PhD applications
Applying for a PhD position
Thank you for your interest in applying for a PhD - there are a lot of excellent opportunities for starting your career in neuroscience research here at Bristol.
I receive many enquiries about how to make an application, and so I hope the following might be of some help, but do please get in touch if you have further questions.
General advice and information on applications and studentships can be found in the postgraduate prospectus.
It is always worth looking to see if there are any PhD positions currently advertised on Find-a-PhD.com. However, you may like to also make enquiries with individual departments (see below) as not all positions may be advertised. In addition, if you are able to provide or apply for your own studentship and fees, you may like to ask a researcher to supervise you as a self-funded student.
Departments where you can do a neuroscience PhD in Bristol
To apply for PhD positions it is best to contact the individual school or department and find out what their procedure is for handling applications. Each department varies in how they go about interviews, places available etc. There is a graduate tutor or secretary who will be able to provide you with information. They may have a list of PhD projects available in the department that you can then look through to see if any are in your field of interest.
Departments and groups that offer neuroscience PhDs in Bristol include
- Biological Sciences
- Biochemistry
- Cellular and Molecular Medicine
- Experimental Psychology
- The Laboratories of Integrative Neurosciences and Endocrinology (LINE)
- MRC Centre for Synaptic Plasticity
- Institute for Clinical Neurosciences
- Physiology and Pharmacology
- Psychiatry
You can find all their contact details listed on the BN groups webpage.
Contacting research group leaders
It is often also a good idea to approach an individual group leader to ask about doing a PhD in their group.
Identify a group that is doing work you are particularly interested in, then write and / or email the group leader directly. It can be good to show your interest and enthusiasm for the work that they do in this way. The researcher may be able to offer a place, or suggest ways to apply for funding so that you can do PhD in their group, although ultimately all applications will still go via the department.
A good way to find out about groups and their research would be to search the Directory of researchers in Bristol Neuroscience. For instance, you could put in 'neurodegeneration' or 'Alzheimer's' if these are topics you wish to research.
Breadth of neuroscience research in Bristol
Do have a good look around at what all the departments and groups are doing. When it comes to a PhD in neuroscience, there are a lot of different directions you could go in and projects to choose from.
Neuroscience is particularly strong in the School of Physiology and Pharmacology. A broad range of neuroscience projects are on offer, from live imaging cell biology, to complex system-based models of cardiorespiratory control and pain. Pharmacological research includes neurotransmitter receptors, ion channels and intracellular signalling pathways, using a variety of techniques such as immunocytochemistry and electrophysiology. Check the Physiology and Pharmacology website and contact potential supervisors directly.
One of the largest groups doing neuroscience research at Bristol is the MRC Centre for Synaptic Plasticity. The Centre studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity, the basis of learning and memory. If you are interested in carrying out research in this area, please send your CV and cover letter to the MRC Centre.
Research in the School of Experimental Psychology addresses the biological basis of psychological phenomena, e.g. how tasks such as visual perception are performed by the brain and nervous system, and whether domains of functional processing map to anatomical areas of the brain.
In LINE researchers work on stress, addiction, drug abuse, depression - and more - going all the way from 'test-tube' pharmacology to human brain imaging and clinical trials.
Based in the Institute of Clinical Neurosciences are the Dementia Research Group and the Multiple Sclerosis Group. Both of these are engaged in fundamental lab-based neuroscience in order to discover more about the diseases and improve the treatments on offer through two-way translational research.
The Schools of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Biological Sciences all have groups working in neuroscience fields. Many of the topics under study are biological processes, such as membrane transport, that are universal to all cell types but which are especially relevant or specialised in nerve cells.
Find contact details of the different groups, look to see what research they do, and see where to apply to pursue your own interests in neuroscience research.
We hope that you are successful in your search for a PhD position. Good luck!