Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Digital Health and Care, University of Bristol

About the Centre

The future of Health is Digital – we urgently need new technologies for understanding, preventing, diagnosing and managing illnesses that affect millions of people, such as diabetes, depression and dementia.

This unique, multidisciplinary, fully funded PhD brings together students from health and life sciences, computer science, design and engineering on a four year programme at the University of Bristol.

Join us to become part of a new generation of innovators involved in building and developing apps, wearables, smart homes and other digital technologies.

CDT students combine technological depth with a broad appreciation of the health landscape and patients’ needs, with an eye to the business and technological models that underpin adoption. They learn how to balance ambition to accelerate innovation with a principled commitment to ethics, inclusivity, regulation, data security and privacy will provide the foundations needed to build the next generation of digital health.

Applications are now closed for 2023/2024.

Fully Funded Studentships available

Applicants must hold/achieve a minimum of an upper-second class honours degree (or international equivalent) in a relevant discipline. This can be EITHER a STEM-related discipline OR a health-related discipline.

Enhanced EPSRC tax-free studentships covering fees and living costs are available to UK and Overseas students (subject to eligibility requirements. See the EPSRC website for more information). We offer the UKRI minimum stipend plus £3,000. In 22/23 this was £20,868 per annum.

All applicants are considered on an equal basis in line with the University’s Equality and Diversity Policy.

We welcome applications from all members of our community and are particularly encouraging those from diverse groups, such as members of the LGBT+ and BAME communities, to join our cohort.

For more information, see our website or contact enquiries-dhcdt@bristol.ac.uk.

Programme details

Our unique Centre is housed in a purpose-built, newly refurbished lab space adjacent to Bristol Cathedral. The taught first year will provide you with a unique foundation in the rapidly-moving field of digital health. The course is specially designed to cross disciplines: students from engineering/computer sciences and technical backgrounds will be introduced to relevant aspects of health, while students from a health-related background will be introduced to coding, data analysis and e-health. You will come together to work on real-world digital health problems, leveraging varied expertise from across the cohort.

Students will have the opportunity to develop potential supervisory relationships with more than 20 external partners in the programme – including charities, community groups, small health start-ups, large technology companies, healthcare delivery organisations and multi-national pharmaceutical companies. The Centre partner organisations include Microsoft Research, Arm, Pfizer, Toshiba and AstraZeneca.

After their first year, our students undertake a three-year research project, supervised by an interdisciplinary team formed from our supervisory network of over 100 academics across four Bristol faculties, and in close collaboration with one or more external partners. These projects make use of expertise and facilities supported by some £30M of digital health research at the University since 2013.

Applications are now closed for 2023/2024.