Research Focus
Biostatistics, structural equation modelling, theoretical algorithms, applied algorithms. Suitable student backgrounds: mathematics, applied mathematics, computer science, physics, computational biology, with strong mathematical logic and computational training.
Programme Structure and Funding
This programme is a full-time PhD of three to four years (36–48 months).
Tuition
Department tuition for Informatics, Imaging and Data Science: £27,000–41,500 per year.
Scholarships
This programme offers a jointly funded scholarship through the China Scholarship Council (CSC), open to UK and overseas students for PhD study. China Scholarship Council (CSC) Silver Line quota: 52 people per year; funding duration up to 48 months; funding content: the China Scholarship Council provides one return international airfare and a scholarship for the corresponding period.
The University of Manchester provides tuition fees. Application process: submit an application to the University of Manchester and obtain an unconditional offer/invitation letter and joint scholarship nomination eligibility by 10 March of the following year.
Between 0:00 on 10 March and 14:00 on 1 April, log in to the National Public Overseas Study Management Information Platform (https://sa.csc.edu.cn/student) to complete the online application and upload the relevant materials. For the application project name, please select “Overseas Cooperation Project”; for the available cooperation channel name, please select “Joint Scholarship with the University of Manchester, UK”. April–June: expert review, completion of admissions and publication of the list of admitted candidates.
From July: those who pass the review begin handling departure procedures from July and are dispatched successively.
Entry Requirements
- Should have a quantitative research background or a master’s degree at second-class honours or above in a relevant discipline; applicants holding a master’s degree at an excellent level may be considered with a degree below second-class honours.
- Paper publications are a bonus.
- IELTS ≥7.0.
- TOEFL ≥100; English test scores are valid for two years.
- A master’s degree taught in an English-speaking country may exempt the language requirement.
- GPA above 3.0.
Application Materials
- Personal statement.
- Degree certificates and transcripts.
- CV.
- English language test score report.
- Names and detailed information of two referees.
Application Period
Entry time / Deadline for international applicants: January 2026 – 15 October 2025; April 2026 – 15 January 2026; September 2026 – 15 June 2026.
For April entry, the application deadline is 15 January; for September entry, the application deadline is 15 June; for January entry of the following year, the application deadline is 15 October.
Career Prospects
- Academia, postdoctoral researcher: serve as a postdoc at a university or research institute, working on specific research projects such as image algorithm development, disease biomarker discovery, and multi-omics data integration. 2. Pharmaceutical company data scientist: use real-world data and clinical trial data to support new drug development, drug safety evaluation and market analysis.
Medical Statistician
Design and analyse clinical trials.
Imaging Analyst
Develop and analyse medical imaging (such as MRI, CT) to evaluate drug efficacy.
Bioinformatics Specialist
Analyse large data such as genomics and proteomics to identify drug targets.
Government and Public Sector
Work in national data science, health technology or statistics departments.
