Twelve fully-funded studentships per year are available on the 4-year Engineering Doctorate (EngD) programme, hosted by the University of Surrey’s Industrial Doctorate Centre in Sustainability for Engineering & Energy Systems.

The Centre aims to enable the next generation of professionals to become effective agents of change in the transition to a more sustainable, lower carbon economy. It provides a stimulating, transdisciplinary research environment, collaborating with a network of leading business, industry and policy organisations. The Centre supports research addressing three interlinked themes:

• Engineering for Sustainability;
• Systems Approaches;
• Sustainable Energy and Low Carbon Systems.

The Centre’s aim is achieved through recruitment of high-quality graduates (or ‘Research Engineers’) to work on industry-focussed research projects which are academically equivalent to a PhD. The Research Engineers spend around 75% of their time working on real sustainability challenges within a sponsoring organisation. They are supported throughout the programme by a team of academic experts in the field and spend around 25% of their time at the University undertaking a technical and professional development programme, including:

• PRINCE2 Project Management Practitioner Training;
• A 4-year Executive Coaching programme;
• Full research training in both scientific and social research methods to provide the tools required to address the full spectrum of sustainability issues;
• Technical training from the internationally-renowned Centre for Environmental Strategy, in areas including Life Cycle Approaches, Environmental Law and Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility (CSER);
• Eligibility for Associate Membership of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment. 

Unlike a PhD, an EngD can be made up of a number of smaller, linked projects leading to a portfolio of work, mirroring the rapid pace and flexibility of industrial research. As a result, the Research Engineer emerges from the programme as a highly skilled and highly employable ‘Doctor of Engineering’, with valuable industrial experience and a prestigious qualification. A large proportion of EngD graduates are offered employment by the sponsoring organisation on completion of the course, and many go on to become industry experts in their project field.

Each project will be advertised separately on this site but general applications for the course are welcomed at any time. We are looking for students with a minimum of an upper second class or Masters degree in a subject relevant to the individual project – this is usually an engineering or natural science degree although there are often opportunities for other disciplines. Candidates should also demonstrate enthusiasm for working on interdisciplinary problems and a commitment to addressing the sustainability needs of industry. 

Funding of at least £19,500 per year (normally tax-free) is available to successful candidates who meet EPSRC’s eligibility criteria (available at www.epsrc.ac.uk/PostgraduateTraining/StudentEligibility.htm/).