Frequently Asked Questions – 2026/2027

The NIHR INSIGHT Programme for Yorkshire and Humber is designed for newly qualified, recent graduates and early career professionals who are registered with an eligible professional body, working in healthcare, social care or public health who are passionate about research.  The full list of eligible regulatory bodies is here. Please note that doctors and dentists are not eligible to apply for this studentship.

INSIGHT is available to the following registered, regulated health care and public health professionals, not including doctors and dentists.

• Academy for Healthcare Science
• General Chiropractic Council
• General Dental Council (not including dentists)
• General Medical Council (not including doctors)
• General Optical Council
• General Osteopathic Council
• General Pharmaceutical Council
• Health and Care Professions Council
• Nursing and Midwifery Council
• Social Work England
• UK Public Health Register

Psychology practitioners who are registered with a regulatory body are eligible. Unfortunately, Psychology Well-Being Practitioners do not currently meet our criteria

The INSIGHT Programme Studentships are intended for individuals residing and working in the Yorkshire and Humber region, or close to the border. Similar schemes are available in every region across England and you can find your nearest scheme on the NIHR website. It is not necessary to have graduated from an institution within the region.

It is generally expected that you apply in the region where you live and work, as the programme is designed around the regional workforce. However, if you reside near the border of an INSIGHT region, you may apply to a different region, especially if traveling to one of our local universities is challenging. Please contact the INSIGHT team to discuss further.

You can choose to undertake your Masters on either a part-time or full-time basis.

Unfortunately, not at this time.

If you are working in the UK on a skilled worker visa, any courses you start in the UK should not interfere with your sponsored job.  This means you must keep working in your sponsored job role alongside your studies. You will need to check that your employer is happy for you to start studying, and make sure that your study hours don’t clash with your contracted work hours.  This may make it difficult to join the INSIGHT programme.

You do not need to work for the NHS to apply for the Masters.

The five-year post registration will be pro-rata. You will be asked to provide details of any career breaks or part-time working to enable us to check eligibility.

The INSIGHT programme is not available to doctors and dentists. If that’s you, you could consider alternative Masters-level opportunities:

• awards available through the Integrated Academic Training (IAT) Programme:
  • Academic Clinical Fellowship and locally funded Integrated Academic Training Posts
  • Clinical Lectureship
  • In-Practice Fellowship
• activities offered by the INSPIRE scheme coordinated by the Academy of Medical Sciences 

The INSIGHT Programme is for students and professionals at an early stage of their practitioner career. If you are at a more advanced stage of your registered profession, and are looking to start your career in research, the NIHR offers a number of other predoctoral funding opportunities.

The Clinician Researcher Credentials Framework provides Masters level qualifications for experienced healthcare practitioners from all professional backgrounds who want to take on leadership roles in clinical research delivery.

Explore NIHR support and information tailored to your profession

Ever thought about becoming involved with clinical research, but you are not sure if it is for you or how to start? The NIHR-funded Yorkshire and Humber Community of Research Practice registered healthcare professionals internship could be for you.

Other organisations including The Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council and national and local charities offer research funding and there may be funding available from your professional body.

The Masters degree will focus your development on initial research skills. It will depend on the individual as to how the programme fits in with other opportunities.

Pleas complete the online form and email your completed employer declaration form to us before the 29th May 2026. The Programme Team will review your application for eligibility and contact you as soon as possible after the deadline to inform successful applicants of next steps, including information on how to apply to their chosen masters programme. We will also signpost any unsuccessful applicants to further information and offers.

The programme team have created a report summarising observations from 2024/25 application process. You can find it here – https://yh.insight.leeds.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/154/2024/10/NIHR-INSIGHT-for-Yorkshire-and-Humber-Academic-Year-24_25-Chairs-Report-v1.0.pdf

We currently fund courses at the University of Bradford, the University of Hull, the University of Leeds, the University of Sheffield and the University of York. You can check which Universities offer which courses on our Masters Opportunities page.

You can choose from one of the courses that are listed on the masters page on our website.

Yes, you are eligible.

You can choose to undertake your Masters on either a part-time or full-time basis.

Students are expected to spend approximately ten hours of study time per credit. For example, a 15 credit module would require 150 hours of study time, including lectures, self study and assessments. The commitment does vary over the year, further information can be found on the course website.

If you are working clinically, it is worth keeping in mind that full-time students are generally allowed to work for up to 15 hours per week. So if you are employed, we would expect you to be undertaking some clinical work if you are undertaking this full-time. If you were undertaking the masters degree part-time, it is likely that you would continue your clinical work three and a half days a week to four days a week.

Each Masters course has a different timetable. We have provided a draft timetable for each of the courses to give you an idea of when teaching sessions occur. You can find that here to give you an idea of the course setup. Please note that these are only examples; your university will provide a definitive timetable upon your enrolment. Many courses include both compulsory and optional modules, so your attendance days and the distribution over the week will depend on the optional modules you select and their scheduling. This information is intended as a guide only. We recommend contacting the programme team for your preferred course(s) who will be able to explain this in more detail to you. Please note there will be self directed study and work associated with assignments that will not appear on these timetables.

Each university course is structured uniquely, with varying timetables based on whether you choose to study full-time or part-time. We have provided ‘mock’ course timetables here to give you an idea of the course setup. Please note that these are only examples; your university will provide a definitive timetable upon your enrolment. Many courses include both compulsory and optional modules, so your attendance days and the distribution over the week will depend on the optional modules you select and their scheduling. This information is intended as a guide only. We recommend contacting the programme team for your preferred course(s) who will be able to explain this in more detail to you. Please note there will be self directed study and work associated with assignments that will not appear on these timetables.

When deciding on a topic for your project or dissertation, it’s important to identify your interests to ensure you stay motivated. Your course tutor will guide you through the process and help you select your project (some courses will have a list of projects available which have been through the approvals processes).  Your employer may also have some suggestions, and it would be worth discussing these with your course supervisor well in advance of any project setting deadlines to ensure the practicality of your topic, including resources, ethics approvals, time, and data access for external projects.

The funding is for a 12-month full time or a 24 month part time research-focused Masters. Funding for the INSIGHT scheme is available from 2024 to 2027.

The stipend can be paid in two ways:

Option 1: Salary Contribution

The stipend is paid directly to your employer to facilitate your release for study without affecting your contracted hours, in line with the INSIGHT Employer Declaration. Under the agreement, the Employer commits to:

• Retain the INSIGHT student on their substantive contract of employment for the duration of the studentship.
• Ensure working hours in line with INSIGHT requirements of 0.4WTE for full time students and 0.6WTE  for part time students.
• Facilitate appropriate amounts of study leave for both taught and self directed elements of the course.

Option 2: Direct payment

The stipend is paid directly to the INSIGHT student by their host university (with whom they are completing the Masters programme). The stipend is tax free and can be used to cover any loss of earnings encountered by reducing employment hours, or taking a break from employment to focus on their studies. Payments are made in line with the host university’s stipend payment regulations and may differ between institutions – for more information, please contact the course lead for the course you are interested in applying for.  It is important to note that any additional paid work may affect tax-free status and it is the responsibility of the INSIGHT student to ensure compliance with tax laws.

As Option 1 may require approvals from multiple managers/departments, we recommend discussions begin early in the application process.

For each studentship, we have a stipend of £21,805 (based on UKRI stipend rates 2026) for the duration of the fellowship.  If you study part-time, the stipend will be spread over the two years. 

The stipend available for INSIGHT students is inline with the UKRI stipend rate (currently £21,805 (2026 rate)). Where this is a discrepancy, we will need to work with applicants and their line managers for local solutions.

The aim of the programme is for you to undertake the masters while you continue your clinical role, and then return to your role. Please see information about the stipend above. Your line manager’s support is critical. Your contractual arrangements will not be affected if you have the support of your manager to take this opportunity.

The INSIGHT programme has been designed to act as an entry qualification into research. It will be relevant to those who are interested in getting more involved in research, either by undertaking their own research and getting a PhD, or delivering strategic, impactful research. If you clearly want to undertake a PhD, then the NIHR Pre-Doctoral award is more relevant, as it supports the development of a doctoral application. If you are not sure, then the INSIGHT programme is your best option. If you undertake the INSIGHT masters, then you would be eligible for the PCAF Bridge, which is a shorter version that focusses on developing a competitive PhD application.

This would be a personal choice and one which you would have to negotiate with your line manager. If you are not working, then the stipend can be paid to the individual.

Information will be provided on the website. We will be holding a series of webinars throughout the application window in which both applicants and line managers will be able to ask questions. You can also contact the team at [email protected]

The masters programme will contain taught modules and a dissertation. For the dissertation, the INSIGHT team will work with your nominated University to assemble a supervisory and mentor team. We will aim to get you both discipline and profession specific mentors, relevant to your dissertation project.

You will need to approach your line manager to support your application and also the budget holder, if your line manager is not the budget holder. You need to do this as soon as you can. We would strongly urge that you do this in a respectful manner, understanding the difficulties of service provision at the moment. As such, we would suggest that you approach you manager with this opportunity as a request rather than a demand. You should also consider potential solutions for how your backfill may be covered, and not just expect your line manager to do this alone. We will host an information webinar on the 8th April at 17.00 specifically for line managers to address their questions.

If your manager refuses to support your application, then please contact the INSIGHT Team ([email protected]) who will try to provide advocacy on your behalf.

You will need to approach your line manager to support your application: you need to do this as soon as you can. If you are nervous or concerned about approaching your line manager, please contact the INSIGHT team ([email protected]) who will provide guidance and assistance.

Unfortunately, the funding for this programme is limited to a three year period and 2026/27 is the final year of funding. Therefore, deferrals to future years will not be possible.

Unfortunately, the funding for this programme is limited to a three year period and 2026/27 is the final year of funding. If additional funding becomes available in the future and you have applied previously, there is a possibility that you may re-apply providing you meet the eligibility criteria.

Each of the courses will have their own regulations on taking time off while you are studying. You will need to contact your course lead to discuss this. If you are thinking that you may need a break when you are applying, you may wish to consider part-time study.

Please feel free to email the INSIGHT team at [email protected].