Mental Health
Research UK
The first UK charity dedicated to raising funds for research into mental illnesses, their causes and cures.
Donate NowSince 2008, we have ...
Funding
Mental Health Research UK aims to make a significant improvement to the lives of people with mental illness, by funding research into causes and cures. We know it is often challenging to find resources to support PhD studentships and that is why we focus our funding on these awards, supporting mental health researchers of the future.
Although only registered with the Charity Commission in 2008, Mental Health Research UK has already made research awards; the first being funded jointly with the University of Nottingham.
Select the sub-headings below to learn more ...
We fund research into:
- The underlying causes of mental ill health
- Treatments for mental health problems
We do not fund research into autism or dementia. Nor do we fund research that involves laboratory animals.
We fund a number of PhD scholarships each year. We set the broad research themes, and invite universities to submit proposals for research which aligns with these themes.
We only accept applications from prospective supervisors based in UK unviersities. We do not accept applications directly from students; if you are a student interested in one of our scholarships, you should talk to your supervisor about submitting an application.
When a university's application has been sucessful, we then support the supervisor in recruiting a PhD student.
Mental Health Research UK has one competitive round of PhD scholarship awards per year, launched in the spring, for submission in May, with decisions made in the autumn to start the following year. The annual timeline is as follows:
- March: Scholarships are advertised via our mailing list and listed on our website.
- Mid-May: Closing date for applications.
- July: The panel meets and shortlists applications. Those not shortlisted are informed at once. References and service user reports are organized.
- September: Deadline for the receipt of references and service user reports.
- Late September: The panel meets and selects applicants to be offered a scholarship.
- October: All applicants are notified of the outcome of their application by the end of the month.
Mental Health Research UK makes research awards focusing on research into the causes of, or cures for, mental illnesses.
The specific research topics of interest are selected year-on-year by the Trustees. However, the Schizophrenia Research Fund John Grace QC PhD Scholarship award always focuses on Schizophrenia.
Our awards cover fees and stipend only and are based on the Medical Research Council’s minimum stipend and fees for UK students, currently as follows:
2024/25 stipend: Outside London: £20,780; Inside London: £22,780
2024/25 fees: £5,006
Funding will cease at 4 years or on submission of the PhD thesis, whichever is earlier.
The fourth year is regarded as a ‘writing up’ year and the grant will be the stipend and thesis fee only.
In the event of early submission, a brief application to retain the student for the remainder of the period within the total cost envelope will be considered. College fees will be considered, where advertised by the university as being in addition to the tuition fee.
Mental Health Research UK will consider a small grant towards travel and conference allowances, where the student is presenting, subject to prior approval. No contribution will be made towards Research Training and Support grants.
If your university fees or stipend are different from the above, we will consider these provided you advise us with your application.
Applications for our awards need to come from UK universities. Research supervisors must be based at UK universities.
We accept one application per scholarship award from any one university. A university may apply for more than one scholarship if they wish.
Please note that we do not accept any requests for funding from individuals, including current PhD students.
Best practice will be followed to ensure that service users and carers are involved at all stages with the prioritization of research topics and the commissioning of research.
All research project applications will be peer-reviewed by service user reviewers as well as academic reviewers.
Mental Health Research UK is a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research Delivery Network (RDN) non-commercial Partner. This means the studies that we fund may be eligible to access the NIHR Study Support Service which is provided by the NIHR Research Delivery Network. The NIHR Research Delivery Network can now support health and social care research taking place in non-NHS settings, such as studies running in care homes or hospices, or public health research taking place in schools and other community settings. Read the full policy: Eligibility Criteria for NIHR Research Delivery Network. In partnership with your local R&D office, we encourage MHRUK award holders to involve your local NIHR Research Delivery Network team in discussions as early as possible when planning your study. This will enable you to fully benefit from the support available through the NIHR Study Support Service.
If your study involves NHS sites in England or Wales you will need to apply for Health Research Authority (HRA) and Health and Care Research Wales (HCRW) Approval.
Open Access publication of research results
This information is for our current scholars.
Mental Health Research UK encourages open access publication of research results. Students or their supervisors must first apply to their university or department to cover the cost of publication. When the university is not willing to pay for open access publication, and the student can provide documentary evidence of this, we will pay a contribution as follows:
For single-author papers (authored solely by the MHRUK scholar) we will pay the full costs.
For multi-author papers where the scholar is one author, we will pay a proportion of the cost depending on the number of authors: 50% for a paper with 2 authors, 33% for 3 authors, and so on.
Applications for funding must be made to the MHRUK administrator in advance – retrospective requests will not be considered. Applications should be made using this form.
We will consider one open access journal publication fee per student per year. This cannot be carried forward to a subsequent year.
PhD Competition 2027
Mental Health Research UK (incorporating the Schizophrenia Research Fund) is pleased to invite applications for our 2027 PhD scholarship competition. This round will lead to PhD students being appointed to take up a place in the 2027/2028 academic year. We are delighted to announce that this year we are looking to award four scholarships. As usual we accept only one application per scholarship per institution.
Please note that MHRUK does not fund: health services research; research into autism; or research that involves animals.
Karen Menzies MHRUK PhD scholarship: Developing and validating novel biomarkers for schizophrenia and related psychotic conditions
Current schizophrenia diagnoses do not define biologically distinct conditions, are highly heterogenous and do not aid targeted treatment pathways. Recent advances in genetics, imaging and blood biomarkers offer promise.
We are keen to receive applications from teams leading research into biomarkers for schizophrenia and related psychotic conditions which will benefit people with these conditions, their families, and those working in mental health care.
This PhD scholarship is funded in memory of Karen Menzies who had an interest in genetic conditions and fundamental research that would one day transform the lives of those affected by schizophrenia.
Application form Application guidelinesKaren Menzies MHRUK PhD scholarship: Childhood neuro-developmental antecedents for schizophrenia and related psychotic conditions
The literature describing these antecedents is already strong.
We are keen to receive applications from teams seeking to gain mechanistic insights to drive forward understanding, and thus treatment and support. We are also interested in the potential for targeted prevention in neurodevelopmental high-risk groups.
This PhD scholarship is funded in memory of Karen Menzies who had an interest in genetic conditions and fundamental research that would one day transform the lives of those affected by schizophrenia.
Application form Application guidelinesJohn Grace QC MHRUK PhD scholarship: Antecedents, causal factors, clinical characteristics, treatments and outcomes of peri-menopausal first-onset psychosis and related psychotic conditions
Women's health research is underfunded. Menopause is a recognised transition phase which adversely impacts mental health. More recently, peri-menopause is an emerging area of concern for first-onset psychosis and related conditions. We are keen to fund research that will lead to progress in this important area, feeding into greater recognition, understanding and treatment.
This PhD scholarship is funded in memory of John Grace QC, one of the founders of MHRUK.
Application form Application guidelinesClair Chilvers MHRUK PhD scholarship: Risks, benefits and opportunities of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in mental health care
We are interested in developing the evidence base around the use of AI in mental health care (risks, benefits, opportunities and concerns). For example, this might include diagnostic support, AI-based therapy tools (e.g. chatbots, large language models), and real-time monitoring through mobile and wearable technologies. We will consider proposals that cover any area of mental health and are particularly interested in collaborations between established AI scientists and mental health researchers. We are also interested in the potential impacts of AI tools on marginalised communities, youth mental health and the use of social media in mental health care.
Please note that we do not fund health services research.
This PhD scholarship is funded in memory of Professor Clair Chilvers, one of the founders of MHRUK.
Application form Application guidelinesWe invite applications from UK universities for these scholarships. The deadline for applications is midnight on Friday 29th May 2026.
The full terms and conditions can be found here.
If you have any queries regarding the application process, please read the guidance above and check our FAQs document. If this does not provide the information that you need, please contact applications@mentalhealthresearchuk.org.uk.
Applications must come from prospective supervisors or supervision teams within UK universities, not from students. Once an award has been made, the supervision team can then select a student, with support from Mental Health Research UK trustees.
Please note that for each individual scholarship we can accept only one application per university. A university may apply for more than one scholarship if they wish.
