Anatomical Sciences (Biomedical Sciences) PhD

You will be locally supported by a well-established team of academic anatomists and technical support staff who have many years’ experience of mentoring PhD students working across a variety of research projects. Your research will be carried out under the supervision of an academic staff member (your ‘primary’ supervisor). In addition, you will be assigned a personal PhD thesis committee comprising your primary supervisor, one or more assistant supervisors and another academic staff member, who provide advice and mentoring, and monitor progress.

You will have the opportunity to attend training courses/events relevant to your specific research topic as well as benefiting from broader professional skills training (e.g. in data analysis, project planning, presentation, thesis writing), with the particular courses being decided in consultation with your supervisory team. There are monthly anatomy research meetings that you will be able to present at and attend (in addition to the opportunities provided by your host laboratory). There are also a variety of seminar series hosted by research centres both within the Deanery of Biomedical Sciences (which hosts the Anatomy group) and across the University that provide an ideal opportunity for postgraduates to learn about research developments across the broad span of life sciences. There are also opportunities for training and engagement in anatomy teaching and outreach.

All students are encouraged to present their findings at national and international conferences and to publish their findings, in advance of submission of their PhD theses for examination. Recent research from anatomy-based PhD students has been published in a wide variety of international journals (including Cell Reports, American Journal of Human Genetics, Neuron, Open Biology, Current Biology and Journal of Anatomy).

Find more about our teaching staff and their research interests.

• Anatomy teaching staff

You will have access to state-of-the-art laboratories and equipment to facilitate your research objectives. These are located both within the Central area campus and at the Little France campus where the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh is located. Extensive collaborations exist with the wider biomedical and clinical communities helping ensure you are supported in a world-class research environment.

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, or its international equivalent, in a relevant subject, for example in a biomedical or biological science subject.

You should have some research experience and be able to demonstrate that you have a good understanding of the field you propose to study.

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

Additional programme costs

Additional research costs will vary depending on the nature of the research project.

Tuition fees

Award	Title	Duration	Study mode
PhD	Anatomical Sciences (Biomedical Sciences)	3 Years	Full-time	Tuition fees
PhD	Anatomical Sciences (Biomedical Sciences)	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

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding