Postgraduate study
Edinburgh: Extraordinary futures await.

Advanced Care PhD with Integrated Study

Awards: PhD with Integrated Study

Study modes: Full-time, Part-time

Funding opportunities

Placements/internships

Programme website: Advanced Care

Advanced Care Research Centre (ACRC)

The Advanced Care Research Centre (ACRC) is a new, multi-disciplinary, £20M research centre at the University of Edinburgh.

The ACRC will lead society’s response to the grand challenge of an ageing population that is growing in size, longevity and needs.

We will do this through the pursuit of research intended to deliver 'high‐quality data‐driven, personalised and affordable care to support the independence, dignity and quality‐of‐life of people living in their own homes and in supported care environments'.

ACRC Academy

The ACRC Academy is a dedicated Centre for Doctoral Training, co-located with the ACRC, whose students will deliver key aspects of the ACRC research agenda through a new doctoral-level research and training programme.

The programme will also equip them for careers across a wide range of pioneering and influential leadership roles in the public, private and third sectors.

Our programme

The Advanced Care PhD with Integrated Study is a novel, structured, thematic, cohort-based, programme of 48 months duration.

Each PhD research project within the Academy has been devised by a supervisory team comprising academic staff from at least two of the three colleges within the University of Edinburgh.

Each annual cohort of around 10 will include students with disciplinary backgrounds spanning from engineering and data science to humanities, social science, business and commerce, social work, medicine and related health and care professions. This unique level of diversity is a key attribute of our programme.

Candidate specification

We are specifically looking for applicants who:

  • will view their cutting-edge PhD research project in the context of the overall vision of the ACRC
  • are keen to contribute to tackling a societal grand challenge
  • can add unique value to (and derive great benefit from) training in a cohort comprising colleagues with a very diverse range of disciplines and backgrounds

We advise prospective candidates to check the eligibility requirements for their specific project and to engage in dialogue with the named project supervisor and/or the Director of the Academy prior to submitting an application.

Year 1

We deliver an intensive 48-month cohort-based structured thematic programme that will provide structure and rigour to your research. Core PhD research is complemented with an innovative curriculum designed to create a future leader who is agile, engaging, influential and intellectually credible.

In your first two semesters of study you will attend the following courses:

  • Challenges of Ageing and Care
  • Introduction to Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation
  • Systematic Reviews
  • Research Methodologies in Ageing and Care
  • Interdisciplinary Group Challenge in Ageing and Care
  • Optional courses

In semester 3 you will undertake an individual project in ageing and care.

Years 2-4

At the start of year 2 you will progress to your PhD research, working with a cross-disciplinary supervisory team to address key issues in ageing and care.

Funding is available for work placements and internships. If demand exceeds supply this may have to be competitive.

You will develop a foundation in advanced care and its associated societal challenges, and become familiar with relevant topics outside your background.

The training will balance your needs (equipping you with methods and tools of relevance to your chosen research and innovation project) with the needs of society (using open-ended problem-solving exercises tackled in multi-disciplinary groups to develop team, planning and organisational skills).

You will explore and develop your leadership through network development, innovation, public engagement and advocacy, and the completion of at least one short project which may be collaborative with external organisations.

We have secured substantial external (cross-sector) input into the design and delivery of the training as it is vital that you experience a breadth of perspectives, agendas and motivations as your prepare for the complexity of the sector and your future leadership roles.

We will recruit fully funded cohorts of at least 10 per annum from a wide range of backgrounds and experience. Inclusivity and diversity will be at the heart of the recruitment process.

Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme

For certain projects, successful applicants will be required to join Disclosure Scotland's Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme during the course of their research.

In addition, all applicants who don't live in the UK, or who have spent more than a year abroad, will need to provide equivalent verification from the relevant national authority.

The ACRC Academy is associated within the Advanced Care Research Centre, a £20 million research centre aimed at delivering innovation and change to later life care. The ACRC team works at the forefront of the field, bringing cutting-edge knowledge and skills to teaching in the first year, and provides a rich resource for you to access during your PhD research.

For your first year you will be co-located with the ACRC at the BioQuarter in Edinburgh. The BioQuarter is a leading global destination for healthcare delivery, groundbreaking research and innovation which brings together academics from different disciplines, clinical practitions and innovators to drive life-enhancing advances to the world.

Your will also benefit from the world-class facilities in your supervisor’s home School or Deanery.

The primary purpose of the Academy is to support the mission of the ACRC by developing and equipping a new generation of doctoral-research-trained leaders as pioneers of creation, innovation and implementation who will enhance society’s response to the challenges of an ageing population.

The full list of PhD projects will be published on the ACRC Academy website.

These entry requirements are for the 2024/25 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2025/26 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2024.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a relevant subject.

We may also consider your application if you have a UK 2:2 honours degree, or its international equivalent, and sufficient relevant work experience. Please contact us to check before you apply.

Please check individual projects for their subject requirements.

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

  • IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.5 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 23 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 176 in each component.
  • Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
  • PTE Academic: total 70 with at least 62 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old* at the beginning of your programme of study. (*Revised 05 March 2024 to extend degree validity to five years.)

Find out more about our language requirements:

Read our general information on tuition fees and studying costs:

The ACRC Academy Programme has funding for an intake of at least 10 students per year.

The funding is available to applicants from the UK and internationally.

A maximum of 3 funded places per year will be awarded to international students.

The funding package includes:

  • fees
  • enhanced stipend
  • modest consumables and travel budget

All students will receive a starting stipend of £16,748 per year in academic year 2022-2023, with an automatic annual increment.

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

  • ACRC Academy Project Manager, Kate Morris
  • Phone: +44 (0)131 651 7828
  • Contact: kate.morris@ed.ac.uk
  • ACRC Academy
  • BioCube 1
  • 9a Little France Road
  • Little France
  • Edinburgh
  • EH16 4UX

We encourage you to apply as early as possible so that we have enough time to process your application, especially if you are also applying for funding or will require a visa.

You must apply for a specific project, please see PhD studentships. Studentships will be published from October onwards.

Please paste details of the project you wish to apply for under Proposed Project and Supervisor, and do not submit your own research proposal.

Please upload a CV. This should be a maximum of 4 pages long.

Referees

Referees can be academic or professional, whichever is most appropriate. The supervisor of the project you apply for cannot be your referee. References must come from an institutional email address, e.g. not Gmail or Yahoo.

Please supply contact information for your referees when you apply. When you submit the application, the University will email each of your referees and advise them how to upload your references.

Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:

Further information

  • ACRC Academy Project Manager, Kate Morris
  • Phone: +44 (0)131 651 7828
  • Contact: kate.morris@ed.ac.uk
  • ACRC Academy
  • BioCube 1
  • 9a Little France Road
  • Little France
  • Edinburgh
  • EH16 4UX