Funding Sources
Clinician Researcher Credentials Framework Bursaries
Regulated health and care professionals can apply to the NIHR for course fee bursaries for courses aligned with the Clinician Researcher Credentials Framework. Details of these bursaries are provided below.
If you do not meet the eligibility criteria for the regulated health and care professional bursaries, there is more information below about alternative funding options you can explore. If there are any updates about bursaries for other professions we will update this page. You can also register for updates about the Clinician Researcher Credentials Framework, including bursary information by completing this form.
Regulated Health and Care Professionals
Regulated health and care professionals can apply for one to three years of funding to complete a Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or Master’s Degree starting in the academic year 2024/25. Funding cannot be deferred to a future academic year and funding for any subsequent years will be conditional upon meeting the requirements to complete the next stage. No funding will be available to retake any component of the course.
Eligibility criteria for bursary applications
Applicants must be a regulated health and care professional. The adopted definition of health and care professionals are those regulated healthcare professionals, excluding doctors and dentists, who are currently registered with one of the national regulatory bodies, including:
Nursing and Midwifery Council
Health and Care Professions Council
General Dental Council
General Medical Council
General Optical Council
General Osteopathic Council
General Chiropractic Council
General Pharmaceutical Council
Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland.
Bursary recipients MUST have a course offer from one of the universities who provide courses aligned with the Clinician Researcher Credentials Framework. You should therefore apply for the course/s you wish to study before you apply for a bursary. If you are applying to more than one university, you will be asked to rank the universities to which you have applied in order of preference.
Applicants must have worked in the NHS or a publicly funded healthcare setting in England for at least 2 years.
Applicants must agree to share the information provided on the bursary application form with the universities delivering courses aligned with the Clinician Researcher Credentials Framework and anonymised details with the bursary selection panel.
Bursary recipients must permit the NIHR to contact them about their experiences of the course and their ongoing career development for up to 5 years post completion of the course.
Applicants must have their employer’s support to undertake the course they are requesting a bursary for.
Prioritisation criteria
If there are more eligible applicants than there are funds available to award bursaries, the NIHR will use the following information from the bursary application form to prioritise who should receive bursaries. Where it is possible to do so, we will:
Prioritise applicants who are currently studying or who have already achieved a qualification aligned with the Clinician Researcher Credentials Framework.
Include a range of professions.
Maximise bursary recipients from areas of clinical research skills shortages.
Prioritise applicants from geographical areas currently underserved by clinical research in their clinical speciality.
Prioritise applicants with more than 2 years' clinical experience.
Application form
Regulated health and care professionals can apply for a bursary using this bursary application form. Applicants can only submit one bursary application for the academic year 2024/25.
The form includes the following questions, each with a 250 maximum word limit. You may therefore want to consider how to answer these questions before you complete the form.
Please explain briefly how completing this course will enhance your career/role in clinical research delivery.
To what extent is your clinical specialty identified as an area of clinical research skills shortages?
To what extent is your local area currently underserved by clinical research in your clinical specialty, and how will your access to bursary funding impact this?
Award process
Bursary funding will be awarded following assessment by a panel, taking into consideration the information included in the bursary application form. Priority will be given to applicants who score most highly in key areas as determined by the funding provider (please see the Prioritisation criteria section for further details).
The highest ranking applicants will be awarded bursaries and remaining high ranking applicants will be put on a reserve list. Those on the reserve list will be contacted should additional or re-allocated funding become available following the bursary award process.
The deadline for completion of the bursary application form is 11:59 BST on Thursday 01 August 2024.
Outcomes of bursary applications will be notified to applicants as follows:
Postgraduate Certificate applicants - week commencing 19 August 2024
Postgraduate Diploma/Master’s applicants - week commencing 09 September 2024
The notification will be sent by the applicant’s highest preference university that they are eligible to study with.
Employing Organisations
Continual Professional Development funding can often be sourced locally via employing organisations. Speak to your line manager in the first instance.
Profession-Specific Funding
Continual Professional Development funding can often be sourced via professional bodies. Contact your professional body for further information.
Higher Education Institution-Specific Funding/Discounts
Each of the institutions delivering the qualifications offer specific funding and discounts that could help you, we have linked the information below.
Government Funding
A Postgraduate Loan can help with course fees and living costs while you study a postgraduate course. If you are a student from England, please visit the Gov.uk website for further information.
Disabled Students’ Allowances are also available to cover the study-related costs students have because of a mental health problem, long term illness or any other disability. If you are a student from England, please visit the Gov.uk website for further information.
Philanthropy, Charities and Trusts
Other organisations provide funding for university courses. You can search for details of charitable trusts and other organisations who provide funding using the links below:
Commercial Companies
Some commercial organisations provide funding for university courses. These include pharmaceutical companies, or other companies related to specialist areas of medicine.
