King’s College London Postgraduate Nursing Scholarships 2026

Two. That’s the total number of scholarships available in this entire programme — one for a UK-based applicant, one for an international applicant — which makes the Burdett Fellows Scholarship at King’s College London one of the most selective nursing funding opportunities available anywhere in the world, despite being open to nurses and midwives from every country.

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The 2026-27 application window, which closed on Friday, May 22, 2026, at 23:59 UK time, has now shut, and King’s has confirmed applications for September 2026 entry are closed. If you’re a nurse or midwife considering this scholarship for a future intake, understanding exactly how selective it is — and what the selection process actually involves beyond the application form — matters more here than for almost any other scholarship on this site.

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King’s College London Postgraduate Nursing Scholarships Summary

About the King’s College London Postgraduate Nursing Scholarships

King’s College London was founded in 1829, making it one of the oldest and most established universities in the UK, and its Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care carries a name that speaks directly to the discipline this scholarship supports.

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The Burdett Trust for Nursing, which funds the scholarship in full, exists specifically to empower nursing leaders and build nursing research capability and capacity — and King’s runs this fellowship in direct partnership with the University of Edinburgh’s School of Health in Social Science, which separately hosts its own parallel Burdett Fellows funded by the same Trust.

That Edinburgh connection is more than incidental. The two institutions have built a shared research leadership network specifically for Burdett Fellows across both universities, giving scholars peer support and collaborative opportunities that extend well beyond their individual cohort at King’s alone.

Selected scholars carry the title Burdett Fellow throughout and after their studies, and the relationship with the Trust doesn’t end at graduation — Fellows are expected to submit a personal statement at the conclusion of their studies documenting the scholarship’s impact on their practice and career, and are invited to ongoing Burdett Trust for Nursing events afterward, treating the fellowship as an ongoing professional community rather than a one-time funding transaction.

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for the Burdett Fellows Scholarship, applicants generally need to meet the following:

• You must be a registered nurse or midwife, with eligibility open to UK, EU, and international applicants alike — nationality does not restrict eligibility, though it does determine which of the two available awards you’d be considered for
• You must be applying for full-time study in one of the eligible postgraduate programmes listed above at King’s College London
• You must be willing and able to be physically present in London for the full academic year, attending on-campus classes and face-to-face teaching — this scholarship does not accommodate remote or distance study
• You should be able to demonstrate genuine interest in leadership, research, and improving nursing practice, since the fellowship is built specifically around developing future nursing research and leadership capacity, not simply funding a degree

Because only two awards are available across the entire applicant pool — split specifically between one Home and one International recipient — competition within each of those two categories is intense, and a strong academic record alone is unlikely to be sufficient without a genuinely compelling case for how the fellowship connects to your leadership and research ambitions.

Eligible Programmes

The Burdett Fellows Scholarship funds full-time study in one of the following postgraduate programmes at King’s College London:

• MRes Clinical Research
• MSc Palliative Care
• MSc Clinical Nursing

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What the Scholarship Provides

The Burdett Fellows Scholarship offers comprehensive financial coverage for the full duration of your funded programme:

• Full tuition fees covered entirely for your chosen postgraduate programme
• An annual stipend of £11,038 for the UK/Home applicant selected
• An annual stipend of £18,307 for the international applicant selected, reflecting the additional cost of relocating to and living in London
• Access to King’s world-class academic environment, alongside direct mentoring from leading nursing and research experts
• Membership in a supportive, cross-institutional community of healthcare professionals, extended through the joint research leadership network with the University of Edinburgh’s Burdett Fellows
• Ongoing connection to The Burdett Trust for Nursing after graduation, including invitations to Trust events and a formal opportunity to document your fellowship’s impact at the end of your studies

Because the fellowship title and network persist beyond the funded year itself, successful applicants should think of this as an entry point into an ongoing professional community, not simply a funding package that ends when your degree does.

How Selection Actually Works

Beyond the application form itself, King’s runs a more involved selection process than many similarly-sized postgraduate scholarships. Applications are assessed on three combined factors: academic performance, relevant professional experience where applicable, and the strength of your personal statement. Shortlisted applicants are then invited to a short interview, covering your professional experience, your motivations for applying, your research interests, and specifically how the award would support your future career aspirations.

This interview stage is a detail that gets left out of many summaries of this scholarship, and it’s worth preparing for deliberately rather than assuming a strong written application alone will carry you through. Because the fellowship places such explicit weight on leadership potential and research direction, being able to speak clearly and specifically about your intended research project, not just your general interest in advancing your nursing career, is likely to matter significantly at this stage.

Required Documents

Applications are compiled as part of your programme application to King’s, and every component below carries genuine weight in how you’re assessed:

• A curriculum vitae, no more than two pages, including clear evidence of your professional registration as a nurse or midwife
• Two references, at least one of which must be academic — professional references are accepted in place of an academic one only if your qualifications were completed more than five years ago
• A personal statement, either entered directly into the online application form (maximum 4,000 characters) or uploaded as a separate document (maximum two pages), which must specifically address how the Burdett Fellow Scholarship would impact you and your local or professional community
• A research outline, giving a brief overview of your research interests and the potential project you’d pursue during your studies
• For international applicants specifically, a letter of support from your health institution confirming access to study sites for data collection, required if your intended research will be conducted abroad

Because your personal statement and research outline are doing significant work in this application — arguably as much as your academic transcript — treat them as the core of your submission rather than a formality attached to your programme application.

How to Apply for the Next Cycle

The 2026-27 window is closed, but the process King’s uses has stayed consistent enough to prepare for confidently:

1. Watch King’s official Burdett Fellows Scholarship page for the announcement of the next application cycle, expected to open for a future September entry.
2. Apply for admission to one of the eligible postgraduate programmes — MRes Clinical Research, MSc Palliative Care, or MSc Clinical Nursing — through the King’s College London Admissions Portal, since this single application covers both admission and scholarship consideration.
3. Prepare your CV, references, personal statement, and research outline well in advance, since all four carry real weight in the assessment process, not just your academic transcript.
4. Submit your complete application as early as possible within the window — King’s has directly advised applying early, since the university may need to request further information to assess your application, and delays on your side can affect your consideration.
5. If shortlisted, prepare specifically for a short interview covering your experience, motivations, research interests, and how the fellowship would support your career goals.
6. Wait for notification from the King’s admissions team, which is typically communicated before the relevant academic year begins.

Application Deadline

The 2026-27 cycle’s application deadline was Friday, May 22, 2026, at 23:59 UK time, and King’s has confirmed applications for September 2026 entry are now closed. Given the consistency of this scholarship’s structure across recent years, a similar deadline — generally falling in May, ahead of a September intake — is likely for future cycles, though King’s has not yet announced dates for the following academic year. Since King’s has directly emphasised that early applications are strongly encouraged, treat any future May deadline as a soft target to beat well in advance, not a date to work up to.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Burdett Fellows Scholarship still accepting applications for 2026?

No. The 2026-27 cycle’s deadline was Friday, May 22, 2026, at 23:59 UK time, and King’s has confirmed applications for September 2026 entry are closed.

How many scholarships are actually awarded?

Just two per cycle — one for a UK/Home applicant and one for an international applicant — making this an extremely selective award despite its broad international eligibility.

Is there an interview as part of the selection process?

Yes. Shortlisted applicants are invited to a short interview covering their professional experience, motivations, research interests, and how the fellowship would support their career goals, in addition to the written application.

Do I need to submit a separate scholarship application?

No. There’s no standalone scholarship application — all eligible applicants to the relevant postgraduate programmes are automatically considered for the fellowship based on the programme application itself.

Can nurses or midwives from outside the UK apply?

Yes. The scholarship is genuinely open to UK, EU, and international nurses and midwives, with one of the two available awards specifically reserved for an international applicant.

Does the fellowship end once I complete my degree?

Not entirely. Burdett Fellows are expected to submit a personal statement documenting the scholarship’s impact at the end of their studies and are invited to ongoing Burdett Trust for Nursing events afterwards, extending the relationship beyond the funded academic year itself.

Disclaimer: All programme details, deadlines, and eligibility criteria in this post were verified from official sources as of August 2026. Information is subject to change without notice. Always confirm the latest details directly on King’s College London’s official Burdett Fellows Scholarship page before applying. ScholarWaka is not affiliated with King’s College London or The Burdett Trust for Nursing.

Official Application Portal