King's College London

Cohort-based training

Cohort-based training is widely thought to be a very effective way to train researchers. Our cohort programmes typically recruit five or more PhD students each year (known as cohorts) over three or more years.

These programmes offer a fully-funded PhD for home or overseas students and provide:

A full PhD studentship covers tuition fees, a stipend/living allowance for three to four years and a funding to support research costs.

We call these cohort programmes Doctoral Training Entities (DTEs) as there are so many different names for them, depending on the funder and scheme:

King’s is part of over 20 DTEs funded by all the major research funders, in particular the research councils that make up UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) .

King’s leads some of these DTEs and is a consortium partner in others. Many DTEs involve more than one university as well as other partners.

King’s also funds a number of scholarships in our areas of world-class research. We collaborate with industry partners to increase the numbers of King’s-funded scholarships available.

• Structured training in research skills to ensure both a solid general knowledge and skillset as well as an in-depth understanding and advanced techniques for your specific research project
• Professional development training to enhance communication and employability
• Activities to develop a sense of community amongst the cohorts of students.
• Doctoral Training Partnerships or Programmes
• Doctoral Landscape Awards
• Doctoral Focal Awards
• Centres for Doctoral Training.

Applying to King's Doctoral Training Programmes

All King’s DTEs are listed below and have their own webpages providing full details, including how to apply for a PhD studentship.

Each programme will have their own deadlines for applications so please read their webpages carefully.

The majority of funding applications open from October until March, and the application process is very competitive so it is worth starting your research today.

To see the latest funding opportunities, including those DTEs who are currently recruiting please see the King's Funding Database

African Creativity Beyond Borders - King's Doctoral Prize Programme

Researching the social, cultural and economic impact of African creativity.

AHRC Analysing and Diversifying Audience Participation with Creative Technologies & AI Doctoral Focal Award (ADAPT-AI)

Research into audience interfaces, interaction and integration.

BBSRC Engineering Biology for Biomedicine Centre for Doctoral Training (EB4BM)

Creating programmable molecules, cells, and materials to treat disease.

BBSRC IDLA in Advancing Translational Oral Health Research

Tackling the biggest challenges in oral health.

BBSRC London Interdisciplinary Doctoral Programme in Biosciences (LIDo)

Combining biosciences and biotechnology with AI, machine learning, data...

BBSRC Unilever Industrial Doctoral Landscape Programme (UniDLA)

Addressing skills challenges faced by the bio-industry sector.

Cancer Research UK - City of London Centre PhD Programme

Biological, biomedical sciences to research cancer biotherapeutics.

Francis Crick Institute PhD Programmes

Interdisciplinary biomedical research.

EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Engineering for Personalised Surgery & Intervention

Research and innovation in surgical and interventional health technologies.

EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Data-Driven Health (DRIVE-Health)

Training health data scientists, computer scientists, software developers...

EPSRC DLA Multiscale Medical Imaging (MMI) - King's Doctoral Prize Programme

Training the next generation of medical imaging experts.

ESRC London Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Doctoral Training Centre (LISS-DTP)

Interdisciplinary social science research.

Genome Data Science and AI for Therapeutic Target Discovery - King’s Prize Doctoral Programme

Human genetics, systems biology and A.I. to discover therapeutic targets.

King's British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence/ PhD Programme Next Generation of Human models of cardio vascular disease

Research for better treatments, outcomes, and lives for people with heart...

King's Centre for Doctoral Training in Multiscale Models for Life (MM4L)

Modelling molecular and cellular biology at the tissue and organ level.

King's Centre for Doctoral Training in Translational Research in Advanced Cell & Gene Therapies

Multidisciplinary training in advanced cell and gene therapies.

Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholarships Programme 'Knowledge Orders before Modernity'

Research and skills training for medievalists and early modernists.

MRC Doctoral Training Partnership in Biomedical Sciences (MRC-DTP)

Biomedical sciences research.

Multiscale RNA Networks & Pathways - King’s Prize Doctoral Programme

Understanding the mechanisms and translational applications for RNA.

NERC TREES Doctoral Landscape Award (DLA)

Interdisciplinary programme training the next generation of environmental...

Safe, Trusted & Responsible AI (STaR-AI) - King's Prize Doctoral Programme

Tackling the technical challenges of building safe and trustworthy AI,...

Translational Research & Innovation in Microbial Sciences (TRIMS) - King’s Prize Doctoral Programme

Interdisciplinary programme co-created with RFI, UKHSA & industry to...

King's Funding Databse

Search for funding from King's Doctoral Training Entities.

King's Doctoral College

Find out how we support the next generation of research leaders.

AHRC London Arts & Humanities Partnership

Doctoral research across the arts and humanities.

EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Smart Medical Imaging

Training the next generation of medical imaging experts.

King's Centre for Doctoral Training in Digital Twins for Healthcare (DT4Health)

Training the next generation of leaders in healthcare technology.

London NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (NERC-DTP)

Environmental research across a broad range of fields.

Wellcome Trust - King’s PhD Programme in Mental Health Research for Health Professionals

Training clinical academics in interdisciplinary mental health research.

Wellcome Trust PhD Programme in Advanced Therapies for Regenerative Medicine

Research in advanced therapies that underpin regenerative medicine.

Wellcome Trust PhD Programme in Neuro-Immune Interactions in Health & Disease

Training researchers across fields of the entire neuro-immune spectrum.

Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholarship Programme on 'Understanding the mechanics of Life'

Physical or biological sciences, tackling outstanding questions in...

UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Safe and Trusted Artificial Intelligence (STAI CDT)

Training the next generation of experts in methods of safe and trusted AI.

Research areas