Diversity and inclusion
An innovative fund instigated by leading physicist Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell and the Institute of Physics to encourage greater diversity in physics by assisting PhD physics students from underrepresented groups.
The Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund is for full- or part-time graduates wishing to study towards a doctorate in physics and from groups that are currently underrepresented in physics.
Watch the video below to hear from Jocelyn on why the fund was set up, why people should apply and other ways to be involved.
We’re delighted to reveal the 10 awardees of the 2025 Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund. They are:
Read more and find out about our past awardees
Jocelyn and some of the awardees talk about the impact the fund is making.
Find out more about the fund’s impact in this piece by former selection panel chair Professor Helen Gleeson.
The fund is made possible thanks to Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell’s generous donation of her £2.3m Breakthrough Prize.
In her journey to the highest levels of physics achievement, Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell has faced many challenges.
In this interview with the University of Cambridge, Jocelyn recalls the extraordinary moment she discovered pulsars, and talks about her altruistic efforts with the IOP to help more underrepresented students study physics.
Read the Physics World interview:
Jocelyn Bell Burnell reveals the motivations behind her new $3m graduate-student fund
The fund is for full- or part-time graduates wishing to study towards a doctorate in physics, from groups that are currently underrepresented in physics.
Applications for 2025-26 are now closed.
You can download a sample 2025-26 application form (Word doc, 332KB) for reference.
Email [email protected] for further information or register your interest in the fund to receive further updates as they become available.
Visit our FAQ page for further details about the fund.
You can also find further information for students and prospective host universities/institutions below.
Download the guide for more information about eligibility criteria and information for students and prospective host universities/institutions.
As a part of the monitoring and evaluation of the Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund studentships, the IOP requires the student and their lead supervisor to submit a progress report at various intervals during the award.
The fund is administered and managed by the IOP and supported by a panel that reviews qualifying applicants and selects those to be funded. Find out more about how the fund is administered.
Professor Helen Gleeson, Cavendish Professor of Physics at the University of Leeds and former chair of the selection panel for the Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund, explains why she is committed to opening up physics to people from non-traditional backgrounds.
For other sources of funding, studentships and scholarships that you may be eligible for, please see the links below: