Reproductive Health PhD

Level: Postgraduate research

Subject: Biological, Biomedical and Life Sciences

Year of entry: 2027

Study options

Full-time
  • PhD | 3 years | Start date: multiple dates
Part-time
  • PhD | 6 years | Start date: multiple dates

Key facts

School

School of Regeneration and Repair

College

College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

Programme website
School location

Edinburgh BioQuarter

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About the degree programme

Study for a PhD in Reproductive Health at The University of Edinburgh, School of Regeneration and Repair. This postgraduate doctoral programme is hosted at the Institute for Regeneration and Repair (IRR), Centre for Reproductive Health (CRH).

Scientists and clinicians at the Institute for Regeneration and Repair (IRR) study tissue regeneration and repair to advance human health and reproductive outcomes.

The Institute for Regeneration and Repair incorporates three leading research centres: 

How will I learn?

Training is offered through seminars, presentation events, and journal clubs, alongside hands-on laboratory and research skills development provided by your supervisors, faculty, facility managers and lab support staff.

PhD students may be involved in collaborative projects that provide multidisciplinary research experience and/or promote translation into the biotechnology or clinical fields.

A range of generic and transferable skills training is provided for postgraduate students by the University and Institute.

How to apply

How you apply for your PhD will depend on how it is funded. If you wish to pursue a self-funded research degree, you will need to contact a supervisor, develop a research proposal and source your own funding.

How to find a research supervisor

IRR Research across the Institute

If you are interested in a funded PhD studentship, you need to apply. Funded PhD studentships are typically advertised via the FindaPhD platform. Application processes for funded studentships and research projects vary. Details will be clarified in adverts of advertised funded PhD projects.

Before submitting an application, please ensure you meet all the requirements to gain entry onto the programmes (including English language and minimum academic qualifications).

We encourage all applicants to submit a full application with all supporting documentation, including how you intend to fund your research degree at the earliest opportunity, following the guidance in the advertisement.

Applications are assessed by a panel who review prior and predicted academic achievements, so you should complete the application form without any omissions.

EUCLID application guidance

Applicants may discuss possible projects with potential supervisors in advance. Advertised funded PhD studentships will contain relevant contact details.

More general enquiries may be made by email to the IRR Postgraduate Administration Team:

IRRSchoolPGR@ed.ac.uk

When to apply

Applicants interested in advertised funded PhD studentships are asked to submit a full application with all supporting documentation as per the guidance and timeline explained in the advertisement.

Applicants who intend to self-fund their studies, including via their own scholarships, are asked to get in touch with potential supervisors at the earliest opportunity.

The majority of postgraduate students commence their studies on 1st October, which is the start of the academic year at The University of Edinburgh. 

Application fee

There is no fee to apply to this programme.

What you need to apply

Personal statement 

Your personal statement is an important part of your application. It will help us to decide whether you are a good match for our programme and, just as importantly, whether we feel our programme is right for you. Information about writing a personal statement can be found on the University web page linked above.

Interview

Following receipt and review of your application you may be invited for an interview. An interview panel may include your proposed supervisor(s) and various staff members affiliated with the provision of postgraduate programmes offered at IRR. A place on the PhD programme is only offered to candidates who are successful at interview.

Please note, you may be asked to present a previous research project as part of the interview. 

Interviews may be held in person or via online video call (Teams).

Apply

Select the award, duration and delivery mode you want to study. Then select the start date you want to apply for.

After you apply

Once you have applied for this programme, you will be able to track the progress of your application and accept or decline any offers.

Checking the status of your application

We will notify you by email once we have made a decision. Due to the large number of applications we receive, it might take a while until you hear from us.

Receiving our decision

What to do if you receive an offer:

Funding

Funding for postgraduate study is different to undergraduate study, and many students need to combine funding sources to pay for their studies.

Most students use a combination of the following funding to pay their tuition fees and living costs:

  • borrowing money
    • taking out a loan
    • family support
  • personal savings
  • income from work
  • employer sponsorship
  • scholarships

Explore sources of funding for postgraduate study

Fully-funded PhD studentships

IRR advertises any available fully-funded PhD studentships on the IRR website, on our social media platforms, and typically via FindaPhD. Each opportunity describes in detail the required application process and eligibility criteria. Please note that the application process will vary per project / programme. You may need to apply online, by email, or download application forms. Applications for advertised projects must name the primary supervisor and project title.

Albert McKern PhD studentships

These 3.5 year studentship programmes focus on tackling pain and distress during pregnancy, encompassing but not limited to the impacts of adverse pregnancy on the mother, fetus and subsequent generations, and how pregnancy is impacted by adverse maternal health.

Read more about the Albert McKern PhD studentships

Self-funded and externally funded study

Applying for a place on the PhD programme as self-funded or externally funded applicant:

  1. Find a research area which matches your research interests.
  2. Identify and contact potential supervisor(s) for your research interest by reviewing the IRR research group pages. A potential supervisor may indicate an interest in training you in their research group, but this does not guarantee entry onto the programme.
  3. After having contacted a potential supervisor, we will reach out to you and may request a CV and cover letter, and may invite you for an initial (online) meeting.
  4. If after review of your CV and cover letter and, where relevant, following an initial meeting, the supervisor and IRR postgraduate team wish to follow up with you, you may be invited for an interview.
  5. If successful at interview you may be offered a place on the PhD programme, and be invited to apply online via EUCLID to the relevant PhD programme, referring to the relevant supervisor within your application
  6. We will not process any applications of self-funded / self-funding candidates who have not been in touch with us, been interviewed by us, and invited to apply via EUCLID.
  7. Where requested, provide your research proposal to outline the research you would like to undertake.
  8. We do not process any applications or enquiries from applicants who do not meet the minimum requirements for postgraduate study at our University.

If you live in the UK, you may be eligible for a postgraduate loan for study from one of the UK’s governments.

You should check that your chosen programme is eligible for the funding you want to apply for.

View details: UK government loans

Search for other funding opportunities

You can find scholarships, bursaries and other funding you might be eligible for on our Scholarships and Student Funding site.

Postgraduate funding opportunities

Tuition fees

Tuition fees by award and duration

Tuition fees for full-time and part-time options are listed for one academic year.

Full-time
Part-time

Graduate discount

If you are a University of Edinburgh graduate, you will be eligible for a 10% discount on your tuition fees for this programme. You may also be eligible if you were a visiting undergraduate student.

Find out how to receive your graduate discount

Costs

Additional programme costs

In addition to tuition fees, your programme may be subject to additional programme costs. These would contribute to the costs of conducting your research project, and may include aspects such as:

  • research consumables and model systems
  • data access/linkage
  • facility access charges 
  • fieldwork costs
  • computing resources
  • essential travel and subsistence

You should discuss with your supervisor how these costs would be paid and ascertain if these costs are covered by your funding scheme/scholarship or if there are any additional costs you need to cover.

Estimated costs could range between £5,000 and £30,000 per year (pro-rata).

Accommodation and living costs

You will need to pay for your accommodation and living costs (such as rent, food and utility bills) for the duration of your programme.

For 2026-2027, we estimate that it will cost an average of £18,504 each year (£1,542 each month) to live in Edinburgh as a postgraduate.

The exact amount you spend will depend on different factors, especially the accommodation you choose.

Living costs: estimates explained 

These entry requirements are for the 2027-28 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2028-29 academic year will be published in early Oct 2027.

Qualifications

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a relevant biological or biomedical sciences field, or a medical or veterinary degree. 

International equivalent qualifications

To find international equivalent qualifications, select where you studied from the country or region list.

English language requirements

You must prove that your English language abilities are at a high enough level to study this degree programme.

This is the case for all applicants, including UK nationals.

You can meet our English language requirements with one of the following:

  • an English language test (restrictions apply)
  • a degree that was taught and assessed in English (restrictions apply)
  • certain professional qualifications

English language tests we accept

We accept any of the following English language tests, at the specified grade or higher:

  • IELTS Academic: total 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition) before 21 January 2026: total 92 with 23 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition) from 21 January 2026: total 4.5 with at least 4.5 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 176 with at least 169 in each component.
  • Oxford ELLT: total 7 with at least 6 in each component. We do not accept Oxford ELLT Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
  • Oxford Test of English Advanced: total 145 with at least 135 in each component.
How old your English language tests can be
Tests no more than two years old

The following English language tests must be no more than two years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts, regardless of your nationality:

  • IELTS Academic
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition)
  • Oxford ELLT
  • Oxford Test of English Advanced
Tests no more than three and a half years old

All other English language tests must be no more than three and a half years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts, regardless of your nationality.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English-speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration.

UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English-speaking countries (non-MESC).

Approved universities in non-MESC

How old your degree can be

If you are not a national of a majority English-speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts.

This time limit does not apply to your degree if you are a national of a majority English-speaking country.

Find out more about our English language requirements

Find out about other English language qualifications we accept, including professional qualifications.

English language requirements

Research profile

The Institute for Regeneration and Repair (IRR) seeks to understand stem cell biology, inflammation and disease to develop new therapies to heal damaged tissues and improve reproductive outcomes. 

IRR's purpose is to help people live longer, healthier lives by understanding how organs are formed, what happens when they are damaged, and how we can repair them.   

Our work is interdisciplinary across regenerative medicine, inflammation and reproductive health. We are bold, innovative and dedicated to translating our research into new treatments that benefit patients. 

IRR is a research institute incorporating the world-leading Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM), Centre for Inflammation Research (CIR) and Centre for Reproductive Health (CRH). It is located on the Edinburgh BioQuarter site.

Repairing damage by disease and injury

Clinicians and scientists at IRR study major diseases, including: 

  • cancer
  • heart and lung disease
  • liver failure
  • diabetes
  • multiple sclerosis
  • Parkinson's
  • reproductive health

We are currently undertaking a cell therapy clinical trial for liver cirrhosis. We bring together stem cell biology, regenerative medicine, reproductive sciences, developmental biology and matrix and inflammation biology to understand and promote tissue regeneration and repair.

Translation to therapies

With its proximity to an NHS teaching hospital, top class clinical research facilities, business bio-incubator Nine Edinburgh BioQuarter, and an integrated Cell Therapy facility, IRR is ideally placed to develop new regenerative therapies to repair tissue damage caused by disease and injury. 

IRR is housed in two state-of-the-art research buildings with capacity for over 1,000 staff and students, IRR North (opened in 2012) and IRR South (opened in 2024).

What is tissue regeneration and repair?

Our researchers seek to understand the mechanisms controlling tissue regeneration (the restoration of normal tissue architecture and function) and repair (adaptation of a tissue after injury without exact replacement of lost tissue) and exploit this understanding to promote the healing of damaged tissues caused by disease and injury.

Interdisciplinary institute

IRR is a cross-College institute, with staff and students from the School of Regeneration and Repair (College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine) and the Schools of Biological Sciences and Chemistry (College of Science and Engineering). 

Centre for Reproductive Health

The CRH is an interdisciplinary research and teaching hub, bringing together internationally renowned scientists and clinicians to push the boundaries of knowledge in reproductive biology and its practical applications in medicine.

The Centre’s research themes are broadly captured under the following three themes:

  • Gonadal health and fertility, including fertility and its preservation, gonadal development and function, and germ cells, gametes and embryos.
  • Pregnancy and early life, including maternal health and disease in pregnancy, perinatal determinants of child health, developmental programming of life course health.
  • Translational gynaecology, including abnormal uterine bleeding, endometriosis and pelvic pain, gynaecologic and breast cancer, sexual and reproductive health.

Find out more about the Centre of Reproductive Health's research themes:

Our research community

You will be embedded in the postgraduate student community at the Institute and welcomed onto the programme during our student welcome events at the start of the academic year. You can also take part in Welcome Week activities organised by the College and the wider university.

From the start of the programme, there will be strong connections with other Postgraduate Research students at IRR and wider University. 

IRR and other institutes on the campus run several seminar series which provide excellent opportunities to attend talks on a wide range of topics to further your academic knowledge and reflect about personal research interests and your career direction. The seminars provide theoretical background in a variety of areas relating to reproductive health, including developmental biology, reproductive sciences,  tissue repair, pluripotent and tissue stem cell biology, degeneration and regeneration of adult tissues, genetic engineering and bioinformatics.

The CRH has close links with other internationally recognised research centres at The University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh BioQuarter, including:

  • the Clinical Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
  • the Simpson’s Centre for Reproductive Health
  • other research centres on the same Edinburgh Royal Infirmary site and elsewhere in Edinburgh

Many student projects are organised within and between these centres, reflecting the interdisciplinary research environment, where students and trainees are regarded as the ‘lifeblood’ for the future.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

The Institute for Regeneration and Repair (IRR) is dedicated to cultivating an inclusive and supportive research culture that draws upon the diverse perspectives of all its members. We align our efforts with the University of Edinburgh's research culture action plans and policies to ensure that well-being, equality, diversity, and inclusion are at the forefront of our activities.

Our commitment involves supporting every colleague, recognising the unique contributions each individual brings to our community. We actively promote an environment where all voices are heard and valued, encouraging collaboration and innovation.

To achieve our goals, we uphold principles of integrity, consideration, and respect, following the University of Edinburgh’s Behaviour Charter. We believe that a respectful and principled approach fosters a positive and productive research environment, enhancing the overall impact of our work.

The University of Edinburgh’s Behaviour Charter

By prioritising these values, IRR not only aims to advance scientific research but also to create a workplace where everyone feels empowered and engaged. Through ongoing reflection and adaptation, we strive to continuously improve our practices and support a thriving academic community.

Programme structure

In addition to the research project, you will participate in and attend in a number of activities, including:

  • regular lab meetings of your research group
  • internal seminars
  • external seminars
  • Journal Club
  • poster presentations
  • research presentations
  • away day or science retreat

This programme does not amount to specific training to become a clinical embryologist.

How will I learn?

Training is offered through seminars, presentation events, and journal clubs, alongside hands-on laboratory and research skills development provided by your supervisors, faculty, and lab support staff.

PhD students may be involved in collaborative projects that provide cross-disciplinary experience and/or promote translation into the biotechnology or clinical fields.

The University also provides generic and transferable skills training for postgraduate students.

Facilities

The Centre for Reproductive Health is housed in the new, state-of-the art Institute for Regeneration and Repair (IRR). IRR provides high quality research facilities managed by specialist facility staff and can be operated by users following comprehensive training.

Laboratory and scientific research skills training will be provided to you by your supervisory team.

You can take advantage of specialist training provided by researchers and facility managers at the Institute for Regeneration and Repair and the wider University, covering key technologies including:

  • bioinformatics
  • flow cytometry
  • imaging
  • multiomics
  • statistics.

The University also provides generic and transferable skills training. 

IRR core technologies

IRR has a range of dedicated research facilities that offer core technologies, including those listed below. Bespoke training is provided by facility managers and support staff.

Careers Service

Our Careers Service can help you to fully develop your potential and achieve your future goals. 

The Careers Service supports you not only while you are studying at the University, but also for up to two years after you finish your studies. 

With the Careers Service, you can: 

  • access digital resources to help you understand your skills and strengths
  • try different types of experiences and reflect on how and what you develop
  • get help finding work, including part-time jobs, vacation work, internships and graduate jobs
  • attend careers events and practice interviews
  • get information and advice to help you make informed decisions 

Visit the Careers Service website 

Accommodation

We guarantee an offer of University accommodation for all new, single postgraduate taught students from outside the UK and new, single postgraduate research (typically PhD) students who:

  • apply for accommodation by 31 July in the year when you start your programme
  • accept an unconditional firm offer to study at the University by 31 July
  • study at the University for the whole of the academic year starting in September

University accommodation website

Accommodation guarantee criteria

We also offer accommodation options for couples and families.

Accommodation for couples and families

If you prefer to live elsewhere, we can offer you advice on finding accommodation in Edinburgh.

Accommodation information from the Edinburgh University Students' Association Advice Place

Societies and clubs

Our societies and sports clubs will help you develop your interests, meet like-minded people, find a new hobby or simply socialise.

Societies

Sport Clubs

IRR community and wellbeing initiatives

The Institute for Regeneration and Repair (IRR) is committed to creating a supportive and nurturing environment for its staff and students. By focusing on community building and enhancing workplace health and wellbeing, IRR aims to become the best place to work and study.

Key activities include wellbeing walks, gardening, yoga sessions, coffee mornings, sustainability initiatives, and the People and Culture Forum.

The city of Edinburgh

Scotland's inspiring capital will form the background to your studies — a city with an irresistible blend of history, natural beauty and modern city life. 

Find out more about living in Edinburgh

Health and wellbeing support

You will have access to free health and wellbeing services throughout your time at university if you need them.

The support services we offer include: 

  • a student counselling service
  • a health centre (doctor's surgery)
  • support if you're living in University accommodation
  • dedicated help and support if you have a disability or need adjustments

Health and wellbeing support services 

Disability and Learning Support

Academic contact

School of Regeneration and Repair

Centre for Reproductive Health

Postgraduate Administration

Contact details

Address

Institute for Regeneration and Repair
Edinburgh BioQuarter
5 Little France Drive
Edinburgh
EH16 4UU

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