Subject classification of Wellcome Trust grants

All applicants are required to assign scientific subjects to their grant application, using the subject classification lists. Please note that these lists are not intended to be comprehensive; the subject classifications selected will be used to generate reports to show, for example, the funding demand in a particular area, such as ageing or Alzheimer's disease.

Since the inception of our subject classification lists we have received sufficient feedback to review our terms and have subsequently amended our list to reflect the comments we received. We are not intending to amend it further on an ad hoc basis, therefore please endeavour to fit your work into the terms we have listed.

The principal applicant should choose those terms from the subject classification lists that are applicable to his/her application. This information should be recorded on the relevant page of the application form, or alternatively on the subject classification form [Word 26KB] (remembering to attach this to the application form once it is complete). Applicants applying for grants online should select those terms that are relevant to their application from the drop-down list within eGrants itself.

The six areas

• Systems and processes - one primary (compulsory) and up to three secondary (optional) terms should be chosen.An alphabetical list of systems/processes [PDF 4.2KB] is available.
• Disease or condition - one primary (compulsory) and up to three secondary (optional) terms should be chosen. An alphabetical list of diseases/conditions [PDF 74KB] is available.
• Other identifier - up to six subjects (optional) can be chosen. An alphabetical list of other identifiers [PDF 59KB] is available.
• Discipline - one primary (compulsory) and three secondary (optional) should be chosen.An alphabetical list of disciplines [PDF 4.5KB] is available.
• Technique - up to three subjects (optional) can be chosen.An alphabetical list of techniques [PDF 3.9KB] is available.
• Basic/Clinical/Tropical/Veterinary - tick the relevant boxes.

You must ensure that you have assigned at least one subject from 'systems and processes', one subject from 'disease or condition' and one subject from 'discipline'.

Definition of terms

Clinical - that is research on patients or human subjects (but not necessarily investigations of normal human physiology) or research using material from patients for studies on the pathology or mechanisms of disease.

Basic - anything that is not 'clinical'. For example, studies on animal models of disease will normally be 'basic' unless the correspondence with human disease is particularly close.

Veterinary - includes 'clinical' and 'basic' studies relevant to animals and includes research on animals of zoological interest, except where the animal is being used to answer questions of medical interest for more information.

Tropical - all clinical and basic research relevant to human or animal health in low- and middle-income countries, including studies based primarily in the tropics and those in laboratories elsewhere. This classification is not restricted to the classical tropical diseases, but includes infectious and non-communicable diseases that are specific to tropical regions.It also includes studies of conditions that are common in non-tropical regions, but with manifestations that differ in the human or animal populations of low- and middle-income countries.