About VSD
The Venture Science Doctorate (VSD) program, 4th cohort, starting April 2027 (full-time and primarily remote). Applications are open until 31 July 2026 (end of day, BST) and are reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage early submission.
The world's first 3‑year venture creation focused PhD program run by Deep Science Venture College at Woolf University. Our focus is exclusively on solving global challenges in health, climate, agriculture and computation through science as the basis for designing research projects from first principles and creating new companies founded by candidates based on this research.
The VSD is backed by a philanthropic consortium of mission‑aligned partners, including Schmidt Futures, Innovate UK and SPRIN‑D, and embedded in a global R&D coalition of universities and national labs, including National Physical Laboratory, James Hutton Institute, Imperial College, Max Planck, University of Edinburgh, UCL, Goldsmiths, Cornell, Mayo Clinic and many others.
Program Outline
The aim of year 1 is for candidates to familiarise themselves with a given industry and map the landscape to identify areas of opportunity for high‑impact venture creation. In a process called Scoping, candidates will identify the optimal solution to a given problem and, alongside accredited courses such as experimental design, perform lab work to develop their hypotheses, and contact partner research groups for further experimentation.
Year 2 is focused on invention and further developing the initial hypotheses, working within leading research groups to prove the technology against the original hypothesis and validate it through techno‑economic analysis.
The goal for year 3 is building further on the research from the previous two years to develop a scalable technology capable of product market fit. If necessary, candidates may join multiple different research groups to do this. Having validated the technology, candidates will work with experienced venture partners to build a complementary team and a rock‑solid investment case before venture incorporation and spin‑out.
At incorporation, all the intellectual property is transferred into the new venture, which the candidate continues to lead as a co‑founder, with continuous support from DSV.
Requirements
We are looking for individuals with the ambition and capability to launch a science company using advanced research, and be determined to do this in just a few years.
* A Master's degree (or higher) in the natural sciences, engineering or a closely related technical field. Candidates with only an undergraduate degree may also be considered, but may not be eligible for PhD accreditation.
* The ambition, determination and resilience to develop and co‑found a science‑based venture tackling global challenges in climate, agriculture, health or computation. All ventures are built from scratch during the program. We do not accept ideas, concepts, or IP that have already been developed and that applicants wish to develop further at VSD.
* A strong ability to think creatively from first principles, identify industry‑specific commercial bottlenecks and solve technical challenges.
* Relevant prior experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, new technology development and/or solving large‑scale societal challenges.
* Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas and persuade diverse stakeholders.
* The ability to commit full‑time (5 working days per week) to the program.
We actively welcome candidates from any part of the world and any walks of life to apply – our primary focus is on mission alignment and the desire to create impact through science.
Benefits
Deep Science Ventures College will cover the tuition and all other expenses related to program curriculum and research activities. Additionally, each student will receive a monthly stipend of £2,800 (living costs + health insurance subsidy) and upon spin‑out you/your co‑founder(s) will have the majority ownership in the venture.
You'll join a global community of >200 science entrepreneurs across our portfolio and programs, work with some of the world's most entrepreneurial professors, research labs and government agencies supporting VSD, and access top‑tier investors/funders backing deeptech ventures.
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