PhD Studentships in Physics and Astronomy

The University of Glasgow is home to an internationally-leading research community, an innovative graduate training programme and a long-standing reputation for excellent education, making it a vibrant environment for Physics and Astronomy studies.

Located in one of the UK’s friendliest and most liveable cities, the University of Glasgow welcomes applicants for postgraduate research. Research students have access to state-of-the-art local facilities, and many participate in large-scale, multi-national collaborative projects. The postgraduate experience is enhanced through the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA), which blends the best resources and expertise from many institutions to provide a training experience with a competitive advantage.

Applicants are potentially eligible for a range of scholarships to support their study, including the James McCune Smith Scholarships for Black UK PhD students.

Research Groups:

Astronomy & Astrophysics

• Solar physics theory
• Observational solar physics
• Plasma physics low- and high-temperature theory and computation
• Radio astronomy

Astronomy & Physics Education

• Student learning experience and engagement
• Sense of belonging and identity
• Teaching and learning practical skills in the post-covid area
• Equality, diversity and inclusion in the curriculum

Extreme Light

• Computational and artificial intelligence techniques for imaging
• Single photon imaging for life sciences, bio-imaging and healthcare
• Imaging with entanglement
• Fundamentals of quantum physics in curved spacetime

Imaging Concepts Group

• Computational and spectral imaging and microscopy
• Microscopy technologies including light-sheet microscopy and multiphoton microscopy, as well as optical manipulation
• Retinal imaging and cardiac imaging
• Transformation optics

Institute for Gravitational Research

• Gravitational wave (GW) data analysis, and applications to cosmology, tests of gravity and compact-object astrophysics
• Materials for use as mirrors and suspensions in GW detectors
• Enhancing the sensitivity of future GW detectors using cryogenics
• Optical systems to be used in space-based GW detectors

Materials & Condensed Matter Physics

• Development of barocaloric materials for zero-carbon heat pumps
• Fabrication and analysis of functional nanomaterials for device technologies
• Nanopatterned and skyrmionic magnetic materials for spintronic applications
• Development of advanced electron microscopy techniques using fast pixelated detectors

Nuclear & Hadron Physics

• Investigating the quark structure of the nucleon through quantum chromodynamics (QCD)
• Spectroscopy of strongly interacting particles and the search for exotic states of matter
• Development of advanced particle detector technology
• Industrial, medical and other applications of nuclear science

Optics

• Atom cooling and trapping for quantum technologies
• Optics with complex vector light fields
• Quantum optics, single photon imaging and ranging
• Transformation optics beyond lenses and mirrors

Particle Physics Experiment 

• Higgs, top quark, precision QCD, and beyond Standard Model physics searches
• ATLAS, LHCb, NA62 and T2K experiments
• Future neutrino and linear collider experiments
• Development of detector systems

Particle Physics Theory

• Precision tests of the Standard Model through QCD
• Searches for new physics through rare weak decays of hadrons
• Phenomenology of particle physics at colliders
• Beyond the Standard Model physics, effective field theory and cosmology

Quantum Theory

• Foundations of quantum theory, quantum optics and quantum information
• Molecular and atomic light matter interactions
• Non-equilibrium quantum fields and analogue models of gravity and cosmology
• Quantum measurements and quantum algorithms

PhD & research Masters programs

Email: phas-pgradmissions@glasgow.ac.uk
More information and links to online application: www.gla.ac.uk/schools/physics/research/postgraduate/

Postgraduate scholarships & funding

More information and links for postgraduate research and taught student funding: https://www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/scienceengineering/graduateschool/scholarships/

Life in Glasgow

More information and links to guides to university life: www.gla.ac.uk/study/studentlife/