125th Anniversary Scholarships for Black British Researchers

The University of Birmingham is proud to celebrate its remarkable 125-year journey and announce the launch of a ground-breaking scholarship initiative designed to empower and support Black British researchers in their pursuit of doctoral education.

These newly established 3.5-year scholarships aim to address under-representation and create opportunities for talented individuals from diverse backgrounds to excel in academia.

We recognise the importance of diversity and inclusion in higher education. In line with our commitment to fostering an environment that celebrates differences and promotes equal access to education, we are excited to introduce the 125th Anniversary Scholarships for Black British Researchers programme.

20 competition-funded PhD projects will be open for students to apply to across the University's five Colleges: there will be four projects open per College. The successful awardees will begin their PhD studies in October 2025.

Students will be able to submit an application to their desired PhD project(s) until the deadline of 23:59 (UK time) on Wednesday 30 April 2025. For each project, during May, the shortlisted candidates will be interviewed. The outcome of your application will be confirmed by 3 June 2025.

Key features of this innovative scholarship initiative include:

Financial Support: Recipients of these scholarships will receive substantial financial support, including a stipend at UKRI rates, which is set at £20,780 per year for the 2025/26 academic year, and will be paid to you in regular instalments. Successful awardees will also have their tuition fees covered at a minimum of £5,006 per year. This support is designed to alleviate the financial burden often associated with pursuing a doctoral degree, such as covering tuition fees, living expenses, and research-related costs.
Mentorship and Guidance: Scholarship recipients will benefit from mentorship opportunities and guidance from accomplished faculty members who are dedicated to helping them succeed in their academic and research endeavours.
Research Opportunities: We are committed to providing an exceptional research environment. Students will have access to state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge resources, and a vibrant scholarly community.
Community Building: A key component of the scholarship programme is the creation of a supportive community of Black British researchers pursuing PhDs. This network will foster collaboration and peer support among scholars.
Research Training Support Grant: In addition to financial support, scholarship recipients will receive a research training support grant at £2,250 across the duration of the PhD. This grant is intended to support conference attendance, fieldwork, and other essential activities that enhance their research and academic growth.
Commitment to Inclusivity: We are dedicated to building an inclusive academic environment that values diversity and ensures equitable access to education.

Who can apply?

These scholarships are designed to create opportunities and address the under-representation of talented Black or Black mixed heritage students in academia. We welcome applications for full-time study. Applicants who meet all of the following criteria are eligible to apply:

Students classified as 'Home' for tuition fee payments
Members of one of the following ethnic groups:
- Black African
- Black Caribbean
- Black Other
- Mixed – White and Black Caribbean
- Mixed – White and Black African
- Other mixed background (to include Black African, Black Caribbean or Black Other)
Not already enrolled on a PhD programme at the University of Birmingham

Entry Requirements

In addition to the above eligibility criteria of the scholarships, applicants should meet the University's entry requirements; you should familiarise yourself with the specific entry requirements on your project's individual webpage. Typically, applicants are required to hold a good Honours degree (usually a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree) or an alternative qualification, or experience of equal quality. In certain cases, a Masters degree or equivalent may be expected in a relevant subject.

Available PhD Projects

There are four PhD projects available in each of our five Colleges. Open the below tabs to find out which subject areas are included in each College, and to view the projects available. Click on the project title to go to the PhD project's dedicate webpage for further details and to apply.

College of Arts and Law

We explore what it means to be human through the lens of historical and cultural contexts, legal and ethical norms, and communication and languages.

Subject areas include: African Studies and Anthropology; Art History and Visual Studies; Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology; Drama and Theatre Arts; Linguistics and Communications; Literature; Film and Creative Writing; History; Law; Modern Languages; Music; Philosophy; Shakespeare Studies; and Theology and Religion.

On each PhD project webpage, you can familiarise yourself with the project's description, research aims and support, contact the lead supervisor, and apply to the project using the 'Apply Now' button.

PhD Project Title	Brief Project Description
African Feminisms	African and African diasporic scholarship is at the cutting edge of feminist debate. From challenging the assumption that Western gender practices are universal to showing the margins of society to be a space of radical openness, African and African diasporic feminisms have explored the intersections of gender and other forms of inequality and difference, including but not limited to seniority, ethnicity, race, sexuality, socio-economic status, and the impact of colonialism and its legacies...
Black British Sign Language	Research has demonstrated that the African-American deaf community uses an identifiable variety of American Sign Language (ASL) different from mainstream ASL (McCaskill et al., 2020). There has been no research thus far on documenting and describing British Sign Language (BSL) used by Black British and Afro-Caribbean/African immigrant communities in the UK...
Construction of Narratives of Black Male Victimisation in Birmingham Magistrates' and Crown Courts	Black people, particularly Black men, have long been erroneously stereotyped as having a propensity for criminality (Hall et al 1978; Gilroy 1982). Black men are habitually viewed as a 'problem' (Gilroy 1993) and as 'perpetual suspects' (Hall et al. 1978), but never seen in the first instance as crime victims (Long 2018, 2021). This was the case with Stephen Lawrence (Macpherson, 1999), and so too with Dea-John Reid, a 14-year old Black British teenager murdered in Birmingham in 2021 by a White mob after being racially abused and chased through the streets...
Fanfic in the Archive: ephemera, ethics, engagement	This project engages with a paradox: self-published and fanfiction communities and archives have historically been marginalised in academic research and library collection policies, yet also power Internet Search. Under-studied and under-archived in institutional contexts, the productions of fanfic online communities have nevertheless been accessioned into the datasets of Google Bert and other LLMs to optimise commercial Search and Generative AI technologies...

College of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Comprised of seven academic schools, we work across the frontiers of science and engineering in education, and research and translate knowledge. Our focus and contribution to society is based around three core themes of the Science Frontiers, Advanced Manufacturing and Resilience, Energy and Sustainability.

Subject areas include: Chemical Engineering; Chemistry; Civil Engineering; Computer Science and Data Science; Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering; Engineering Management; Food Safety; Materials Science and Engineering; Mathematics; Mechanical Engineering; Nuclear and Energy; Physics and Astronomy; and Railway Engineering.

PhD Project Title	Brief Project Description
Designing total knee replacement implants for patients of diverse ethnic backgrounds	Total knee replacement implants have typically been designed based on Caucasian knee anatomy. However, there is often a mismatch between these implants and the knees of individuals from various ethnic backgrounds. For instance, black patients have been found to have a significant difference in tibial aspect ratio as compared to the Caucasian tibia, with systematic reviews suggesting worse outcomes following knee replacement...
Micro-engineered Integrated Non-invasive Diagnostic Technology of Traumatic Brain Injuries (MINDTBI)	Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death worldwide. TBI is a major global health challenge, affecting 138 million people in 2022 and costing £912 billion in socioeconomic impact. With no regenerative capacity in brain tissue, early diagnosis is critical -life-saving decisions must be made within minutes to influence patient prognosis and treatment efficacy. However, early-stage detection remains a challenge, as many patients show no immediate symptoms, leading to delayed diagnosis and poor outcomes...
Peptide Therapeutics for Fibrosis: A Cross-Disease Strategy for Glaucoma and Keloid Treatment	Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide (2.4% of people). The disease arises from the fibrosis of the trabecular meshwork, a filter-like tissue that sits in the anterior chamber of the eye. As the pores within this tissue reduce in size and compliance, the pressure within the eye increases, ultimately resulting in damage to the optic nerve and blindness...
Satellite re-entry monitoring and impact assessment for improved space sustainability	The LEO space environment is far more crowded than ever before, with mega-constellations of commercially owned satellites (Starlink and OneWeb) comprising a large proportion of operational LEOsats providing vital services including Earth observation, climate monitoring, and communications. Current international guidelines state that all satellites must be removed from the LEO protected region...

College of Life and Environmental Sciences

We explore the diversity and evolutionary challenges of life in all its forms. Across the breadth of life and environmental sciences, we discover, apply and translate science, forging major advances in human and environmental health. From exercise, biomedicine and mental health to climate change, food security and resilience we combine original thinking and real-world experience with clear focus and rigour.

Subject areas include: Biosciences; Earth Sciences; Environmental Risk Management; Environmental Sciences; Geography; Urban and Regional Studies; Psychology; and Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences.

PhD Project Title	Brief Project Description
Digital Twin for Urban Transport Optimization (DigiTUTO)	DigiTUTO is a forward-thinking Ph.D. aimed at leveraging digital twin (DT) technology to transform urban transportation systems. The project will initially focus on the West Midlands, a region with a diverse and complex urban environment, providing a place-based approach to improving mobility, reducing pollution, and increasing liveability...
Examining the impact of physical activity and sedentary behaviour on the clinical health of people with Lupus	This PhD programme will examine how physical exercise and sedentary behaviour impacts the clinical presentation and underlying immune profile of people with systemic lupus erythematous (SLE). SLE is a chronic autoimmune disease that has higher incidence and prevalence rates in females of Black Caribbean ethnicity...
EmpowerHer: A Toolkit to Support Wellbeing in Women from Ethnic Minority Urban Communities	Stress and poor mental health and wellbeing are prevalent throughout ethnic minority and disadvantaged urban communities in the UK. Additionally, ethnic minority groups in the UK tend to have less access to mental healthcare and support compared to White British groups. Women in ethnic minority urban communities of low engagement to accessing support and services are at particular increased risk of poor mental health and wellbeing arising from numerous sources of psychological stress (e.g., childcare, caring and family responsibilities)...
How does the environment shape (epi)genome plasticity in long-lived plants?	The ability of a genome to change, also known as genome plasticity, is a key factor for diversification and evolution. Until now such changes have mostly been considered in the form of mutations, which are slow-occurring base modifications of the DNA sequence. However, genome plasticity is increasingly recognised to encompass molecular alterations in chromatin, known as epigenetic marks, that do not involve changes to the DNA sequence. Crucially, epigenetic modifications have been proposed to play a critical role in genome adaptation as, like genetic mutations, they can be heritable...

College of Medicine and Health

We are shaping the future of health and medicine by providing innovative education and exceptional research, delivered by world-leading academics and supported by a diverse range of committed and high-performing Professional Services staff.

Subject areas include: Applied Health Research, Biomedical Sciences, Cancer and Genomic Sciences, Cardiovascular Sciences, Dentistry, Immunology and Immunotherapy, Inflammation and Ageing, Medical Sciences, Metabolism and Systems, Microbiology and Infection, Nursing, and Pharmacy.

PhD Project Title	Brief Project Description
Identification of markers of disease progression in oral epithelial dysplasia using digital pathology and machine learning	Oral cancer is a global health problem with little improvement in survival rates, often attributed to late diagnosis. One of the limiting factors is the inability to reliably predict malignant transformation in a range of disorders with an increased risk of developing malignancy termed oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs)...
Identifying novel therapies to alleviate the neurotoxic side-effects of chemotherapy	In this project, the student will take a multi-system approach to test a novel therapeutic strategy with the potential to ameliorate both peripheral and central symptoms. We have shown that targeting the DNA damage response is neuroprotective in pre-clinical models of multiple different forms of neurological disease, including both acute and chronic disease. These neurological disorders all feature unrepaired DNA damage in neurons, which is also a feature of chemotherapy-induced neurotoxicity...
Prebiotic Microcomposites for Personalised Microbiome Modulation in IBD and Health	This exciting PhD project, working at the interface of microbiome research and biomaterials engineering, offers the opportunity to pioneer the development of Next Generation Prebiotics— agents which are designed to selectively enhance the growth of specific beneficial bacteria within the intestinal microbiome. By identifying novel natural materials that promote the targeted growth of key bacterial species, this project aims to revolutionise our ability to restore microbial balance in diseases where critical bacteria become lost...
What matters to patients in the treatment of lupus nephritis? a mixed methods study of patient preferences	Lupus nephritis (LN) is an autoimmune inflammatory glomerulonephritis in which an over-active immune system causes inflammation in the kidney. Inadequate treatment of LN results in chronic kidney disease or end-stage kidney failure. Although several national and international guidelines for LN management exist, we have identified marked differences in physician's treatment preferences for LN across the UK, including differences between rheumatologists and nephrologists...

College of Social Sciences

Our work impacts all areas of society from business and politics to education, justice, health, and social care.

Subject areas include: Accounting and Finance; Business; Economics; Education; Government and Politics; Management and Human Resources; Marketing; and, Social Policy and Society.

PhD Project Title	Brief Project Description
Climate change, Geopolitical Tensions and Food Security in Europe	The European agricultural sector is facing growing pressure from economic, environmental, and geopolitical challenges, which threaten food security, farmer livelihoods, and social stability. Recent farmer protests across Europe reflect concerns over rising costs and stricter environmental regulations, as well as fears of losing international competitiveness due to reforms in the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the UK's Agricultural Transition Plan (UK-ATP)...
Decolonising the Mind: Self-Care and Anti-Racism	There is a growing and productive body of work around a post- and decolonial social science which can analyse and confront racism. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the subjective experience of decolonisation and anti-racism, and specifically strategies at the individual level to combat, for example, unconscious harm produced by structural racism and racial trauma...
The Culture of Academic Inequalities and Attainment Gaps in the United Kingdom	Despite significant work to address student academic inequalities in the UK Higher Education sector, the problem of attainment and progression gaps persists. University approaches to the problems are often shaped by Office for Students’ mandates to close gaps between primarily white middle class students and historically marginalised including people of colour, working class, mature and differentially abled students...
Stuart Hall, Racism and Capitalism in Postcolonial Britain	The PhD project examines the relationship between race and capitalism in postcolonial Britain through the work of Stuart Hall. With an interdisciplinary outlook, the PhD project will contribute to contemporary debates in fields such as political theory and political economy. Scholars and activists are now engaged in fierce debates over the relationship between ‘race’ and class, between practices of racialized domination and the systemic imperatives of capital...

How to apply

Once applicants have familiarised themselves with the individual project's details, they are encouraged to contact the lead PhD supervisor to discuss the project and the applicant's suitability for the project. This is recommended before you submit an application to the PhD project. You can contact the lead supervisor via email on the individual project's webpage as well as viewing their research portal which includes the supervisor's research interests and academic publications.

After applicants have made contact with the lead PhD supervisor, you will then need to apply to the PhD project using our online application portal. You will find the application link on the individual project's webpage. You will need to create an account for the online application portal and you will be prompted to sign-in upon your return to the portal.

You do not need to complete your application in one session; you can save your application at each stage and return to the portal at any stage before submission, particularly if you do not have all of the necessary documents when you begin your application.

As these are 'advertised PhDs', in which you will studying one of the above projects that has already been provided by the academic supervisor(s), you do not need to submit a research proposal. Your personal statement will suffice for determining your suitability for the PhD project as well as your previous academic, professional and personal experiences.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview during May 2025.

If you are successful in being made an awardee, all scholarship offers are bound by the terms and conditions which you are encouraged to familiarise yourself with before applying to and accepting the 125th Anniversary Scholarship for Black British Researchers.

The deadline for applications is 23:59 (UK time) on Friday 30 April 2025.

For your application you will need to submit the following documents:

Research Proposal

A research proposal is only required for the PhD project 'African Feminisms' offered in the College of Arts and Law. For all other PhD projects, a research proposal is not required as these are 'advertised' PhDs and the successful applicant will be studying and researching the project provided by the supervisor(s) in the project overview.

African Feminisms

A research proposal is a concise and ‭coherent summary of your proposed research. This is typically between 1,000 and 1,500 words in length. The proposal generally consists of an outline of your proposed research project, including your main research questions and the methods you intend to use.

Candidates are encouraged to design their own project and to outline how it will engage with African and/or African diasporic feminist scholarship and activism. Candidates should include a research proposal covering research questions, discussion of existing literature and setting out their approach and methodology. Guidance can be found on our dedicated webpage with step-by-step support.

We particularly welcome projects employing collaborative, ethnographic or historical methods, and projects with a clearly identified geographic, historical, and socio-cultural focus within Africa and/or the diaspora. Projects may lead to methodological innovation through engagement with feminist research ethics, with clear potential to learn from those among whom research is conducted. Collaborative and participatory methods might lead to dissemination activities or outputs additional to the PhD thesis, such as exhibitions or non-academic publications, as appropriate to the project. Ultimately, the project should expand understandings of African and/or African diasporic gender relations, feminist theory and/or activism, contributing to scholarly debates with relevance to contemporary gender policy and advocacy work in Africa and/or other regions of the world.

Candidates should outline how their experience to date equips them to undertake this research and whether they have particular training needs (including language training) before they can begin the research.

References

On your application, you will have been asked for contact details of one or two references. For some courses, you will need the references before a decision to be made.

Please make sure you tell your references to expect contact from the University of Birmingham via email, requesting their reference. Please note that the contact email address of the referee must be an official email address and not a personal one (for example, gmail). We recommend that the referee sends back the reference in a PDF format as it is preferred if:

The reference is on official headed paper with the organisation or university’s logo and address
It includes the date, your details and the details of the referee
A summary of how they know you and confirm your suitability for studying on the course you have applied for
It should be signed by the referee with their official contact details.

If both your referees send back references which are not on official headed paper, you may be asked to send in additional references.

If you already have a written reference(s) and want to upload it on behalf of your referee(s), make sure the reference is a scanned copy of the original and that it is on official headed paper.

If you input your referee details, your referees will receive a reference request email from us as soon as you submit your application. When a referee provides the reference by clicking on the link in the reference request email, it will be automatically uploaded to your application.

Your online portal will be updated when a reference has been received and processed but please allow at least 15 working days for this. If your portal has not been updated, this does not necessarily mean that the references have not been received as there can be a delay with the processing of references.

Please note that for the vast majority of our programmes, we do not require references in order for a decision to be made and your application will still be processed as usual. If an offer is made and the references are still outstanding, they will form part of the conditions of the offer.

Academic certificate and transcript(s) for all prior degrees

If you have graduated

You will have been asked to upload a scan of your original or certified copies of your degree certificate(s) and transcript(s) on the Postgraduate Application Portal.
If you have not done so already, you can go back into the portal to upload your documents. Otherwise your application cannot be considered.
Please be prepared to send in your original or certified copies of your documents if the Admissions team requests to verify them.
If you don’t have certified copies of your documents and would prefer not to send the original, you can get copies certified by either the institution where you studied or by a notary.

If you are currently a student

You will have been asked to upload an interim transcript from your latest exams.
If you have not done so already, you can go back into the portal to upload your interim transcript. Otherwise your application cannot be considered.
Please be prepared to send in your original or certified copies of your degree certificate and final transcript upon graduation if the Admissions team requests to verify them.
If you don’t have certified copies of your documents and would prefer not to send the original, you can get copies certified by either the institution where you studied or by a notary.

Sample Work

If you are required to submit a piece of example work— usually a short written piece (common for programmes such as Creative Writing or English Literature); music composition or performance for those looking to study music related programmes— you will be notified by the academic tutor before they can access and make a decision on your application.

Please make sure you submit these as soon as possible and in the format requested by the academic tutor.

Application portal tips

You don’t need to complete your application in one session. Simply save it and come back to it when you’re ready.
Avoid delays by checking all your information is accurate and complete.
Your application won’t be processed until you’ve completed all the relevant sections and submitted it.
If you have any issues, visit our Admissions FAQ hub where you can find support for a range of queries or you can submit a form response for further help.

What happens next?

Once you’ve submitted your application, we’ll send you details on how to access your applicant portal. You’ll be able to track the progress of your application, update your personal information, view decisions and accept offers.

Your application will be ‘pending’ on your portal while we check your application. You will be contacted by 3 June 2025 with an update on whether your application has been successful.

You can add or edit some details or documents within your application after it’s been submitted through your applicant portal.

FAQs

Are the PhD projects full-time or part-time?

All of the 20 competition-funded PhDs are designed to be studied full-time. We are unable to support part-time study for these specific PhDs but we do support part-time study across a range of our other PhD opportunities that you can familiarise yourself with using our database.

Can I apply to more than one project?

Yes. You are able to apply to more than one PhD project on offer. However, you should be mindful that each PhD is a unique and specialist project that requires academic excellence and competencies. You should therefore ensure that you meet the entry requirements for each project, and that your application is appropriate to each project that you apply to.

Can I contact the lead supervisor?

Yes. It is recommended that you make contact with the lead supervisor for the PhD project that you intend to apply to. This will give you the chance to learn more about the project proposal, the supervisor and the academic environment at the University of Birmingham. Supervisors may be happy to contact you via email and then may be able to offer you further opportunities to talk with them, such as online video calls. You can contact the lead supervisor via the individual project webpages listed above. Our supervisors have a wide range of responsibilities, duties and commitments so there may be a slight delay in their response to your email as a result; they endeavour to reply back to you as soon as possible.

How many spaces are there on each project?

Each PhD project and its accompanying scholarship will be only available to the one successful student. As postgraduate students make up over 40 per cent of the University's student population, the successful student will be welcomed into a thriving and collaborative research environment that champions innovation and meaningful change.

I have settled status. Can I apply for the scholarship?

Yes, if you have pre-settled or settled status, or indefinite leave to remain, or a similar settled status, you are likely to be eligible for 'Home' tuition fees and therefore may be eligible for the scholarship. You should check the UK government webpages for guidance on settled status; the University is not responsible for this.

If you have settled status, you may need to provide evidence of this to the University when submitting your study application. You should do this as soon as possible to ensure that your tuition fees are classified as 'Home' and thus deem you eligible for the scholarship. You should aim to provide the necessary evidence before any deadline(s) above for the scholarship scheme. If you do not provide evidence to show you are eligible for 'Home' fees before the deadline(s), it may be the case that your scholarship application will not be considered and you will not be eligible for the PhD.

I applied before the deadline. What happens now?

If you are successful, you will receive two emails that require a response: one offering you the scholarship, and another containing your study offer and admission onto the PhD course. You will need to respond to the scholarship email to accept the offer. Similarly, you will need to accept your study offer by following the details outlined in your study offer and admission email.

Closer to October 2025, you will receive an email to input your bank details so that you can receive your regular stipend instalments.

If you have not received the emails notifying you of an awardee or reserve status by 30 June 2025, it is the unfortunate case that your application was unsuccessful. You should receive emails notifying you that you scholarship application and course application were unsuccessful.

I have been offered the scholarship. What happens next?

If you have been successfully awarded the scholarship, you will be notified via email. This email will contain a form for you to respond to: whether you accept or decline the scholarship offer. Typically, you will have a maximum of two weeks to respond to this scholarship offer. Once you have accepted the scholarship offer, you will be issued with another email to offer you admission onto the PhD course. You will then need to ensure that you read this admissions offer letter, including its terms and conditions, and then you will need to accept the admissions offer as per the instructions on the admissions offer letter.

If you do not respond to the scholarship offer by the deadline outlined in the email, your scholarship offer may be reallocated and you will no longer be able to accept the award nor be admitted onto the PhD programme.

Once you have accepted both your scholarship offer and admissions offer, you will receive an email to input your bank details closer to your course's start date. These bank details will be required to pay you your regular stipend instalments.

When will my PhD begin if I'm successfully made an awardee?

If you are made an awardee for the scholarship, you will receive a formal study offer letter for admission onto the PhD programme. This letter will contain the official start date of your PhD. It is expected that successful awardees will commence their PhD studies and research from October 2025, but an alternate start date may be possible if the lead supervisor permits.

We are delighted to be offering the next round of studentship awards to increase the representation of Black British students at Doctoral level at Birmingham. We believe that fostering diversity and providing opportunities for underrepresented communities is essential for the advancement of knowledge and societal progress. These University of Birmingham Anniversary Scholarships are a reflection of our commitment to inclusivity and academic excellence.
Professor Jessica Blair
Professor of Antimicrobial Resistance

Find out more

For more information about the scholarship programme, including announcements of available projects and the application process, please register your interest using the form below.