Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership

The Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership is a BBSRC-funded doctoral training partnership between the universities of Warwick, Birmingham, Leicester, Aston, Harper Adams and Coventry. 

Good luck to all applicants! The application window will close on 23 November 2026.

About MIBTP at the University of Birmingham

The Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership (MIBTP) is a BBSRC-funded doctoral training partnership between the universities of Warwick, Birmingham, Leicester, Aston, Harper Adams and Coventry. 

MIBTP studentships at University of Birmingham cover all of your tuition fees, even if you are an international student (other institutions in the partnership may not cover international fees, please check with them individually). You will also receive a tax-free stipend each month at the UKRI rate. For 2026-27 this is £21,805pa.

Click on the links below for more information about the wider programme.

See the bottom of this page for details of the full application process, including guidance on completing the initial application form and next steps.

Essential information about how to apply

The University of Birmingham offers a wide variety of MIBTP projects. All projects available for entry in October 2027 are listed in the collapsible sections below.

You can find the project outlines for the available projects, as well as details about the supervisors offering them, at the University of Warwick's MIBTP website - please open this link in a new tab, as you will need to return to the University of Birmingham's webpage to apply.

Please carefully read and adhere to the below instructions when choosing your project(s) and submitting your application(s).

Projects are organised by PhD programme, e.g. all projects offered within the PhD Biosciences FT (MIBTP) programme are listed under ‘Biosciences’.  
You can apply for multiple projects but only one per programme, e.g. you could apply for one from the Biosciences programme list, one from Biomedical Sciences, etc. You can apply for up to five programmes.
You will need to submit separate applications for each project you apply to. All applications to the University are processed separately. If one application references multiple projects, your application will be rejected.
The below application links are specific to MIBTP programmes. You must use the specific link attached to the project to apply or your application will be rejected.
You will be asked to state the project title and primary supervisor on your application. Please state the project title and primary supervisor name on your application exactly as it is written below. We recommend simply copy + pasting the information below into your application form. If you do not provide this information your application will be rejected.
We can only accept applications for MIBTP projects offered at University of Birmingham. To apply for a project being offered at another institution in the MIBTP partnership, please follow their local application processes.
See the Application Guidance section below for guidance on specific entry requirements and questions.
If you still have queries regarding your application after reading these sections, please email uob-mibtp@contacts.bham.ac.uk.
Once you have completed your application, please also complete the ED&I form managed by the University of Warwick.  By completing this form, you are expressing an interest in MIBTP and helping to monitor our ED&I commitments at every step of the application process.

View the University of Warwick's FAQs.

Projects currently available

Applicants for 2027 entry: Please note that we are experiencing delays in updating this year's project listings and application links. Please check back for these in a few days. In the meantime, please read through the below up-to-date application guidance carefully. You can still view University of Birmingham's available projects on the University of Warwick's MIBTP page here: PhD Opportunities.

Applications will close on 23 November 2026.

Application guidance

You must apply to this programme using the online application portal; we do not accept email applications. The below guidance covers frequently asked question and clarifications about the online application form, and is categorised by the sections you will find on the form. Please read this guidance before contacting us with questions, as the answer may be written below.

Contact details

We will use the email address you provide here to contact you regarding your application. If you would like us to contact you using another email address, please let us know by contacting uob-mibtp@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

Academic history

You will be asked to provide details of your academic history and upload evidence. Please note:

Our admissions team will assess your grades and documents in context, so do not worry if your grades are not in a common format.

Digital transcripts/certificates are normally acceptable as long as they are in English.

The academic transcript needs to include all modules, grades and the overall grade.

English language

English language test certificates can be submitted after the initial application; it will be a condition of your offer if one is made.

There are some circumstances that exempt you from taking an English language test even if English is not your first language. The admissions team will discuss this with you further if an offer is made.

You can view general language requirements: International postgraduate entry requirements - University of Birmingham

Area of research

Select 'Advertised research area' when prompted.

Project & Supervisor Name: Please state the project title and primary supervisor name on your application exactly as it is written on the University of Birmingham website. We recommend simply copy + pasting the information below into your application form.

Supervisor Contact: We encourage you to contact the supervisor for your chosen project before applying, but this is not mandatory.

Research Methods: You must answer the question regarding Research Methods training when applying for this programme.

Research Proposal: A research proposal is not required for this programme. This is a mandatory field on the application portal – you can safely upload a blank document here instead of providing a research proposal.

Work and professional experience

CV: You must upload a CV as part of your application.

Personal statement

A personal statement is optional when applying for this programme. This is a mandatory field on the application portal – just type N/A or the equivalent into the text box if you choose not to provide a personal statement.

Funding

Please select 'Research Council Funding', and 'Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)' when asked about how you intend to fund your studies.

What happens after I submit my application?

Once you submit your application, please ensure you also complete the ED&I form managed by the University of Warwick.

All the applications that we receive will be reviewed, after the application window closes. Please don’t be concerned if you don’t hear back from us straight away - due to the high volume of applicants, this review process can be a lengthy one.  We will let you know what has happened to your application as soon as we are able to.

Please don’t contact us for progress/status updates as unfortunately, we are not able to respond to those individual requests. We are also unable to provide additional feedback to individual applicants relating to any unsuccessful applications.

We aim to contact applicants who have been successfully shortlisted for interview by late January 2027.

We will hold interviews for successfully shortlisted applicants in early February 2027. Interviews are usually face-to-face (with travel reimbursed) for Home applicants and held via Zoom for Overseas applicants.