Overview

Funding your PhD

The 1851 Royal Commission’s Industrial Fellowships provide up to £100,000 in funding to support graduates (science, engineering, medicine, design) in pursuing a PhD while working in industry.

This unique scheme allows companies to co-create a bespoke research project aligned with their innovation goals, while Fellows gain academic and industrial expertise to accelerate their careers. They offer everything that a conventional PhD does, at a lower cost to companies looking to undertake their own R&D.

How is the funding delivered?
For industry employed Fellows, the company makes claims for reimbursement from the Commission every October and April for the salary package, tuition fees, and other types of expenditure (travel, conferences, course fees etc).

Applications are open

Deadline: 10 February 12pm 2027
Interviews: 23 March 2027 (online)
Fellowship Commences: October 2027

We encourage those interested in applying to get in touch with our team, who can answer questions and offer advise about the process.

Email Helen Harris, Fellowship Programme Manager

With our Industrial Fellowships, companies get the chance to craft a bespoke PhD from the ground up that supports company ambitions as well as employee interests, and forge strong links with leading academics, to share access to expertise, facilities and knowledge.

PhD Funding

Pursue a PhD whilst working Fellows receive significant funding towards their fees and salary, enabling employers to offer exciting personal development opportunities for their brightest employees.

Company R&D

Gain new IP whilst minimising R&D costs Fellows pursue a PhD whilst working, allowing companies to conduct innovative research that furthers their business objectives, and accelerates the creation of IP, new products or processes.

Industry and Academia

Collaborative relationships Fellows and their sponsoring companies will work closely with the PhD institution, forging strong and lasting links with leading academics

2025 Fellows

Previous Industrial Fellows

  • Ridhima Raina

    A Wearable Neural Interface for Slowing Melanoma Progression

  • Chloe Verity

    Generating a Fundamental Understanding of Coatings Formulations in Aqueous Media

  • Rovena Walichchoru Evayage

    Engineering Plant Immune Receptors for Durable Resistance to Necrotrophic Pathogens

  • Toby Hodges

    Next Generation CO2 Electrolyser: Enabling stable operation through understanding catalyst-ionomer interactions

  • Susannah Krzyzanowski

    Developing quantitative MRI to improve diagnosis, understanding, monitoring and treatment of superficial siderosis

  • Jacob Simms

    Development of Peptidomimetic Antibody-Drug Conjugate Linkers for Improved Target Specificity and Plasma Stability

  • Rhianne Henderson

    A Wearable Neural Interface for Slowing Melanoma Progression

  • Sonia Higginson

    Beyond Plastic: Innovating Next-Generation Natural Barrier Coatings for Paper Packaging

  • Joshua Ellingford

    Advancing Low Temperature Thin Film Deposition

  • Morgan Bates

    Development of Self-Sensing Adhesive Materials for Predictive Maintenance in AI Hardware

  • Oscar Berger

    Protein Nanocomposites Derived from Waste Spent Grain, and their Application in Novel Biodegradable Devices