How to apply for a PhD

How to apply for Stage 1

HEAL has a two-stage application process. Stage 1 has two components, (1) the application form and (2) an EDI form. You must complete both before the deadline in order for your application to be considered.

In Stage 1 we consider your potential for the HEAL Doctoral Training Programme. We recognise that people have different professions, career journeys, and opportunities for research, and we aim to take these factors into account when assessing your application. We do not expect you at this stage to have identified a supervisor, or a project.

Candidates who are shortlisted for Stage 2 will identify a supervisory team and will develop a project proposal for submission. The HEAL leadership team can help to signpost you towards suitable supervisors if you are not sure where to start, and for that reason we ask for some broad ideas about your interests on the Stage 1 form.

Timeline

Stage 1 EDI form: deadline to submit November 29, 2026 (16:00). Please contact heal@qmul.ac.uk to be given access to the form. All information is confidential and is only recorded for reporting purposes.

Stage 1 application: deadline to submit November 29, 2026 (16:00)

Decisions on shortlisted applicants for Stage 2: December 18, 2026 (Stage 2 application forms will be sent to successful candidates).

Stage 2 webinar: January 11, 2027

Stage 2 application: deadline to submit March 12, 2027

Stage 2 interviews: May 5-6, 2027

Interview outcome: week of May 10, 2027

 

Stage 1 applications must be received by email (heal@qmul.ac.uk) by 16:00 on the 29th November 2026. Applications received after the deadline will not be accepted. Applications without an accompanying EDI form filled out online will not be accepted.

Guidance for completion of the application form

The word limits in certain sections are the maximum allowed, but often significantly fewer words can provide suitable information.

 

Stage 1 Application Form

Please note that this DTP is only open to healthcare professionals. Please see separate guidance (Eligibility) on how we define healthcare professionals, and other important information about eligibility criteria.

HEAL_Stage_1_Application Form.docx [DOC 39KB]

 

Section 1

• Please complete all applicant details, qualifications, employment history, prizes and awards. 

Section 2

• Based on the overall aim of the HEAL PhD Programme, describe why you are a good fit for the program.
• What would you like to achieve through HEAL? You do not need a fully developed research project at this stage. Instead, tell us about your motivation and ambitions: what questions or problems from your clinical practice or experience draw you to the relationship between environment and health, and how a PhD through HEAL would help you address them. We want to understand where you see yourself in the future, how doctoral training would help you get there, and how you could make a difference to patients, services or communities as a clinician-researcher.
• How have you have contributed to the generation of new ideas, tools or knowledge? This could be a service evaluation, a clinical audit, a quality improvement project, or a piece of research you undertook. What was your role, what did you do, and what changes arose as a result?
• Have you had any research experience? Please describe any research or research-related activity you have been involved in. For each example, tell us when it took place, your role (e.g. lead, co-investigator, data collector, recruiter, student project), the methods used, and the outcomes (findings, outputs, or changes to practice). We recognise that many healthcare professionals have limited formal research experience. Please include smaller or informal activities too, and tell us what you learned from them. A lack of research experience will not count against you.
• What research outputs (if any) do you have to date? Please enter a list of research outputs. These can include the following: Peer reviewed papers, reviews, books or chapters, editorials, case reports, conference presentations (oral or poster). Other types of research outputs include: Development and sharing of new datasets, software, research reagents, tools, methods, products or patents); Participation in Patient and Public involvement and engagement activities (PPI); Influences on policy, practice, education or training; Development of new preventative, diagnostic, treatment or management approaches and interventions; improvements to health or quality of life of patients and the public. For posters, abstracts and oral presentations, tell us about where and when this this was presented, and in what format.
• How have you contributed to the development of others? Tell us how you have supported other people to learn, grow or progress — in clinical practice, education, research or the wider community. This can be formal (e.g. teaching, supervision, mentoring) or informal (e.g. supporting a colleague, sharing a skill, championing someone). We are interested in what you did, why, and what difference it made — for the individual, your team, or patients. Examples from any career stage are welcome; you do not need research supervision experience.
• Tell us about a situation you have faced in your clinical practice where the environment shaped someone’s health outcomes. How could you use this example to develop a research question? For example, you could describe a patient, group of patients, participants or service situation where factors beyond the individual's biology played a role in their health, treatment or recovery. "Environment" is meant broadly: physical (e.g. housing, air quality, heat, noise), biological (e.g. diet, infection, microbiome), social (e.g. poverty, isolation, family circumstances, employment) or cultural (e.g. beliefs, language, community norms, access to services). Then tell us how you might turn this observation into a research question: what would you want to find out, and why would it matter?

Please make sure any example is fully anonymised and contains no information that could identify a patient.

• What area/theme would you be interested in focusing on for your PhD within the HEAL DTP? Tell us which of HEAL's research themes interests you most and why, and describe any topics, questions or methods you would like to explore. You do not need a fully developed project; we want to understand your interests and how you might grow as a researcher. Please also tell us whether pursuing this would involve learning new methods or moving into a new field, and how you feel about that. Many HEAL fellows may decide to work outside their comfort zone, and we see this as a strength.