Fully Funded Studentship 2025 in Population and Health Data Science

Are you a UK-based student passionate about tackling health challenges through data science? Swansea University has officially opened applications for a fully funded PhD studentship in Population and Health Data Science, under project code RS863.

This exciting doctoral opportunity, commencing in October 2025, is part of the prestigious CHILI Hub — a collaborative, multi-university initiative funded by the MRC and NIHR. It’s a rare chance to combine advanced statistics, machine learning, and public health to contribute to future air pollution and health policy in the UK.

Studentship Funding Package

This fully funded PhD studentship covers:

• 100% of UK tuition fees
• A tax-free annual stipend of £20,780 (UKRI rate for 2025/26)
• Access to high-quality training, supervision by top-tier researchers (Dr James Rafferty & Professor Rhiannon Owen), and participation in the cutting-edge CHILI Hub research environment.

Research Focus

The PhD research will develop Bayesian statistical models and dynamic time series frameworks like ARIMA and DLM to analyze complex, large-scale environmental health data. The focus is on assessing how air pollution trends—especially those affected by the transition to net-zero—impact child and adolescent health. You’ll work across population-scale datasets and help inform UK health and environmental policy with scientifically grounded projections and insights.

Eligibility Criteria (Who Can Apply?)

This opportunity is open to UK fee-eligible applicants only. Key eligibility conditions include:

• A minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree in a relevant field (e.g., Statistics, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, or Health Data Science).
• A relevant Master’s degree with strong analytical components.
• Skills or experience in R or Python programming and Bayesian methods are highly desirable.
• You must meet Swansea University’s English language requirements (IELTS 6.5 overall, with no component below 6.5).

For non-UK degrees, please refer to Swansea University’s Country-Specific Entry Requirements.

Application Timeline

The application window for the RS863 PhD Studentship in Population and Health Data Science at Swansea University will close on 11 August 2025. The project is expected to begin in October 2025, with a possible deferral of up to three (03) months in exceptional cases.

Apply: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate/scholarships/research/medical-mrc-nihr-phd–rs863.php.