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Current research degree projects

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Explore our current postgraduate research degree and PhD opportunities.

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275 research degree projects

Engineering | Electronics and Computer Science | Psychology | Medicine | Health sciences

Driving simulation for assessment and rehabilitation

This PhD explores how driving simulators can be used to assess and train driving skills, and support rehabilitation following injury, illness, or disability. The mixed-method, interdisciplinary project will investigate their potential as consistent, objective assessment tools as well as their impact on the recovery of cognitive, sensory, and motor skills.

Funding: Competition funded

Closing date: 31 July 2026
Engineering

3D printed porous metamaterials for protective packaging of high-value objects

High value and irreplaceable items such as precision instrumentation and museum objects must be packaged extremely carefully to protect them from shock and vibration during transportation. 3D printed metamaterials offer the potential for novel, sustainable packaging solutions with substantially improved performance compared to conventional materials.

Funding: Competition funded

Closing date: 5 May 2026
Engineering | Mathematical sciences

Community Noise Prediction for eVTOL aircraft during flight phase transition

This PhD project investigates noise from eVTOL aircraft during transitional flight phases, aiming to improve prediction methods and assess perceived noise using virtual reality. It supports design-performance trade-offs, informs policy, and contributes to quieter, more acceptable urban air mobility systems through semi-empirical modelling and integration with whole-aircraft noise tools.

Funding: Competition funded

Closing date: 31 July 2026
Photonics and optoelectronics

Development of Specialty Optical Fibres for High-power Eye-safe Fibre Lasers

This PhD project will focus on advancing the fabrication of active optical fibres, optimising their material properties, and developing specialised coatings to achieve excellent laser efficiency, good beam quality, and effective thermal management for high-power fibre lasers and amplifiers operating at the eye-safe wavelength of 1.55 micrometers (μm) .

Funding: Competition funded

Closing date: 31 July 2026
Photonics and optoelectronics | Physics and astronomy

Integrating hollow-core fibres with photonic integrated circuits

Are you excited by cutting-edge optics, photonics, and the chance to help develop revolutionary new technology? This PhD project explores how to combine two transformative technologies – Hollow-Core Fibres (HCFs) and Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) to build a revolutionary new photonics platform and unlock new possibilities in science and engineering.

Funding: Fully funded (UK only)

Closing date: 31 July 2026
Engineering

Experimental Measurement and Modelling of Turbulent Dispersed Multiphase Flows using Computer Vision and Machine Learning

This PhD tackles the challenge of understanding turbulent emulsions, which is crucial for developing cleaner, more efficient industrial processes. Using cutting-edge experiments, computer vision and machine learning, you’ll generate unique data to build predictive models of droplet dynamics, advancing both fundamental fluid mechanics and sustainable process engineering.

Funding: Competition funded

Closing date: 31 July 2026
Electronics and Computer Science

Nanostructured neural architectures for sustainable neuromorphic computing

Artificial intelligence is transforming society but comes with a growing energy and carbon cost. This project will explore new nanostructured materials and device architectures that can deliver brain-inspired computing with radically improved energy efficiency.

Funding: Fully funded (UK and international)

Closing date: 17 July 2026
Electronics and Computer Science

Secure communication protocols for photonic integrated circuits in the quantum era

This project explores new cryptographic protocols for metasurface-enabled photonic circuits, addressing vulnerabilities exposed by quantum computing. By integrating quantum random number generators, authentication methods, and formal verification, the research will deliver quantum-resilient optical communication frameworks, advancing secure photonic networking for defense, government, and commercial applications in the era of quantum technologies.

Funding: Competition funded

Closing date: 2 March 2026
Photonics and optoelectronics

Optoelectronic device integration for next-Generation photonic memories and neuromorphic computing

This project focuses on developing nanostructured optoelectronic devices for next-generation photonic memory and neuromorphic computing. You will design and fabricate brain-inspired nanoscale systems using advanced materials and nanopatterning, integrating them with photonic sources to realise high-speed, energy-efficient optoelectronic neural networks for future artificial intelligence (AI) and computing technologies.

Funding: Competition funded

Closing date: 31 July 2026
Electronics and Computer Science

Securing artificial intelligence in autonomous vehicles against cyber threats

This project tackles cybersecurity challenges in AI-powered autonomous vehicles, particularly smart cars. It analyses vulnerabilities in AI models, develops a classification system for cyber threats, and creates a mitigation framework. The research aims to improve resilience, enable safe real-time operation, and set best practices for embedding cybersecurity into AI.

Funding: Competition funded

Closing date: 31 March 2026