Bell Burnell Scholarship Award (Awarded by the IOP)

A highly competitive Bell Burnell Scholarship Award offering full academic fees at UK Fee rate, together with a tax-free Maintenance grant matching the EPSRC rate of &pound;20,780 (currently for session 2025/26) per year for 3.5 years, open to UK Fee rated applicants only. <br /> <br /> Please note that there is only 1 funded place available and nominated candidates will be put forward to Bell Burnell who will select the successful candidates to be awarded this funding. If you are successful in securing an academic offer for PhD study, this does not mean that you have been successful in securing an offer of funding.

<h2>About the Scholarship</h2> <p>The IOP and leading physicist Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell launched the Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund to encourage greater diversity in physics. The fund is made possible thanks to Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell's generous donation of her £2.3m Breakthrough Prize. This scholarship fund is being used to support full or part-time graduates who wish to study towards a doctorate in physics and are from groups that are currently under-represented in physics. The Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund is a restricted fund established under the management of the IOP to support Full-Time or Part-Time postgraduate studentships for people from groups that are currently under-represented in Physics. The Fund has been created with an endowment of £2.3m to provide support to the scholarships. The School of Physics and Astronomy will put one candidate forward to the IOP’s selection panel (IOP deadline 17:00 UK Time on 19 January 2026). The Guide to the process is given here in the <a href="https://www.iop.org/sites/default/files/2025-10/bell-burnell-graduate-scholarship-fund-guide-25-26.pdf">Bell-Burnell Guide</a>.</p> <p>The Fund will be administered by the IOP, and supported by a panel who will review qualifying applications and select those to be funded. Funding will be provided as a contribution for up to 4 years (or equivalent if by part-time study) of PhD studies, agreed as part of the application process and paid annually from the allocation. The scholarships will normally be paid in support of course fees, living support grants and any additional funding to support accessibility, including support for carer responsibilities.</p> <p>In addition, successful applicants will be able to apply for additional support from the IOP Carers Fund if this is not able to be granted from the scholarship fund. For the purpose of this fund the definition of underrepresented groups in physics will be kept under review. In this first instance our definition includes:</p> <ul> <li>women,</li> <li>students of Black-Caribbean, Black-African and other minority ethnic (BAME) heritage,</li> <li>students with disabilities, or who require additional funding to support inclusive learning,</li> <li>LGBT+ students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds who may struggle to find the levels of funding needed to complete their studies.</li> <li>People with qualifying refugee status who meet the above criteria are also encouraged to apply.</li> </ul> <p>Priority will be given to students who meet multiple criteria and the decision of the panel on qualification and funding amounts will be final. No institution will be able to hold more than one student with a funding grant in each academic year.</p> <p>The funding can be linked to a physics project being offered by the School of Physics and Astronomy or your own Research Proposal.  The successful candidate will receive support in completing the IOP application form.  The IOP will only fund one scholarship in the School per academic year.</p>

<p>Please visit the <a href="https://eps.leeds.ac.uk/physics">School of Physics & Astronomy</a> website find out more about our current Research activities.</p> <p>Please refer to the <a href="https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/">UKCISA</a> website for information regarding Fee Status for Non-UK Nationals.</p>

<p>Formal applications for research degree study should be made online through the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/research-applying/doc/applying-research-degrees">University's website</a>. Please state clearly in the Planned Course of Study section the you are applying for <em><strong>PHD Physics & Astronomy FT. </strong></em>In the research information section, please state the name of your project as well as the name of your proposed supervisor. <em><strong>In the finance section, please state clearly that the funding you wish to be considered for is Bell Burnell Scholarship Award (Awarded by the IOP).</strong></em></p> <p>Applications will be considered after the closing date.  Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the supervisors for an informal discussion before making a formal application.  We also advise that you apply at the earliest opportunity as the application and selection process may close early, should we receive a sufficient number of applications or that a suitable candidate is appointed.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Please note that you must provide the following documents in support of your application by the closing date of 12 December 2025 for the Bell Burnell Scholarship:</p> <ul> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;"> <p>Full Transcripts of all degree study or if in final year of study, full transcripts to date including grading scheme</p> </li> <li> <p>Personal Statement outlining your interest in the project or your own Research Proposal</p> </li> <li> <p>CV</p> </li> </ul> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><em>As an international research-intensive university, we welcome students from all walks of life and from across the world. We foster an inclusive environment where all can flourish and prosper, and we are proud of our strong commitment to student education. Across all Faculties we are dedicated to diversifying our community and we welcome the unique contributions that individuals can bring, and particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to Black, Asian, people who belong to a minority ethnic community, people who identify as LGBT+ and people with disabilities. Applicants will always be selected based on merit and ability.</em></p>

Applicants to research degree programmes should normally have at least a first class or an upper second class British Bachelors Honours degree (or equivalent) in an appropriate discipline. The criteria for entry for some research degrees may be higher, for example, several faculties, also require a Masters degree. Applicants are advised to check with the relevant School prior to making an application. Applicants who are uncertain about the requirements for a particular research degree are advised to contact the School or Graduate School prior to making an application.

The minimum English language entry requirement for research postgraduate research study is an IELTS of 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in each component (reading, writing, listening and speaking) or equivalent. The test must be dated within two years of the start date of the course in order to be valid.

<p>For further information about this Scholarship, please contact PGR Admissions by email to <a href="mailto:phd@engineering.leeds.ac.uk">phd@engineering.leeds.ac.uk</a></p> <p>If you are applying for a project listed in the Linked Project Opportunities section, please select the project for contact details of the supervisor.  If you are applying with your own Research proposal, please visit the supervisor section on our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk/">Postgraduate Research Opportunities</a> website where you will find supervisors that are linked to your research interests.</p>