International Scholarships

Each Spring, the John Innes Centre identifies all PhD applications in the previous calendar year from overseas candidates eligible for the International Scholarship.

Based on academic merit and research potential, a Scholarship is offered to one postgraduate research student each year.

The award covers the difference between the overseas and UK/EU lab-based postgraduate research tuition fees (e.g. £14,090 for the 2018/19 academic year).

Note that students from overseas developing countries will be considered for the Janaki Ammal Scholarships in the first instance. Recipients of a Janaki Ammal Scholarship will not also be considered for an International Scholarship.

Each award is tenable for a full-time three or four-year PhD degree programme of study at the John Innes Centre, subject to the satisfactory progress of the student.

Students must be able to provide evidence of additional funding to cover living costs (e.g. RCUK level is £14,777 in the 2018/19 academic year) and the Home/EU level of tuition fee (e.g. £4,260 for the 2018/19 academic year).

Eligibility

To be automatically considered for an International Scholarship, candidates must:

  • Have completed and submitted all relevant sections of a formal application online at the University of East Anglia (UEA) with all supporting documents for a full-time PhD research degree programme at the John Innes Centre with a primary supervisor who is a Group Leader at the John Innes Centre – no separate application for an International Scholarship is required
  • Have completed the Research Statement on the application form and ensured two academic references are provided
  • Have been shortlisted by the prospective supervisor and interviewed in person or by video conference by that supervisor, another Group Leader and the Postgraduate Research Director from the John Innes Centre
  • Be in subsequent receipt of an offer of admission to register at UEA on a PhD research degree programme (other than the Rotation Programmes)
  • Be assessed as Overseas for UEA lab-based postgraduate research tuition fee purposes
  • Not hold any other source of funding that will cover the cost of the Overseas tuition fee

Evaluation

All PhD applications within a calendar year that are eligible for the International Scholarship Scheme will be identified.

By March at the latest of the following calendar year, all candidates that meet the criteria above will be automatically considered by a selection committee comprising senior academic members of the John Innes Centre.

Eligible candidates who have already registered for their postgraduate degree before the committee convene remain eligible for a Scholarship.

The committee will select one candidate, based on academic merit and research potential, who will be made a Scholarship offer and notified by email by 1 May following the committee meeting.

Students need to meet all conditions of admission to the UEA before both admission and receipt of the Scholarship.

If no candidate is judged to be of sufficient merit, no Scholarship shall be awarded.

Due to the volume of applications we receive, we are unable to contact unsuccessful applicants individually or provide feedback. Therefore, candidates who do not hear from us by 1 May can assume that they will not be offered a scholarship.

Note, we review our scholarships from time to time. Applicants should check this page to ensure they are aware of current eligibility criteria, procedures, and deadlines etc., at the time of their studentship application.

Testimonials

“I am a PhD student from Chad and was awarded a John Innes Centre International Scholarship. This scholarship is a great help for overseas students like myself. I have been able to stay focused on my research, and not to worry about how to pay for tuition fees.”

Cyrielle Ndougonna

“I started my PhD on an external fellowship from Monsanto’s Beachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program, but the fellowship wasn’t sufficient to cover the entirety of my overseas tuition costs. The John Innes Centre International Scholarship reduced my tuition fee to the UK/EU rate. It has taken away a lot of the stress my supervisor and I felt with regards to funding, in turn allowing me to focus on my research and make the most of the opportunity to do my PhD in a fantastic research facility like the Norwich Research Park.”

Sreya Ghosh