The Christopher Welch Scholarship in Biological Sciences

Christopher Welch Scholarships in Biological Sciences have been founded thanks to the bequest received in 1915 under the will of the late Christopher Welch, M.A., of Wadham College.

With the first award being made in 1918, they have a long and distinguished history and impressive legacy. Previous Christopher Welch Scholars include eminent researchers and scientists many of whom received national and international recognition for their contributions to science (including Nobel Prizes).

Brief history of Christopher Welch Scholarships

Current Christopher Welch Scholarships holders

Year	Name	Department	College
2019	Samvid Kurlekar	Clinical Medicine	Magdalen
2018	n/a	funding not available	n/a
2017	James Kempton	Zoology	Merton
2016	Aleksandar Ivanov	Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics	St John’s
2015	Joe Frost	Radcliffe Department of Medicine	Wolfson

Scholarship value

At present, Christopher Welch Scholarships offer:

payment of fees at the rate for “Home/EU” students
a maintenance grant (currently £17,000 pa in years 1, 2, and 3 and £8,500 in year 4)
Research Support Grant of £5,000 per annum in years 1, 2 and 3

No person may be awarded a scholarship a second time.

Eligibility

Christopher Welch Scholarships were established to promote the study of biology therefore to be eligible for the award candidates must have applied to the University for admission for postgraduate study normally in one of the following departments:

Medical Sciences Division

MPLS Division

How to apply

Scholarship application process depends on which of the above departments the candidates applied to (for further details follow the appropriate link below):

Decision process

Eligible departments will be able to nominate the following number of their top-ranked candidates:

Biochemistry	2
Clinical Departments	4 highest ranked from all applications submitted to Clinical Departments (as scored by the Graduate School Studentship Competition Panel)
Experimental Psychology	1
Pharmacology	1
Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics	2
Plant Sciences	2
William Dunn School of Pathology	1
Zoology	2

On receipt of eligible applications, Members of the Christopher Welch Board of Management will shortlist a number of candidates who will be invited to attend a 30-minute interview consisting of:

15 minute presentation about a research project already undertaken
15 minute questions time devoted to discussion of points raised in the presentation (candidates should be prepared to discuss the project they present in the context of broader science and they will also be asked about the proposed research to be carried out during the scholarship)

Contact

Aga Bush