a narrative CV and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) section, and an example form can be found at the bottom of this page. You will also need to list two academic referees who have agreed to provide a reference for you on our EastBio reference form (available at the bottom of this page). You must also complete a form to capture EDI data that EastBio requires for reporting purposes to our funder. Applications normally close in December, and EastBio will invite all applicants to an online briefing session that covers the subsequent stages of the process. 

At EastBio, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse environment. We encourage individuals of all identities and experiences to apply and join us in creating a culture of equity and belonging in research and innovation.

Project supervisors will be able to nominate candidates for consideration by the EastBio recruitment team using our Nomination form, but they will not be involved in the assessment process after that point. All nominated candidates will be assessed by a shortlisting panel that will use two criteria: 1) academic suitability, taking into consideration the project you applied for, and 2) suitability for the broad, interdisciplinary, and collaborative EastBio programme. The shortlisting panel use the guidance that can be found at the bottom of this page. 

In addition to scores from the shortlisting panel, the interview decisions are affected by the following factors: 1) we can only award 30% of studentships to overseas candidates; 2) we have a set maximum number of studentships for each partner institution; 3) we will award 25% or more of our studentships to projects that are co-delivered with non-academic partners (these are called CASE studentships); 4) in case of equally-ranked candidates, we consider EDI data to select candidates from underrepresented groups. 

In general, we interview twice as many candidates as there are places, so at this stage, your chances are looking good! 

If you are selected for interview, you will be sent an interview invitation letter that demystifies the process and assesses your accessibility requirements. Interviews are normally held in February each year. 

Our selection process is underpinned by well-defined evaluation criteria and strong measures to prevent unconscious bias. We will operate six gender- and age-mixed interview panels made up of representatives from across the EastBio partnership in parallel. Each panel will adhere to the same standards and use the guidance that can be found at the bottom of this page. Before the interviews, all panellists attend a Recruitment Briefing to ensure a shared interpretation of this guidance. 

The interview itself will start with an introduction to your panellists. You will then be asked to give a 10-minute presentation on a research project you undertook (for example a placement or Honours/Masters project), and you will be asked some questions about it. 

The interview will then move to general interview questions, and all candidates will be asked an identical set of questions. These questions assess: 1) your understanding of and suitability to the project you have applied for, as well as your motivation for it; 2) your academic potential, including a realistic understanding of the challenges of a PhD and an assessment of your own strengths and weaknesses; 3) your broad multi- or interdisciplinary interest and awareness of wider scientific challenges; and 4) your understanding of and fit to the EastBio programme, including mandatory training elements and professional internship.  

At the end of the interview, you will have an opportunity to ask your panel any questions you might have. We understand the process can be daunting, and it is normal to have questions! Ask anything you like. 

Following the interviews, the EastBio management team will normalise scores from all individual panellists and from the different panels to obtain a fair and representative value (a Z score) that reflects your interview performance. Studentship offers will be made based on these scores. Offers will normally be made in March each year.  

EastBio studentships will start on the 1st of October, and soon after you will meet your cohort and the wider EastBio community at our two-day residential Induction Meeting. 

This will be the start of an incredibly exciting 4 years of learning and discovery, as well as the start of life-long friendships and working relationships!