Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at University of Southampton | About the University Department | 76 PhD programmes in English

Student life at the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Take your place in a vibrant, inclusive research community where you’ll get all the support you need to thrive.

Welcome events, mentoring schemes, talks and regular informal coffee sessions will help you settle in and make connections, while the University’s Doctoral College brings the wider postgraduate research community together to share ideas and celebrate successes. Its activities include poster exhibitions and a Three Minute Thesis competition – won in 2025 by one of our second-year Electronics and Computer Science researchers, who went through to the UK semi-finals.

We are committed to fostering an environment where research excellence and inclusion go hand in hand, through initiatives such as the Race Equality Charter, Athena Swan recognition and Black Futures Scholarships. Postgraduate networks, including a parents’ and carers’ network and LGBTQ+ groups, create a space for people with shared interests or priorities. There are also comprehensive wellbeing, disability and inclusion services to provide any additional support you might need.

Depending on your field of research, you’ll likely be based at Highfield Campus, which blends a traditional academic setting with modern facilities, or the University’s newest campus at nearby Boldrewood. Both campuses are home to world-class research and testing facilities.

From either location, you’ll be able to enjoy all that Southampton has to offer. A friendly, walkable city with a mix of cultural venues, green spaces, coastal walks and a mild climate, it’s a great place for postgraduate life.

Subjects available at the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Acoustics

Acoustics Engineering

Aerospace Engineering

Applied Chemistry

Applied Mathematics

Architecture

Artificial Intelligence

Astronomy

Astrophysics

Atomic Engineering

Automotive Engineering

Biochemistry

Biodiversity

Bioengineering

Bioinformatics

Biomedical Engineering

Biophysics

Biotechnology

Built Environment

Cancer Biology

Cell Biology

Chemical Engineering

Civil Engineering

Communications Engineering

Computational Chemistry

Computational Mathematics

Computational Physics

Computer Architectures

Computer Graphics

Computer Vision

Control Systems

Cyber Security

Cybernetics

Data Analysis

Data Science

Dynamics

Electrical Engineering

Electromagnetism

Electronic Engineering

Energy Technologies

Engineering Mathematics

Environmental Biology

Environmental Chemistry

Environmental Engineering

Environmental Physics

Experimental Physics

Fluid Mechanics

Human Computer Interaction

Hydrology

Immunology

Industrial Chemistry

Inorganic Chemistry

Internet Of Things

Machine Learning

Manufacturing Engineering

Marine Engineering

Marine Sciences

Mathematical Modelling

Mechanical Engineering

Mechanics

Mechatronics

Microbiology

Nanotechnology

Networks

Neuroscience

Nuclear Physics

Operational Research

Optical Physics

Computer Science

Physics

Materials Science

Economics

Psychology

Medicine

Philosophy

Particle Physics

Physical Chemistry

Probability

Quantum Computing

Quantum Mechanics

Robotics

Software Engineering

Solid Mechanics

Solid State Physics

Space Science

Statistics

Structural Engineering

Structural Mechanics

Systems Engineering

Theoretical Physics

Thermodynamics

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Frequently asked questions

When can I start my studies?

Our standard start dates are September, January, April, and June, with most postgraduate researchers starting in September. If you hold a student visa and are currently studying for an MSc in the UK, the September start date may not be available to you.

What other PhD funding opportunities are available?

Our ‘competition-funded’ projects are eligible to apply to other funding schemes. Some of these may cover the difference between overseas and UK tuition fees, and others will support your tuition fees and/or provide an annual stipend. Horizon Europe fee waivers are automatically applied for all eligible postgraduate researchers starting their programme in the 2026/27 academic year. The waiver covers the difference between overseas and UK tuition fees, and you can combine this waiver with other funding sources. Visit our website for a list of eligible countries. You may qualify for one of our postgraduate scholarships or fee waivers that cover tuition fees and more. Search for your topic area and check the ‘Funding and fees’ page for more information about our schools’ funding arrangements. Many of those projects are funded through the EPSRC Doctoral Landscape Award.

How do I find a PhD supervisor?

Each project listing has an assigned supervisor; you’ll find their contact details in the listing. You are not limited to the listed projects – if you have a research idea of your own, you can search for a possible supervisor or make an enquiry.

What is a fully funded research project?

Projects advertised as ‘fully funded’ will cover your tuition fees and provide a tax-free annual stipend to support your living costs. UK Research and Innovation has set the minimum stipend at £20,780 (for full-time students).

These opportunities are highly competitive and often come with specific eligibility requirements, so it’s important to check the funding information for the project before applying.

What are the entry requirements for postgraduate researchers?

Our programmes typically require a minimum of an upper second-class (2:1) honours undergraduate degree (or equivalent), or a master’s-level qualification, in a relevant subject. Evidence of prior professional practice or learning may also be taken into account. Our funded programmes are highly competitive and normally require at least a first-class honours degree (or equivalent).

Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Why study at the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences?

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Main campus

AI for Nature: Using computer science to reconnect fragmented freshwater ecosystems

AI-driven silicon photonics circuits design

AI-generated content detection and localization

Antiresonant hollow core optical fibre precision coils

Artificial intelligence techniques for illness detection by using MRI

Artificial Medical Intelligence for personalised and preventive healthcare

Assessing the Health Impacts of Adaptive and Maladaptive Housing Design Interventions in the UK's Changing Climate

Autonomous Close-Proximity Spacecraft Operations: Hardware-in-the-Loop Validation of Neuromorphic Event Cameras

Biometric recognition systems with artificial intelligence techniques

Brain-inspired security primitive for secure hardware in space

Close Encounters: Interaction of turbulent boundary layers with junctions

Closing the gap: neuromorphic silicon for non-invasive communication BCIs

Computational design and characterisation of lattice metamaterials

Cybersecurity for brain–computer interfaces: protecting neural data inside the implant

Deep Learning Modelling of Nano Defects in Chip Fabrication

Developing effective interfaces for Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) data collection to support prediction and treatment of health conditions in the community

Developing high performance optical amplifiers for the future of space communications

Development of high-performance miniaturised ultrasonic devices for precision minimally invasive surgery

Dynamic electromagnetic metasurfaces for advanced wave engineering

Engineering Coherence in Metamaterials and Metasurfaces

EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Quantum Technology Engineering

Event-based computing for real-time computer vision systems

Fabricating Photonic Lanterns to Mitigate Scintillation in Satellite-borne Optical Communication Signals

Flat optical fibre platform for next-generation transformer winding vibration monitoring

Geometric diodes for RF energy harvesting and integrated circuits

Graphene-based silicon photonic photodetectors for mid-infrared wavelengths

Hidden monsters: A new era for understanding obscured black hole growth

High coherent broadband light sources based on soft-glass optical fibers

Hunting for black holes in the galaxy

Integrated polysilicon photonics

Intelligent Nanofabrication for Nanophotonics

Interaction of light and sound in emerging hollow core optical fibres

Investigating surface textures to optimize flow dynamics using multi-fidelity surrogate modeling

Low-loss soft-glass microstructured optical fibres and their nonlinear optical applications

Making nanoscale materials: precision fabrication of high-performance functional structures

Market failure or market adaptation? rethinking cybercrime and cybersecurity markets

Metasurface technologies for physical AI: machine learning-enabled nanophotonics for consumer electronics

Microbial governed Biocomputing for Robots with Autonomy and Intelligence (MicroBRAIN)

Miniaturised Mid-Infrared Photonic Systems for Gas Detection and Mapping

Modelling gust-wing interactions in curvilinear flows

Multi-level topology optimization of architected metamaterial structures

Multimodal Large Language Model for Human-Centered Robots

Multiphysics modeling of degradation in next-generation thermal barrier coatings

Next generation silicon photonic modulators

Non-Hermitian topological physics

On-chip topological photonics

Optoelectronic AI processors for cryogenic and space electronics

Optoelectronic topological metasurfaces for light control

PhD in Wireless communications and signal processing for next generation wireless systems

Photonic time crystals and timetronics

Picophotonics: the science of light-matter interactions at sub-nanometre scale

Polarization effects in antiresonant hollow core optical fibres

Programmable silicon photonic circuits

Pure mathematics for computational optimization: structure, algorithms and efficiency

Quantum signals via hollow core optical fibres

Rational design of heterogeneous catalysts for sustainable applications

Reliable detection of cognitive and affective states from biomedical signals

Resilient defence sensing: adaptive modelling for trust, compromise, and coalition detection

Responsibility gaps and AI safety in multiagent systems

Robotic Monitoring for Place Recognition and Change Detection in Dynamic Underwater Environments

Rough around the edges: turbulence and drag over complex surfaces

Secure and Trustworthy AI for Autonomous Vehicle Ecosystems