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Postgraduate Nursing Scholarships: The Burdett Fellows

Cardiff University School of Healthcare Sciences works in partnership with the Burdett Trust for Nursing, the University of Edinburgh, King’s College London, and Queen’s University Belfast to educate nurse leaders of the future.

This exciting collaboration will have a particular focus on building a research leadership network for Burdett Fellows to provide peer support and an opportunity for growth and sustainability building, both nationally and globally.

Burdett Fellows Scholarships

The Burdett Trust for Nursing was established in 2002 with the aim of making charitable grants to support the nursing contribution to healthcare. This year, for the first time, we are offering two full time postgraduate Nursing scholarships to students studying MSc Advanced Healthcare Practice at Cardiff University School of Healthcare Sciences (HCARE). The scholarships focus on developing leadership and research capacity within the nursing profession. They are designed to support nurses who aspire to develop into senior leadership roles, enabling them to build the knowledge and skills needed to influence nursing policy at national and international level.

As part of the scholarship scheme, you will undertake an 18-month, full-time postgraduate Master’s programme. These highly competitive scholarships are generously funded by the Burdett Trust for Nursing and cover both tuition fees and assistance with living costs. Those successful in securing a scholarship will be known as the Burdett Fellows.

Funding information

Two prestigious scholarship awards (one for a home and one for an international applicant) will be available for full-time entry onto our MSc Advanced Healthcare Practice programme.

The scholarship is for the length of the programme:

  • For home (UK) students this will cover tuition fees for the programme and a stipend of £10,250 for the 18 months of the programme paid in monthly instalments of approximately £569.00.
  • For international students this will cover the tuition fees for the programme and a stipend of £17,425 paid in monthly instalments of approximately £968 over 18 months.

Course requirements

You will be required to complete the Empirical dissertation module HCT117. The aim of the empirical dissertation MSc is to foster your ability to carry out a research project involving the analysis and critical evaluation of aspects of your specific professional area using a systematic process of enquiry. The project will be a learning experience as well as a means of assessment and for this reason, supervision will be delivered by staff of the School of Healthcare Sciences.

The project that is submitted (maximum 20,000 words) should be in the form of a clinical or laboratory experimental study, a survey or a qualitative study, or it may be a dissertation on an original thought. In the latter case no empirical data may need to be collected but all other cases will involve data collection although not necessarily new data, and not necessarily involving original ideas. However, some aspects of the project will always be original e.g. exploration of a phenomenon in a different setting, use of different measurement tools, replication with a larger sample or better control.

The project must be relevant to Nursing and should contribute to the development of the Nursing profession.

Sufficient guidance will be given to you in the choice of a project. Titles may be suggested by staff, or they may be encouraged by your clinical areas, however you may be free to choose your own research topic. However, the module lead and project co-ordinators will consider these projects in the light of their feasibility and sufficient expertise being available for their supervision. Projects within one of the research themes of the School of Healthcare Sciences are always encouraged and there will be opportunities to work with key researchers from the School of Healthcare Sciences during your programme. Students can undertake a project based on the project proposal that they wrote as their assignment for the research methods module (HCT343).

Eligibility

All registered nurses applying for the full time MSc in Advanced Healthcare Practice are eligible for these scholarships, including home (UK) and international applicants.

Students should be present in Cardiff during the academic year for on-campus teaching delivery and face to face contact.

The studentships will be awarded to the successful Nursing applicants who have applied for admission to the MSc Advanced Healthcare Practice programme from September 2025.

Criteria

The two scholarships will be awarded through assessment of previous academic performance, relevant Nursing experience and a personal statement indicating the reasons for applying for these prestigious scholarships.

Essential criteria:

  • A registered Nurse with a minimum of two years post-registration experience
  • A degree in Nursing
  • An IELTS (Academic) of 6.5 with 5.5 in each subskill
  • An application must be submitted to study the MSc in Advanced Healthcare Practice programme as a full time student.

How to apply

Eligible applicants who meet the essential criteria are required to:

  • Apply for the MSc Advanced Healthcare Practice programme.
  • The personal statement submitted as part of the application for the MSc in Advanced Healthcare Practice programme must include a brief sentence stating that you have also applied for the Burdett Fellows scholarship and how the scholarship would impact you and your local/professional communities.
  • Complete the online scholarship application form.
  • You will be asked to submit the following documents for your application to be considered:
    • A CV of no more than two pages with evidence of professional registration as a nurse.
    • Two references including at least one academic reference. Professional references will be accepted if you completed your qualifications over five years ago.An outline of your research interests and the potential project you may undertake as part of your studies. International applicants will need to provide a letter of support from their health institution supporting their research activities in their country (i.e. access to study sites for data collection) if you are planning to undertake a research project abroad.
  • Home (UK) and international applicants should submit the online application by 30 May 2025 .
  • The selection panel will meet after the deadlines to shortlist applicants.

Interviews

Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a short interview to discuss your experience, reasons for wanting to join the programme, research interest and how the award may support you in pursuing your future career aspirations. Interviews will be held online.

Additional opportunities

Applicants should also note that as part of the Burdett Fellows Scholarship successful candidates will be required to submit a personal statement at the end of their studies demonstrating the impact of the scholarship, their experience of studying at this level and the benefits of their selected area of continued professional development. The University will require Burdett Fellows to develop a podcast of their experiences at Cardiff University and Fellows may be asked to engage in marketing opportunities for future scholars.

Burdett Fellows will also be invited to The Burdett Trust for Nursing events.

Contact

For information about the application process, please contact Dr Anna Jones (Programme Lead MSc Advanced Healthcare Practice) or Jayne Hancock (Director for PG Taught Studies).