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:
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.
When the solar wind interacts with Earth’s magnetosphere, it is heated and slowed from supersonic to subsonic speeds at the bow shock. Shockwaves in space are ‘collisioness’ – the energy in the flow cannot be dissipated by particle collisions (viscosity) since the density is far too low. Instead, electromagnetic effects at the smallest plasma scales must be responsible. These processes lead to a turbulent and strongly time-dependent shock transition region.
Black holes are the densest form of collapsed matter. Understanding these enigmatic objects has implications not only for extreme physics at energies far beyond what we can create in laboratories, but also for galaxy evolution and cosmology. Theories of black hole growth suggest that there ought to be many more active supermassive black holes in neighbouring galaxies than known at present. We now have new powerful telescopes to find these black holes using X-ray and infrared light. The e-ROSITA mission will create the most sensitive X-ray maps of the entire sky to-date, and data from powerful facilities such as NASA's JWST and WISE (and soon WFIRST) telescopes and Europe's Very Large Telescope interferometer will be available in the infrared.
Quantum materials can often exhibit novel and multifunctional properties due to strong coupling between lattice, charge, spin and orbital degrees of freedom. When perturbed into an excited state, non-equilibrium phases often emerge on the femtosecond timescale. They include light-induced superconductivity, terahertz-induced ferroelectricity and ultra-fast solid-phase structural transformations. Understanding non-equilibrium phases in quantum materials is of great interest for the development of next generation technologies and to better understand the underlying mechanisms. To further understand these hidden phases, tools to probe quantum materials with femto-second time-resolution are required.
Are you interested in understanding and exploiting light-matter interactions for the development of affordable and efficient solar cells for a green energy future? This project aims to investigate the charge transport and transfer dynamics in multi-layered semiconductor structures, and to improve efficiencies and stability of a new generation of affordable, high-efficiency solar cells.
The accretion of gas onto supermassive black holes is one of the most efficient known processes to convert mass to energy. While the black hole is growing in mass, a significant amount of energy is emitted into its surroundings. These objects are called active supermassive black holes or Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and are observed in the centres of galaxies. Even though only a small fraction of supermassive black holes is active, AGN are thought to be able to influence the growth of the galaxies in which they live.
You will study the fundamental molecular and solid-state properties of endofullerenes using a combination of techniques.
Only a small fraction of supermassive black holes is currently actively accreting gas and emitting energy into their surroundings. The active states are called Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) but most supermassive black holes are inactive or accreting gas at an extremely low rate. We still do not know what physical processes control if black holes are active or inactive.
Supernovae are cosmic explosions that have a dramatic influence across astrophysics, from galaxy formation, to stellar evolution, to cosmology. The thermonuclear ‘type Ia’ supernovae provide astronomer’s with their best extragalactic ‘standard candle’, and are precise tools to study dark energy and the expansion rate of the universe. The next five years will see a revolution in the field of the number of supernovae discovered will rise from the hundreds, to thousands, to tens of thousands per year.
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 guaranteed funding.
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.
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 £26,445 for a PhD starting in 2022. 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.
2022 to 2023 entry:
| Subject | UK fees | International fees |
|---|---|---|
| Physics and astronomy full time | £4,596 | £24,600 |
| Physics and astronomy part time | £2,298 | £12,300 |
2023 to 2024 entry:
| Subject | UK fees | International fees |
|---|---|---|
| Physics and astronomy full time | tbc | £25,500 |
| Physics and astronomy part time | tbc | £12,750 |
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.
We aim to understand the nature of cosmic objects and the life cycle of stars including the impact of surrounding galaxies.
Studying nanoscale properties of matter and the applications in nanoscience and quantam technology.
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 |
