Physics and astronomy
Join our rich and vibrant community of researchers. Together we’re understanding the physics behind the fabric of the Universe and how it affects the world we observe.
Join our rich and vibrant community of researchers. Together we’re understanding the physics behind the fabric of the Universe and how it affects the world we observe.
We are ranked in the top 5 physics and astronomy departments in the Russell Group for our research output. Our world-leading status has been confirmed in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.
You will be supported by a supervisor who'll help you shape your research topic. You'll also join one of our research groups. Being a member of a research group means that interested people are always on hand to hear your ideas, discuss your results and offer help and encouragement.
You'll be able to attend postgraduate lecture courses, classes and research seminars to broaden your knowledge. There will also be opportunities to attend short courses or summer schools, such as Institute of Physics workshops and NATO Advanced Study Institutes. These bring together experts to give lectures and lead discussions.
We'll encourage you to travel for conferences and research collaborations at other large laboratories and world-class observatories, such as CERN and The European Southern Observatory in Chile.
As a newly qualified PhD in Physics, you'll have many career options open to you. Our students head into non-scientific careers, or take up science-based appointments in the UK. Others go one to postdoctoral research, often in the United States, Europe or, increasingly, Japan.
We invite PhD applications to study within the following research areas:
The University of Southampton is pleased to announce that PGR students from EU and Horizon associated countries joining us in 2024-25 will pay the same as UK PGRs for their PhD.
You can either apply for a structured studentship or propose your own PhD idea.
Structured studentships are advertised PhD projects with a title, supervisor, remit and funding already in place. These projects have been set up through collaborations with industry, external partners or they may have been provided through one of several Centres for Doctoral Training which we take part in.
Taking one of our structured studentships will give you access to additional training, conferences and secondments.
This project aims to investigate the optoelectronic properties of semiconductor nanocrystals, to study light emission dynamics and photon correlation, and to optimise the chemical composition and processing methods for achieving improved brightness and purity.
In this project, you will study and explore the entire computational chain, exploring the interaction of classical dimensionality reduction methods with subsequent quantum encoding strategies, coupled with efficient quantum machine learning performed on the low-dimensional, encoded state.
The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below you will receive substantial training in scientific, technical, and commercial skills.
The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below you will receive substantial training in scientific, technical, and commercial skills.
The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below you will receive substantial training in scientific, technical, and commercial skills.Quantum technologies for computing, timekeeping and sensing require atomic wavefunctions to be split and recombined with precision and fidelity. Often, these operations are performed using pulses of laser light, and are affected when atoms move to different beam intensities or incur Doppler shifts. Intriguingly, in the analogous field of magnetic resonance, pulses have been designed that tolerate such variations by shaping the phase and amplitude within each pulse. We have already used these NMR optimal control techniques to design individual ‘mirror’ and ‘beamsplitter’ pulses for atom interferometry.
This PhD project, in the Southampton group of Dr Patrick M Ledingham, concerns the development of a quantum optical memory – a device that stores and recalls on-demand quantum photonic states – to allow for synchronisation capability that will be crucial to scale up a future quantum photonic network.
This PhD project within the Hybrid Quantum Networks Laboratory, concerns the development of a quantum optical memory – a device that stores and recalls on-demand quantum photonic states – to allow for synchronisation capability that will be crucial to scale up a future quantum photonic network.
Supermassive black holes need gas to grow and power their activity. How the gas is transported all the way from the galaxy to the black hole is still a topic of research, but we have recently found evidence that interactions between galaxies can provide this gas. The reason why this is important, is because when black holes are active, the so called ‘Active Galactic Nuclei’ or AGN, they can release a copious amount of energy into their surroundings, possibly affecting the galaxy in which they are hosted.
The University of Southampton is actively recruiting PhD candidates in the fascinating field of Quantum Technology. This is a unique chance for postgraduate students to dive into ambitious research while acquiring comprehensive scientific and technical skills. Our pioneering research has shown how interactions between matter and the quantum vacuum in nanophotonic devices can significantly alter the electronic and optical properties of materials. Our goal is now to turn our discoveries into useful tools to design and fabricate engineered quantum materials enabling applications in sensing, quantum computing, and quantum optoelectronics.
The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below you will receive substantial training in scientific, technical, and commercial skills.
The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below you will receive substantial training in scientific, technical, and commercial skills.
The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below you will receive substantial training in scientific, technical, and commercial skills.
The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below you will receive substantial training in scientific, technical, and commercial skills. This research focuses on the development of Nonreciprocal quantum metasurfaces for the next generation of telecommunication systems, merging academic excellence with a strong emphasis on enterprise collaborations.
The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below, you will receive substantial training in scientific, technical, and commercial skills.
Metaoptics, the application of metasurface concepts in optical systems, is a rapidly growing field that has the potential to revolutionise a wide range of applications, such as sensing, imaging, and telecommunications. The design and fabrication of high precision, large-area metaoptic components requires achieving high precision and accuracy over a large diameter. Next to making metamaterial devices that are very good at one particular function, there is a strong interest to develop multifunctional metasurfaces with properties that can be controlled or programmed after the initial fabrication. By combining metaoptics with novel materials that can change their state depending on electrical or optical control signals, new types of applications can be enabled.
In this project, the student will develop new technologies for integrated quantum optical chips allowing programming and tuning of devices under different operating conditions and in particular for operation in a cryogenic environment.
The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below you will receive substantial training in scientific, technical, and commercial skills.
The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below you will receive substantial training in scientific, technical, and commercial skills. Quantum information technology is transforming the landscape of information gathering, encoding, manipulation, transmission, and storage. Photons, among the diverse quantum information carriers, exhibit resilience at room temperature, compatibility with existing communication and sensing infrastructure, and the presence of optical devices.
The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below you will receive substantial training in scientific, technical, and commercial skills.Membrane quantum well waveguide lasers are a more flexible route to hybrid silicon/III V laser structures in which a III V quantum well membrane laser is contact-bonded onto the surface of silica on silicon substrates (see Optics Express 30, 32174 (2022)). We have the capability to release these membranes and position them in the integrated photonics cleanroom. The membrane quantum well lasers can provide lasing in-plane as a single laser or an array of coherent lasers without the use of an external cavity. They show the potential to be integrated with silicon photonics as the light source. Here we want to combine these laser sources with meta-surfaces. Meta-surfaces, harnessing subwavelength 2D nanostructures, commonly referred to as meta-atoms, arranged in either a periodic or aperiodic fashion, have garnered growing interest for their extraordinary ability to control light in both classical and quantum light (see Nature Photonics 15, 327 (2021)).
The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below you will receive substantial training in scientific, technical, and commercial skills.Membrane quantum well lasers contact-bonded onto the surface of sapphire or silicon carbide have been demonstrated to create perfect Gaussian beams. We have the capability to release these membranes and position them in the integrated photonics cleanroom on top of substrates and we have demonstrated external cavity lasing with them.
The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below you will receive substantial training in scientific, technical, and commercial skills. This PhD project will contribute to provide sensors to operate at real world settings to the acceleration noise level of 10-10 m/s2/√Hz based on demonstrated levitated mechanics experiment in our Southampton labs.
The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below you will receive substantial training in scientific, technical, and commercial skills.
In the local Universe, galaxies can be broadly classified into discs, ellipticals and irregulars. Discs contain regularly-rotating gas, and are forming new stars. Ellipticals contain predominantly old stars in randomly oriented, round-shaped orbits, don't have much gas and are no longer forming stars. Irregulars are often the result of the merger between two disc galaxies, are rich in gas and dust, and are forming stars at an intense rate.
The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below you will receive substantial training in scientific, technical, and commercial skills.
This exciting PhD project offers a unique opportunity to develop a high-efficiency, all-in-one in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) system for future crewed Mars missions. Your research will explore the cutting-edge potential of non-thermal plasmas for two crucial objectives:Purifying Martian water: Removing biological and chemical contaminants from water extracted from the Martian surface, enabling its safe use for astronauts.Generating essential resources: Dissociating Martian CO2 to produce oxygen and rocket fuel, eliminating the need to transport these vital supplies from Earth.Water, oxygen, and fuel are the lifeblood of any Mars mission. Due to the immense distance and travel time, transporting these necessities is simply not feasible. Enter ISRU, the key to a sustainable and independent future on Mars. This project will be built upon the University of Southampton's proven expertise in plasma technology. Our innovative plasma micro-bubble water (PMW) reactor can already remove 99.8% of chemical contaminants and achieve an 8-log reduction in biological contaminants.
We offer a wide range of fully funded studentships. We run several of our PhD studentships in partnership with doctoral training centres, meaning you'll benefit from enhanced training and in some cases funding as well.
These studentships:
Doctoral training centres offer fully funded studentships which include:
• a taught first year
• 3 year of PhD research
Find out more about doctoral training centres.
In association with the UK joining the EU Horizon Programme, the University of Southampton will be introducing and applying an EU fee waiver for students joining us from EU and Horizon associated countries. This means that PGR students joining us from 2024-25 will pay the same fees as UK PGR students.
See here for full information terms and conditions
We offer scholarships and teaching bursaries ourselves. Your potential supervisor can guide you on what is available.
If you’re an international student you may be able to apply for a scholarship from your country.
Find out more about scholarships
Once you've found a supervisor, they can help you with potential funding sources. We offer match funding in some cases.
You'll need to state how you intend to pay for your tuition fees when you submit your application.
Find out more about funding your PhD
You may be able to fund your postgraduate research with funding from your current employer or from industry.
You can borrow up to £28,673 for a PhD starting in 2023. Doctoral loans are not means tested and you can decide how much you want to borrow.
Find out about PhD loans on GOV.UK
You may be able to win funding from one or more charities to help fund your PhD.
We charge tuition fees for every year of study. If you're applying for a fully funded project, your fees will be paid for you.
EU Fee Waiver: If your country is part of the Horizon Europe Programme, you will pay the same fees as UK students.
Find out if your country is part of the Horizon Europe programme
2023 to 2024 entry:
Subject | UK and Horizon applicants | International fees |
---|---|---|
Physics and astronomy full time | tbc | £25,500 |
Physics and astronomy part time | tbc | £12,750 |
2024 to 2025 entry:
Subject | UK and Horizon applicants | International fees |
---|---|---|
Physics and astronomy full time | £4,786 | £26,100 |
Physics and astronomy part time | £2,393 | £13,050 |
You're eligible for a 10% alumni discount on a self-funded PhD if you're a current student or graduate from the University of Southampton.
As a postgraduate student you'll join one of our research groups. We're ranked in the top five departments for our research output among the Russell Group universities.
Decide whether to apply to an advertised research project or create your own proposal.
It's a good idea to email potential supervisors to discuss the specifics of your project. It's best to do this well ahead of the application deadline.
You’ll find supervisors’ contact details listed with the advertised project, or you can search for supervisors in the staff directory.
You’ll need to send us
The application process is the same whether you're applying for a funded project, or have created a research proposal.
You should have a 2:1 honours undergraduate degree or an appropriate MSc qualification such as Master of Science in physics or a Master of Physics.
If English is not your first language, you'll need an IELTS minimum level of 6.0 with a 5.5 in writing, reading, speaking and listening.
Your awarded certificate needs to be dated within the last 2 years.
If you need further English language tuition before starting your degree, you can apply for one of our pre-sessional English language courses.
Check the specific entry requirements listed on the project you’re interested in before you apply.
Research degrees have a minimum and maximum duration, known as the candidature. Your candidature ends when you submit your thesis.
Most candidatures are longer than the minimum period.
Degree type | Duration |
Physics and astronomy PhD full time | 2 to 4 years |
Physics and astronomy PhD part time | 3 to 7 years |