Studying for a PhD
The Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy is the top-rated materials department in the UK as ranked by Research Quality Profile in the UK's recent Research Assessment Exercise.
It is renowned for its research activities in the following areas:
- Device materials
- Electron microscopy
- Materials chemistry
- Medical & pharmaceutical materials
- Structural materials
Research opportunities in these areas can be found in our list of PhD projects available for entry from October 2013; most of these are available for competitive allocation as EPSRC-funded studentships allocated by the Department.
A number of projects have already been allocated full or part funding by external sponsors and are available immediately - list of funded projects.
See more details about funding opportunities.
The Department is a partner in the Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) in High Performance Structural Metallics (Rolls-Royce) and the Nanoscience & Technology Doctoral Training Centre (NanoDTC), has joint responsibility for the Photonics Systems Development DTC with University College London (UCL), and is also home of the SKF University Technology Centre for Steels.
The Department offers a 4-year EngD under established collaborations with industry. Interested students should first contact the member(s) of academic staff working in their field(s) of research interest, to explore the possibilty of undertaking an EngD, rather than a PhD, as this option is available only in certain circumstances.
The Degree Committee of the Faculty of Physics and Chemistry sets the academic requirement for graduate admissions in this Faculty. For PhD applicants, the minimum academic requirement is the equivalent of 2:i level in a UK 4-year undergraduate Master's Degree in a relevant subject, or a 2:i in a UK 3-year Bachelor's (Honours) degree plus a good one/two year relevant Master's degree.