How to Pursue a Research Degree or Explore Research Areas at BSMS

Updated

Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) offers two main routes into research: applying for a research degree (including PhD opportunities) and entering clinical academic postgraduate training. You can explore the school's research areas and centres before applying to check the fit with your interests. The steps below cover how to find the right area, where to apply, and what to verify on the site.

Research degree routes

BSMS lists PhD opportunities and a separate Applying for a research degree page under its Research degrees section. The site also lists Clinical Academic postgraduate training as a distinct path, which is relevant if you are a clinician aiming to combine clinical work with research.

Route Where it sits on the site Best for
PhD opportunities Research → Research degrees Prospective doctoral students looking for available projects
Applying for a research degree Research → Research degrees Anyone ready to submit an application and needing process details
Clinical Academic postgraduate training Research → Research degrees Clinicians combining clinical training with research

Step-by-step: from interest to application

  1. Identify your research area. Browse the Research areas list (see the next section) and note one or two that match your background.
  2. Check the relevant centre or unit. Many areas are organised under named centres (for example, the Centre for Dementia Studies or the Centre of Infection and Antimicrobial Research). Confirm the centre's focus matches your topic.
  3. Open the PhD opportunities page. Review the listed projects and their stated requirements.
  4. Read the "Applying for a research degree" page. This is where BSMS sets out its application process; follow it rather than a generic university route.
  5. Confirm funding and entry details directly. The site's excerpt does not state fees or funding for research degrees, so check the relevant page before relying on any assumption.

Expected result: you should end up with a named research area, a specific centre or supervisor group, and the correct application page for your route.

Main research areas at BSMS

The site groups research into broad areas, each with sub-topics:

  • Clinical and experimental medicine — includes ageing and frailty, cancer, inflammatory disease and immunity, clinical medicine, paediatrics, personalised medicine and RNA biology, and theoretical and empirical bioethics.
  • Global health and infection — supported by the NIHR Global Health Research Unit for NTDs, the NIHR 5S Foundation, the Centre for Equitable Global Health Research, and the Centre of Infection and Antimicrobial Research.
  • Medical education — includes technology enhanced learning.
  • Clinical neuroscience.
  • Primary care and public health — includes the Centre for Dementia Studies, Time for Autism, and Time for Dementia.

Research centres and units to look for

If you want a named group to approach, the site explicitly lists:

  • NIHR Global Health Research Unit for NTDs
  • NIHR 5S Foundation
  • Centre for Equitable Global Health Research
  • Centre of Infection and Antimicrobial Research
  • Centre for Dementia Studies

Practical checks before you apply

  • Match the route to your status. Clinical Academic postgraduate training is a separate listing from PhD opportunities; pick the one that reflects whether you already hold a clinical role.
  • Use the site's own application page. The "Applying for a research degree" page is the authoritative source for process steps; the excerpt here does not reproduce them.
  • Verify funding separately. No fees or funding figures for research degrees appear in the available page evidence, so confirm them on the relevant BSMS page before applying.
  • Cross-check with the postgraduate taught listings if you are undecided. BSMS also lists taught postgraduate degrees and continuing professional development (CPD) options, which may suit you if a full research degree is not yet the right step.