The Aggrey Burke Fellowship for Black Medical Students

Dr Aggrey Burke

Aggrey Burke 1943-2025

We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Dr Aggrey Burke. He was a legend. The first Black consultant psychiatrist to work in the NHS and went on to lead an inspirational career which lasted more than 40 years.

Dr Burke first came to national prominence when he and his colleague Professor Joe Collier courageously exposed and challenged racial bias within the medical school system. This was controversial but nevertheless their work and perseverance resulted in reforms in the school selection processes.

He also championed the needs of Black people affected by mental illness and was a prominent supporter of Black families impacted by the 1981 New Cross house fire.

Dr Burke’s many contributions and achievements were recognised when he was presented with the College’s President’s Medal in 2020. His legacy will continue through the Aggrey Burke Fellowship which has supported Black medical students to pursue a career in psychiatry since 2023.

RCPsych President, Dr Lade Smith CBE said:

"Aggrey was a giant in psychiatry who made a significant difference to lots of people’s lives without them even knowing. I had the honour to get to know him later in his life. He was an incredibly interesting character, a raconteur with a great sense of humour. He never stopped being passionate about psychiatry and will be missed."

We send our sincere condolences to everyone who knew him, particularly his family and loved ones.

The Aggrey Burke Fellowship is a two-year programme for Black medical students at UK universities. It offers a range of benefits including a mentor, CPD fund and a fully funded place at RCPsych International Congress. 

RCPsych is committed to promoting equality and equitable outcomes for College members, staff, mental health staff, and patients and carers. 

As part of our Equality Action Plan, in 2023 we launched a new fellowship scheme to encourage and support Black medical students to pursue a career in psychiatry.

We know this group is under-represented within our College membership and within psychiatry in general (RCPsych membership data, Sept 2022).   

Through this scheme, we aim to create a more diverse workforce reflective of our communities.

The Aggrey Burke Fellowship is a two-year programme for Black medical students at UK universities. It offers are range of benefits including:

  • mentoring (senior trainee, SAS or consultant) – where possible, your mentor will be aligned to your career interests
  • CPD fund of £1500 to be spent on activities of your choosing related to your career development and / or understanding of psychiatry
  • fully-funded place at RCPsych International Congress and invitation to the fellows and bursary holders networking event at Congress
  • induction and mid-programme event to facilitate networking with each other, College members, officers and mentors
  • access to RCPsych’s eLearning Hub (CPD eLearning/MRCPsych eLearning)
  • access to electronic copies of College journals.

Eligibility

To be eligible, you must:

  • have one of the following categories of ethnicity:
    • Black African
    • Black British
    • Black Caribbean
    • Black (other)
  • be a medical student at a UK university (UK campuses only)
  • applicants must be enrolled in a UK medical school at the start of each Fellowship year: 1 September 2025 and 1 September 2026.

Fellows may be supported in undertaking career advancement projects such as research, audits etc.

Fellows will be expected to act as 'ambassadors' for psychiatry and for the fellowship. This may include being asked to write articles, give presentations etc. 

Fellows will be expected to participate in evaluation of the scheme, including providing career progression updates for up to 5 years after the fellowship. 

Application process

Applications for 2025 have now closed. 

When completing the application form, please note we are looking for interest in and a commitment to psychiatry, as well as a commitment to the College’s values. We are looking for potential rather than achievement to date. 

Some applicants may be invited to attend a brief online interview as a second selection stage for the Fellowship. 

Successful applicants will be selected by a panel of senior College members and staff.

If you have any questions regarding the fellowship, please contact careers@rcpsych.ac.uk.

FAQs

We know this group is under-represented within our College membership and within psychiatry in general (RCPsych membership data, Sept 2022). Through this scheme, we aim to create a more diverse workforce reflective of our communities.

The College offers support to all medical students, included a number of bursaries, our student associate membership and our Choose Psychiatry initiatives. Our data shows that psychiatrists from Black backgrounds, particularly Black Caribbean, are the most under-represented. For this reason, our scheme has focused on supporting more medical students from Black backgrounds to consider a career in psychiatry.

Applicants must be enrolled in a UK medical school at the start of each fellowship year: 1 September 2025 and 1 September 2026.