Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Accept all cookies Reject all non-essential cookies Find out more
Photo of Hougu Leng pipetting

Funding

We welcome between 20-30 graduate research students each year. Our students are supported by a range of different funding streams and programmes.

1. Medical Sciences Division Doctoral Competition

To be considered for full funding, candidates applying to start a programme from October 2026 must complete their University application(s) online by 12 noon (UK time) on Tuesday 2nd December 2025. Applications open in early September. 

Every year the Department offers a number1 of fully funded 3-year PhD (DPhil) studentships to outstanding applicants of any nationality. These studentships are funded by a number of organisations including the Wellcome Trust, MRC, BBSRC, EPSRC, CR-UK, British Heart Foundation, the Clarendon Fund, Oxford Colleges and a number of other charities.

If successful, the fully-funded studentships will cover University and College fees and provide a stipend at the standard Research Council rate. For more information on fees, please see the Graduate Admissions course page.

This programme is participating in the Academic Futures via the Medical Sciences Division's guarantee of at least 10 places per year across its doctoral programmes for the next four years' intakes (started 2022) of DPhil students (see section 4).

Please do note that the selection of highly-ranked applicants for these studentships is a competitive process across the Division and the applicants are encouraged to consider alternative sources of funding, as detailed below.

Find out more on the Medical Sciences Division funding webpage. 

2. Other funding opportunities

The University of Oxford funding website lists many external scholarships.

There are also several schemes specifically for clinically-qualified applicants.

A-Z of Scholarships.

Henni Mester Studentship in Orthopaedics or Rheumatology (Nuffield Dept of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences)

A biennial fully-funded Henni Mester studentship is available to an outstanding candidate who applies for DPhil study in the area of arthritis or rheumatism within the Nuffield Dept of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS). The next intake will be in October 2026.

3.5 years of full funding is available in partnership with the NDORMS annual studentship funding competition.

The studentship provides fees at the home rate and does not require an additional explicit application (although when making their online Oxford application candidates must either list University College as their preferred college, or be willing to migrate colleges to take up the award).

The Lord Nuffield and Girdlestone Scholarships

Two Full DPhil (PhD) Scholarships in Orthopaedic-related Surgical Research offered by NDORMS at the Botnar Research Centre, University of Oxford, first awarded in October 2023.

The Lord Nuffield and Girdlestone scholarships in orthopaedic surgical research were established in 1937 after a generous endowment by Lord Nuffield.

These scholarships are awarded every 3 years and support Orthopaedic Surgeons in training (in the UK), who wish to undertake research at the Botnar Institute of Musculoskeletal Sciences, at the University of Oxford. These awards include a tax-free bursary, tuition fees at the home rate and support for consumables over a 3-year period.

If not applying for an advertised project, applicants must contact potential supervisor(s) to plan a project and to ensure that any planned proposal is within the remit of the scholarships. In case of any queries, please contact graduate.studies@ndorms.ox.ac.uk. 

Applicants should apply for the D.Phil in Musculoskeletal Sciences and use the course code RD_ML2.

These scholarships are not available for October 2026 entry.  

    3. Academic Futures

    The University and colleges are doing more than ever to increase the number of promising postgraduate students from under-represented groups at Oxford.

    The Academic Futures programme is a collection of funding opportunities available for students who want to apply to Oxford. Alongside this, a growing range of other scholarships are available for students.

    Please visit the Graduate Access website to find out more.

    In this section