ASME PhD/Doctoral Grants 2022

The closing date for 2022 bids is 5pm, 1st November 2022. We require one electronic version of the application submitted via the online application form from the Principal Supervisor (or nominee) by 5pm on the closing date.

The studentship is expected to commence in 2023 but there would be some flexibility for the right candidate.

Please note the following:
The PhD studentship can be undertaken full or part-time.

The Principal Supervisor must be an individual ASME member at the point of application and maintain this through the duration of the grant.

At least one other member of the supervisory team must be an individual ASME member for the duration of the grant if you are awarded the funding.

The student recruited for the project is also expected to join ASME as an individual member for the duration of the grant. If you are awarded the funding this can be paid for using the post’s training budget.

We particularly welcome multi-site collaborative projects working across different medical schools.

We particularly welcome applicants from diverse and under-represented backgrounds.

The Supervisory Team should comprise of at least two individuals, covering topic and methodological expertise. They must have experience of successful supervision of doctoral students. Applications from a supervisory team spanning more than one institution, and/or discipline, are encouraged. The Principal Supervisor must have previous experience of supervising a PhD to successful completion.

Applications from a supervisory team spanning more than one instiution, and/or discipline, are encouraged.

All applications will be processed by the ASME office initially. Those which have not fulfilled the guidance will be rejected.

The remaining applications will be reviewed by at least two independent reviewers who are from different institutions from the applicants and do not hold ASME director roles. Assessors will be selected on the basis of their expertise and often look outside the UK to recruit assessors to wider the network and insights. Reviews are then collated and returned to the panel for final decision making

Applications from outside the UK will be considered but please note that funding is available at UK home student rates only, reflecting that the majority of ASME members are UK-based.  Payments should be calculated and will be made in £ sterling. The parties accept that the exchange rate on the day payments are made are agreed to. 

We have adopted the UKRI / UK Research and Innovation (formerly Research Councils UK/RCUK), terms and conditions of training grants. Please see https://www.ukri.org/manage-your-award/meeting-ukri-terms-and-conditions-for-funding 

These terms and conditions should be read in conjunction with the RCUK Statement of Expectations for Postgraduate Training. In this context, ASME equates to a Research Council. 

The successful applicant will be sent an offer letter and our PhD Funding Agreement.  Neither ASME nor the successful applicant will release details of the award outcome until the Agreement is signed by both parties and until ASME has given permission for the information to be made public. ASME will issue a press release at this stage. 

In applying for this funding, all applicants hereby confirm that they have read and agree to the attached PhD Funding Agreement. In the unlikely event that the successful applicant’s organisation wishes to request any amendments to the Agreement, that organisation (rather than ASME) will fund the legal costs of one round of Agreement amendments, if the amendments are agreed to by ASME. 

Publications and other forms of media communication, including media appearances, press releases and conferences, must acknowledge the support received from ASME. Journal publications should acknowledge the funding source using the standard format agreed by ASME and publishers.

ASME PhD students receive a fee waiver for the student to attend up to 3 ASME Annual Scholarship Meetings during the duration of their PhD, but must cover their travel and accommodation costs from their training budget. ASME PhD/Doctoral students will be expected to present their work-in-progress at the scholarship meetings they choose to attend. This may be in the form of an e-posters initially, then a parallel session or plenary oral presentation as the project nears finalisation.

PhDs by publication or thesis will be supported, depending on the host institution’s guidelines. Whichever format is followed, ASME expects the PhD student to submit, and ideally publish, their research to a high-quality journal during the funding period.

Appendix A: Assessment criteria (Expert reviewers)

Name of principal applicant:

Name of administering institution:

Name of award:

Project title:

Reviewer name (omit this if you prefer to remain anonymous):

• The applicants have considered potential issues and how to address them
• The proposed work has the potential to impact on practice and/or policy locally, nationally and internationally
• The proposed activities, timelines and milestones of the project are realistic and achievable
• The proposed work is good value for money                      
• The ethical issues for the project have been adequately considered                       
• The applicants have the necessary expertise in the relevant field             
• The applicants have the supervisory experience
• The research environment is supportive
• The applicants have provided sufficient details of the assessment and progression criteria, processes and milestones for PhD students
• The institution’s processes for the selection and recruitment of PhD students are clear
• The project has the potential to facilitate collaborations within and beyond ASME           
  
  

Total score and any additional general comments:

What were the strengths of this proposal?

What could have been improved?

Would you recommend funding?

Please download and complete this form in order to prepare to make your final application via the online application form (see Apply Now)

Applicants should read the Awards FAQ page as it may help with queries about their submission

2021

The Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME) has revealed the recipients of its 5th funded ASME PhD / Doctoral Grant. The winning research project focuses on feminist theory; exploring students’ experiences of gender bias within medical schools in the UK, using a range of methods, in order to provide recommendations to improve experiences.

Located at the University of Manchester, the project is entitled Challenging the ‘malestream’ curriculum: an exploration of gender and oppression within health professions education. Supervisors include Professor Gabrielle Finn of the University of Manchester, Dr Megan Brown of Imperial College London, and Professor Paul Tiffin of the University of York.

Becky Fisher, IST trainee in general surgery at Severn, is the PhD student who will benefit from the award.

2020

The Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME) has revealed the recipients of its 2020 ASME PhD / Doctoral Grant. This is the fourth time ASME has awarded this studentship.

Located at Edge Hill University in Lancashire, the winning project will investigate the effectiveness of personalised self-regulated learning enhanced feedback using virtual patients on clinical reasoning among early medical and physician associate students.

Supervisors include Professor John Sandars and Professor Jeremy Brown of Edge Hill University, in cooperation with Doctor Rakesh Patel and Doctor Christopher Madan at the University of Nottingham.

2019

University College London with their submisison

Stakeholders’ perceptions of the use of contextual information in selection processes by UK medical schools.

2018

The Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME) has named University College London’s (UCL) Research Department of Medical Education (RDME) the winner of its second ever doctoral grant.

The supervisory team at RDME includes Professor Dame Jane Dacre, Dr Shah-Jalal Sarker and Professor Ann Griffin. Dr Magdalen Baker – a trainee gastroenterologist – is the doctoral student who will benefit from the award. The team will study the impact and outcomes of junior doctors working part-time for the NHS as they progress and complete their training to become specialists compared to those who work full-time. The award is the second in a series of three inaugural doctoral grants announced at ASME’s 60- year anniversary in 2017. More info here

2017

The first recipient of this award was Professor Tim Dornan, Queen’s University Belfast, and his colleagues from the Universities of Southampton, UK and Western University, Canada.

They will use the funding to explore children might contribute to the education and training of doctors. Their project, “Out of the mouth of babes”, was one of many that entered for the inaugural award and, despite formidable competition, has been determined the winner.