These awards are intended for those engaged in full-time study leading to a PhD degree. Applicants must have obtained First Class Honours or equivalent qualifications in their first degree. Otherwise they must obtain substantively a higher degree (e.g. MSc or MPhil degree) by September 2024 to become eligible (MPhil transfer to doctoral candidature is not considered as equivalent). Students in their final year of first degree may also apply, but any offer of award will be conditional on their obtaining First Class Honours or equivalent qualifications upon their graduation by July 2024.

Research Studentship holders must be full-time students.

The award comprises an annual cash award (currently at HK$80,000 per annum), an academic development allowance of up to HK$15,600 per annum to allow recipients to attend conferences, workshops or courses during the tenure of their awards, and a science education allowance to offer support to those Croucher award recipients particularly interested in science education through well-designed activities and projects in schools and in the wider community.  Interested scholars are invited to submit proposals to the Foundation for consideration of a programme of activities designed to involve school students, teachers, families and/or other non-specialist audiences in dialogue and debate, within the tenure of their awards.

Croucher Research Studentships can be held concurrently with a university postgraduate studentship or another award.

A Studentship will cover only up to and including the third year of the relevant PhD studies programme. This does not therefore necessarily mean that all recipients will get three years of support, e.g. a candidate starting the Studentship from the second year of his/her PhD study will get only two years of support, starting from the third year of PhD will get one year, etc.

If you are successful, the length of the award will be explicitly stated in your offer letter. If your award is for more than one year, you will be “on probation” for your first year. This means that we will check that you are making satisfactory progress before we extend your studentship for the second or third year.

If you are successful, your award will be subject to your acceptance by the institution in which you propose to work.

All applications should be submitted via the Croucher Foundation’s online application system. For the 2024-25 selection exercise, applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. (Hong Kong time) on 15th November 2023 at the latest.

Please invite two referees to provide signed letters of reference for you (with your full name) on letterhead to be sent directly to references@croucher.org.hk (as a PDF), or by fax to (852) 2730 0742 by the deadline above.

Please make sure the following documents in PDF format (each not exceeding 8MB) have been uploaded to your application:

• a document, up to 6 pages in length, including a proposal describing the research you wish to undertake, which should include the names of potential supervisors and their research groups; a description of the candidate’s research experience, and a list of publications. Please note that once your proposal has been submitted, it cannot be amended;
• copies of your HKCEE and HKALE or HKDSE certificates or equivalent qualifications and copies of official transcripts of your university records;
• copies of reprints of up to three of your most significant publications (if applicable); and
• documentation to prove that you are a permanent resident of Hong Kong, which is a pre-requisite to the award. (For applicants who choose to use their ID card copies, please make sure that both sides of the ID card are provided. Please note that we will not be able to progress your application if there is any doubt about your residential status, for example because you have not provided the right documentation.)

Short-listed candidates will be invited to attend an interview in March/April 2024. If you are not contacted by late April, you may consider that you have not been shortlisted. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide feedback on unsuccessful applications. We will aim to write to unsuccessful applicants by late May, if not earlier.

While we cannot provide support on any aspect of your proposal, if you have questions about the application process, you can email us at info@croucher.org.hk.

Applicants in the Medical and Biological Sciences should also be informed that the Butterfield-Croucher Studentship will be awarded to the best candidate in that category to be identified by the Selection Committee. The Butterfield-Croucher Studentship is established to commemorate Lord Butterfield of Stechford, a former Croucher Trustee who has dedicated his entire life to medical research and education. This award carries an additional cash award of HK$20,000 on top of the regular HK$80,000 under the Croucher Research Studentship, along with a certificate of merit. There is no need to submit a separate application for this award.

The Foundation introduced a new funding initiative for all Croucher award recipients at any career stage who wish to use their scientific and technological expertise to set up companies with linkages with Hong Kong. All Croucher award recipients from any year may apply. Successful applicants will receive a grant of up to HK$1 million from the Croucher Foundation payable to their company. The initiative supports founders at the earliest stage. Award recipients already receiving seed funding or early stage venture capital from other sources are not encouraged to apply. If you wish to find out more about Start-up 2.0 check the page https://croucher.org.hk/startup-2-0.