Medical Informatics PhD

You will be integrated within the existing student-led approach at the Usher Institute, where structures are already in place to ensure a high-quality student experience.

The Usher Institute has a thriving PhD community with well-developed management and administrative structures.

University Quality Assurance monitoring and reporting processes will be adhered to. All supervisors will satisfy University requirements in terms of training and mentoring.

Expectations of students, including assessment guidelines, will be clearly communicated by multiple channels (e.g. at interview, during induction, in the Postgraduate Researcher handbook, by supervisors, at annual review meetings and on relevant web pages). All students will have at least two supervisors who will also give pastoral care and career advice in addition to student services provision.

You will attend appropriate training, including transferable skills, at appropriate courses (e.g. from the Institute of Academic Development) identified in consultation with the supervisors.

The Centre for Medical Informatics is well-placed to be a lead in Medical Informatics and Data Intensive Research and is located in the Usher Building at the Edinburgh Bioquarter.

Scotland is in a leading position to exploit health data and is uniquely placed in having high quality linkable datasets optimised for research purposes. These data are also key to the development of commercially exploitable know-how and intellectual property.

These entry requirements are for the 2025/26 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2026/27 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2025.

A UK 2:1 honours degree and a UK masters degree, or their international equivalents. We will also consider a UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, and significant work experience in an area relevant to your research project.

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency which 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 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 92 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 176 with at least 169 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE II with distinctions in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 65 with at least 59 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
• Oxford ELLT: 7 overall with at least 6 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:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

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).

• Approved universities in 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.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

Academic Technology Approval Scheme

If you are not an EU, EEA or Swiss national, you may need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme clearance certificate in order to study this programme.

• Academic Technology Approval Scheme

Tuition fees

Award	Title	Duration	Study mode
PhD	Medical Informatics	3 Years	Full-time	Tuition fees
PhD	Medical Informatics	6 Years	Part-time	Tuition fees

Funding for postgraduate study is different to undergraduate study, and many students need to combine funding sources to pay for their studies.

Most students use a combination of the following funding to pay their tuition fees and living costs:

• borrowing money

  • taking out a loan

  • family support

• personal savings

• income from work

• employer sponsorship

• scholarships

Explore sources of funding for postgraduate study

Featured funding

• Usher Institute: postgraduate funding and scholarships

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK's governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

• your programme
• the duration of your studies
• your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

• UK government and other external funding

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding