Part of our Nursing Scholarships by Level series. Last checked: 25 October 2026.
Doctoral funding works differently from undergraduate scholarships. A good PhD offer is usually fully funded: tuition is waived and you are paid a stipend, often in return for research or teaching. A DNP, which is a practice doctorate, is more often paid for by employers or partial scholarships. Here is where the money is.
At a glance
| Funding | For | Value | Next deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gates Cambridge | Non-UK citizens, PhD at Cambridge | Fees + about £22,000/yr for up to 4 years | 8 Dec 2026 or 6 Jan 2027 |
| Commonwealth PhD Scholarships | Citizens of low/middle-income Commonwealth countries | Fees, £1,712–£2,000/month, flights, fieldwork, family allowances | Closed 20 Oct 2026; next round autumn 2027 |
| Jonas Scholars | US citizens/PRs in PhD or DNP programmes | $12,000 + $12,000 school match | 2026–2028 cohort closed; next call expected 2028 |
| Funded studentships | Anyone admitted to a funded project | Fees + stipend | Rolling, mostly Nov–Mar |
| Florence Nightingale Foundation | UK nurses and midwives, Band 7+ | Leadership programme (employer pays £1,500) | 2027–28 round opens autumn |
For international nurses
Gates Cambridge (open now)
About two-thirds of the roughly 70 Gates Cambridge awards each year are for PhDs. They fund up to four years of fees and maintenance, plus flights, visa and health surcharge, with extras such as fieldwork maintenance and a dependent child allowance. Nurses usually apply through public health, primary care, epidemiology or health policy research groups. The deadline is 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027, depending on the course. Contact a potential supervisor before you apply.
Commonwealth PhD Scholarships
These fully fund a UK PhD for citizens of eligible Commonwealth countries. They cover airfare, fees, a stipend of £1,712 a month (£2,000 in London), fieldwork airfare, a paid mid-term visit home and family allowances. You need a 2:1, or a 2:2 plus a master’s, and you must not already be registered for a PhD. The 2027/28 round closed on 20 October 2026. Use the year to build your proposal and find a UK supervisor.
Funded PhD studentships
Universities in the UK, Europe, Australia and North America advertise funded PhD projects with set topics and a stipend. Examples include patient safety, workforce, maternal health and digital health. In the UK many are funded by the NIHR or UKRI, though some are open only to home students, so read the eligibility line first. In the US, most nursing PhD programmes offer funding packages through assistantships. Search findaphd.com and university nursing school pages from November onwards.
US doctoral funding
- Jonas Scholars Program. Run with AACN, it supports doctoral nursing students who plan to teach. It gives $12,000 over two years, and the school must match it with another $12,000. Open to US citizens and permanent residents enrolled full-time in a PhD (faculty track) or DNP (clinical faculty track) and working on priority areas such as rural health, gerontology or women’s health. The 2026–2028 cohort of 80 scholars has been selected.
- Nurse Faculty Loan Program (HRSA). Loans for students training to teach, with up to 85% cancelled after years of full-time faculty service. Check its status, as proposed FY2027 budget cuts target nursing workforce programmes.
- Research grants: Sigma Theta Tau, specialty organisations (oncology, critical care) and foundations fund dissertation research, often $1,000–$10,000.
- Employer support for DNPs. Many health systems pay for the DNP in return for staying on, often as an APRN leader.
UK nurses
- NIHR clinical academic awards. These pay a salary while you do a PhD, for nurses and midwives in the NHS.
- Florence Nightingale Foundation Leadership Scholarship. An 18-month leadership programme for nurses and midwives at Band 7 or above. Sponsored UK places cost the nurse nothing, but the employer contributes £1,500. The 2027–28 round opens in the autumn. Applicants from outside the UK must self-fund or find sponsorship.
How to get funded
- Find a supervisor first. Email two or three academics whose work matches yours, with a one-page proposal. A supervisor who backs you is often what decides funding.
- Show you can do research: your master’s dissertation, any publications, audits or quality improvement projects. Present at a conference if you can.
- Ask a question that matters: nurse migration, maternal mortality, infection prevention, task-shifting, workforce retention.
- Apply to several funders in the same year, and reuse a strong proposal.
See also: Undergraduate nursing scholarships and Master’s scholarships for nurses.
Sources: Opportunities for Africans (Gates Cambridge 2027/28; Commonwealth PhD 2027/28); AACN, Jonas Scholars Program application; Florence Nightingale Foundation, Scholarships 2026–27; AACN Policy Watch (8 April 2026). Confirm details on official pages before applying.