Medical Research Council Functional Genomics Doctoral Landscape Award
Applications for September 2027 entry are now OPEN.
Details below provide guidance on the studentships for 2027 entry.
Applications for fully-funded studentships are open from 26th October until Tuesday 5th January 2027.
The MRC Functional Genomics Doctoral Landscape Award is offering up to 18 funded PhD studentships across six core institutions (Exeter, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Imperial, King’s and Oxford) as part of the UK Human Functional Genomics Initiative.
About the MRC Functional Genomics Doctoral Landscape Award
The UK Human Functional Genomics Doctoral Landscape Award (FGx-DLA) is a national PhD programme, primarily funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), that will train researchers to understand how genetic variation influences human biology, health and disease.
Bringing together leading UK universities, NHS organisations, industry partners and national research infrastructure the programme offers interdisciplinary 4-year PhD projects spanning experimental and computational functional genomics.
Whether your interests lie in genetics, computational biology, AI, bioinformatics, molecular biology or translational medicine, you’ll join a collaborative national community tackling major challenges in human health.
These four-year studentships provide funding for fees and stipend at the rate set by the UK Research Councils, as well as other research training and support costs, and are available to UK and International students.
About the Programme
Students will be based across the six core institutions involved in the UK Human Functional Genomics Initiative (Exeter, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Imperial, King’s and Oxford) with training delivered through interdisciplinary, often inter-institutional, supervisory teams rather than single laboratories.
he FGx-DLA has been created to develop future research leaders through outstanding PhD projects, shared training and collaboration across institutions. Students will undertake ambitious PhD projects while participating in shared training, scientific meetings, networking and collaborative activities across the wider FGx community.
Funding
This studentship is funded through MRC FGx-DLA and consist of UK tuition fees, as well as a Doctoral Stipend matching UK Research Council National Minimum (£21,805 p.a. for 2026/7, updated each year).
Additional research training and support funding of up to £5,000 per annum is also available.
Studentships will be 4 years full time. Part time study is also available.
The projects available for each of the six core institutions can be found in the sections below.
As part of the admissions process you will need to apply via the University of Exeter Portal to complete and submit the following;
- Online application form
- FGx-DLA Applicant Questionnaire
You will have an opportunity to list up to three project preferences in the questionnaire form and therefore we will only accept one application per person. If you submit more than one application, only your first application will be considered and subsequent applications will be considered unsuccessful.
Please ensure you complete all relevant actions within the online form and questionnaire. Any missing documents will result in your application not being forwarded for shortlisting.
Academic Criteria
Minimum of a 2.1 Honours undergraduate degree (or international equivalent) in a relevant subject area and an MSc in a related subject with a strong relevant academic background.
Subject areas accepted for the programme include Genetics, Molecular Biology, Biomedical Science, Human Biology, Biochemistry, Medicine, Healthcare professions (nursing or pharmacology, Bioinformatics, Computer Science or Statistics.
Applicants without a master’s degree may be considered if they have a recent background in relevant research experience. Relevant research/work experiences should be overall greater than 12-month duration and to have been undertaken within the last 2 years from the start of the academic programme for which they are applying.
English Language Criteria
The minimum entry standard for this programme is typically IELTS 7.0 overall with no component below 6.5 (or the equivalents).
Evidence of meeting the criteria must be provided by the application deadline. If we have not received the appropriate documents by the deadline, your application will not be forwarded for shortlisting.
FGx-DLA Applicant Questionnaire
You will need to complete all aspects of this questionnaire in order to be considered for shortlisting. The main questions include;
- What attracts you to undertaking a PhD within the FGx-DLA, and how would the programme support your longer-term aspirations and development?
- Tell us about an achievement or experience that you are particularly proud of. What made it significant to you, and what did you learn from it?
- Drawing on any experience you have had of research, what have you learned about the research process and about yourself as a researcher? Your answer may draw on academic, professional, placement, project-based or other relevant experiences.
- If you have used generative AI tools, including Large Language Models (LLMs), in preparing your application, please describe how you used them and how you ensured that your application remained an accurate reflection of your own experience, ideas and abilities. If you did not use these tools, please briefly explain why and your approach to the application.
Reference information
You will be asked to submit two references as part of the application process. If you cannot upload your reference documents with your application, please ensure you provide details of your referees. If you provide contact details of referees only, we will not expect receipt of references until after the shortlisting stage. Your referees should not be from the prospective supervisory team.
If you are shortlisted for interview, please ensure that your two academic referees email their references to the pgradmissions@ex.ac.uk, 7 days prior to the interview dates. Please note that we will not be contacting referees to request references, you must arrange for them to be submitted to us by the deadline provided.
References should be submitted by your referees to us directly in the form of a letter. Referees must email their references to us from their institutional email accounts. We cannot accept references from personal/private email accounts, unless it is a scanned document on institutional headed paper and signed by the referee.
All application documents must be submitted in English. Certified translated copies of academic qualifications must also be provided.
Details of the PhD research project can be viewed by clicking on the project titles below. Each document contains a link to the online application form and can be found at the bottom of the pdf document.
- For project specific enquiries, please contact the named lead supervisor.
- For any application process enquiries please contact the University of Exeter Admissions team via pgrapplicants@exeter.ac.uk
Please read the How to Apply section to ensure you have the correct documents for your applications. Applications with missing documents will not be submitted for shortlisting.
Details of the PhD research project can be viewed by clicking on the project titles below. Each document contains a link to the online application form and can be found at the bottom of the pdf document.
- For project specific enquiries, please contact the named lead supervisor.
- For any application process enquiries please contact the University of Exeter Admissions team via pgrapplicants@exeter.ac.uk
Please read the How to Apply section to ensure you have the correct documents for your applications. Applications with missing documents will not be submitted for shortlisting.
Details of the PhD research project can be viewed by clicking on the project titles below. Each document contains a link to the online application form and can be found at the bottom of the pdf document.
- For project specific enquiries, please contact the named lead supervisor.
- For any application process enquiries please contact the University of Exeter Admissions team via pgrapplicants@exeter.ac.uk
Please read the How to Apply section to ensure you have the correct documents for your applications. Applications with missing documents will not be submitted for shortlisting.
Details of the PhD research project can be viewed by clicking on the project titles below. Each document contains a link to the online application form and can be found at the bottom of the pdf document.
- For project specific enquiries, please contact the named lead supervisor.
- For any application process enquiries please contact the University of Exeter Admissions team via pgrapplicants@exeter.ac.uk
Please read the How to Apply section to ensure you have the correct documents for your applications. Applications with missing documents will not be submitted for shortlisting.
Details of the PhD research project can be viewed by clicking on the project titles below. Each document contains a link to the online application form and can be found at the bottom of the pdf document.
- For project specific enquiries, please contact the named lead supervisor.
- For any application process enquiries please contact the University of Exeter Admissions team via pgrapplicants@exeter.ac.uk
Please read the How to Apply section to ensure you have the correct documents for your applications. Applications with missing documents will not be submitted for shortlisting.
Details of the PhD research project can be viewed by clicking on the project titles below. Each document contains a link to the online application form and can be found at the bottom of the pdf document.
- For project specific enquiries, please contact the named lead supervisor.
- For any application process enquiries please contact the University of Exeter Admissions team via pgrapplicants@exeter.ac.uk
Please read the How to Apply section to ensure you have the correct documents for your applications. Applications with missing documents will not be submitted for shortlisting.
Industrial funded Opportunities linked to the MRC Functional Genomics Doctoral Landscape Award will be posted here throughout the year. Please check back throughout the year to see our funded PhD projects available.