Close up of a plant in front of the Bridge of Sighs
The Bridge of Sighs, part of Hertford College
(Image Credit: Alyssa Ovadis / Graduate Photography Competition)

Materials 4.0 (EPSRC CDT)

About the course

The Materials 4.0 cohort-based training programme offers a four-year doctoral course (eight-years if studying part-time) focusing on the digitalisation of materials research and innovation to link the digital and physical via cyber-physical systems for prediction, classification, and control of material performance.

This programme aims to train the new generation of doctoral scientists able to work across interfaces between machine learning, informatics, physical and cyber systems and modelling.

The set of skills you will acquire during the programme will enable you to exploit new developments in high-throughput approaches for making, characterising and testing new materials to tackle a broad range of materials science challenges in areas including: 2D materials, advanced metal processing, atoms to devices, biomedical materials, chemical materials design, material systems for demanding environment, electrochemical systems and nuclear materials.

The Materials 4.0 CDT programme has been developed by a consortium led by the Henry Royce Institute together with seven Universities (Strathclyde, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Cambridge, Oxford and Imperial College) and two national institutes (National Physical Laboratory and the Alan Turing Institute).

The programme has a large industrial base collaboration and most of the projects are with industrial partners. The training programme is structured to allow you to engage with your research projects immediately following a residential induction, during which you will begin to build intra- and inter-cohort cohesion. Early commencement of research gives you the opportunity to establish relationships with your supervisors, host research groups and industrial sponsors from the outset.

The training programme interleaves activities with ongoing research, building from basic learning to leadership over four years and is delivered using traditional (face-to-face) and modern (remote online) learning formats.

Part-time pathways (up to 8 years) both University- or industry-based are also offered alongside the traditional full-time engagement programme.

In the first two years as a full-time student (four years if studying part-time), you will learn core skills such as basic programming, data analysis and visualisation, machine learning, research data management, experimental design, and communication and coaching. These core-skill courses will provide you with the personal toolkit required to conduct your research.

In the last two years, (four years if studying part-time) you will take the lead in developing and delivering training materials for the younger students and become an advocate for the digitalisation of materials discovery and manufacturing in industry and academia. 

Attendance

The course can be studied full-time or part-time with both modes requiring attendance in Oxford. Full-time students are subject to the University's Residence requirements. Part-time students are required to attend course-related activities in Oxford for a minimum of 30 days each year.

The full-time course is usually studied over four years. The part-time course is usually studied over eight years.

Provision exists for students on some courses to undertake their research in a ‘well-founded laboratory’ outside of the University. This may require travel to and attendance at a site that is not located in Oxford. Where known, existing collaborations will be outlined on this page. Please read the course information carefully, including the additional information about course fees and costs. 

Resources to support your study

As a graduate student, you will have access to the University's wide range of world-class resources including libraries, museums, galleries, digital resources and IT services.

The Bodleian Libraries is the largest library system in the UK. It includes the main Bodleian Library and libraries across Oxford, including major research libraries and faculty, department and institute libraries. Together, the Libraries hold more than 13 million printed items, provide access to e-journals, and contain outstanding special collections including rare books and manuscripts, classical papyri, maps, music, art and printed ephemera.

The University's IT Services is available to all students to support with core university IT systems and tools, as well as many other services and facilities. IT Services also offers a range of IT learning courses for students, to support with learning and research.

The department has excellent and wide-ranging research resources including:

  • a world-class suite of electron microscopy facilities including a JEOL ARM analytical STEM, a JEOL 3000F FEG STEM, and two Zeiss Merlin ultrahigh resolution SEMs optimised for EBSD and EDX analysis, together with a number of supporting and training instruments. Much of this equipment is installed in the David Cockayne Centre for Electron Microscopy;
  • additional electron microscopy facilities are available at the national electron Physical Science Imaging Centre;
  • extensive further facilities for characterising materials including, for example, AFM, XPS, and Raman microscopy;
  • advanced sample preparation and micromachining facilities including a Zeiss NVision 40 FIB/SEM and three other FIB instruments;
  • microhardness measurement facilities (at high temperatures and at the nm scale);
  • special processing or manufacturing facilities for ceramics, composites, carbon nanomaterials, rapidly solidified materials and devices such as novel batteries
  • superb facilities for 3-D atom probe analysis (including LEAP 5000XS and LEAP 5000XR);
  • an alloy processing and mechanical properties laboratory, for aerospace and nuclear materials; and
  • wide range of specialist modelling software including some operated by the Materials Modelling Laboratory, and access to Oxford's High Performance Computing resources.

The department’s Institute for Industrial Materials and Manufacturing, located at the University's Begbroke Science Park, offers world-class facilities for advanced materials processing. The Begbroke site also houses a number of materials-related spinout companies.

The Oxford Materials Characterisation Service provides a major suite of equipment for the characterisation of materials used in microtechnology and nanotechnology.

In addition to the excellent central and college library provision, there is a specialist Materials Science Library housed within the department.

Supervision

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Department of Materials and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found from outside the Department of Materials.

Typically, you should expect to have meetings with your supervisor or a member of the supervisory team with a frequency of at least once every two weeks averaged across the year. The regularity of these meetings may be subject to variations according to the time of the year, and the stage that you are at in your research programme.

Assessment

The first 18 months are a probationary period, soon after which, subject to satisfactory progress, you will normally transfer from Probationer Research Student (PRS) to full DPhil status.  The probationary period for part-time students will be normally be two years in duration. A second formal assessment of progress, Confirmation of Status, takes place later in the programme, normally at the start of the fourth year for full-time students. The Transfer of Status and Confirmation of Status assessments are conducted by two members of staff other than the student’s supervisor(s) or advisors.

Examination for the DPhil takes place at the end of the programme by means of a written thesis and an oral examination.

Graduate destinations

Graduates of the DPhil and MSc by Research in Materials are highly regarded by a wide range of employers, including universities, high-tech start-up companies, engineering consultancies, industry (including aerospace, electronics, automotive, steel manufacture, medical and household products sectors), world-famous technology companies, schools and colleges, and the financial and business sectors.

Changes to this course and your supervision

The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made if a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency occurs. In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.

Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.

For further information please see our page on changes to courses and the provisions of the student contract regarding changes to courses.

Entry requirements for entry in 2025-26

Proven and potential academic excellence

The requirements described below are specific to this course and apply only in the year of entry that is shown. You can use our interactive tool to help you evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive.

Please be aware that any studentships that are linked to this course may have different or additional requirements and you should read any studentship information carefully before applying. 

Degree-level qualifications

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:

  • a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in a suitable science subject.

The above qualification(s) should be achieved in one of the following subject areas or disciplines:

  • materials science
  • chemistry
  • physics
  • mathematics
  • engineering

However, other subjects may be acceptable depending on the area of research chosen.

For candidates with a UK bachelor's degree or UK integrated undergraduate master's degree, normally an overall grade of at least 65% is required.

As examples of international equivalents to this requirement: for the US system a GPA of 3.5 out of 4.0 on a four-year bachelor's programme is normally regarded as equivalent and for the Chinese system an overall degree mark of 85% on a four-year bachelor's degree programme from a Double First Class University department is normally regarded as equivalent.

In some countries, some bachelor's degrees are not acceptable for direct progression to a PhD in that country; normally such degrees are not acceptable for entry to this course unless the candidate also holds or expects to achieve a master's degree with an overall mark equivalent to at least 65% in a UK taught master's degree.

If your degree is not from the UK or another country specified above, visit our International Qualifications page for guidance on the qualifications and grades that would usually be considered to meet the University’s minimum entry requirements.

Normally the required qualification(s) must be achieved by the date of commencement of the research programme for which you have applied. 

GRE General Test scores

No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought. 

Other qualifications, evidence of excellence and relevant experience

Additional indicators considered when assessing an application against the department's criteria include performance in previous research project(s), the award of national prizes, the award of substantial scholarships to assist with previous university-level study/activity (if you mention such scholarships in your CV please indicate the monetary value and duration), preliminary knowledge of relevant research techniques, and your suitability for the research projects in which you have expressed interest.

The criteria against which your written application and performance at interview will be assessed are:

  • appropriate indicators of proven and/or potential: academic excellence, research excellence, originality, ability to absorb new ideas, reasoning ability, creativity of thought, initiative, and capacity for sustained and intense work;
  • sufficient evidence, in the view of the assessors, to suggest that you have the academic ability, motivation and commitment to (i) pursue the chosen research programme to a successful conclusion within the required time limits, and (ii) to pursue research in the subject of materials at a high level;
  • the programme of study, including research topic, that you wish to pursue is well suited to the academic interests and abilities to which you and/or your referees have drawn attention in your application. For some projects this may include the ability to work as part of a team; and
  • sufficient evidence of ability to (i) engage in a scientific or technical discussion in English at a satisfactory level, both verbally and in writing, (ii) understand a reasoned case presented in English and (iii) present a reasoned case in English.

Publications are not essential but will be taken into account. Please include the references and abstracts of any publications you may have in peer-reviewed international journals in your CV.

Further guidance

It should be noted that acceptance on a particular programme gives no guarantee of final success, and all research programmes require you to develop your learning and skills to new levels in order to successfully undertake all the assessment hurdles of a research programme.

English language proficiency

This course requires proficiency in English at the University's standard level. If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement. The minimum scores required to meet the University's standard level are detailed in the table below.

Minimum scores required to meet the University's standard level requirement
TestMinimum overall scoreMinimum score per component
IELTS Academic (Institution code: 0713) 7.06.5

TOEFL iBT, including the 'Home Edition'

(Institution code: 0490)

100Listening: 22
Reading: 24
Speaking: 25
Writing: 24
C1 Advanced*185176
C2 Proficiency185176

*Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English or Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)
Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)

Your test must have been taken no more than two years before the start date of your course. Our Application Guide provides further information about the English language test requirement.

Declaring extenuating circumstances

If your ability to meet the entry requirements has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (eg you were awarded an unclassified/ungraded degree) or any other exceptional personal circumstance (eg other illness or bereavement), please refer to the guidance on extenuating circumstances in the Application Guide for information about how to declare this so that your application can be considered appropriately.

References

You will need to register three referees who can give an informed view of your academic ability and suitability for the course. The How to apply section of this page provides details of the types of reference that are required in support of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.

Supporting documents

You will be required to supply supporting documents with your application. The How to apply section of this page provides details of the supporting documents that are required as part of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.

Performance at interview

Interviews are normally held as part of the admissions process. 

Interviews normally take place after you submit your application and normally within an eight-working week period of the application deadline for which you submitted a complete application.

These interviews may be conducted face-to-face or by telephone or video-link. Shortlisting for interview is carried out according to the criteria included in the present entry requirements as judged from your written application (including references).

Normally the applications of candidates who are recommended post-interview by a prospective supervisor as suitable for a place will be assessed by at least two members of staff with experience of supervising doctoral students and in addition may be assessed by the department’s Director of Graduate Studies. All decisions to offer a place require approval by the Director of Graduate Studies or deputy.

If you are applying for part-time study and invited to attend an interview, you may be asked about your ability to commit sufficient time to study and fulfil all elements outlined in the course description (eg completing coursework, assessments, and attending course and University events and modules).

Offer conditions for successful applications

If you receive an offer of a place at Oxford, your offer will outline any conditions that you need to satisfy and any actions you need to take, together with any associated deadlines. These may include academic conditions, such as achieving a specific final grade in your current degree course. These conditions will usually depend on your individual academic circumstances and may vary between applicants. Our 'After you apply' pages provide more information about offers and conditions

In addition to any academic conditions which are set, you will also be required to meet the following requirements:

Financial Declaration

If you are offered a place, you will be required to complete a Financial Declaration in order to meet your financial condition of admission.

Disclosure of criminal convictions

In accordance with the University’s obligations towards students and staff, we will ask you to declare any relevant, unspent criminal convictions before you can take up a place at Oxford.

Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS)

Some postgraduate research students in science, engineering and technology subjects will need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate prior to applying for a Student visa (under the Student Route). For some courses, the requirement to apply for an ATAS certificate may depend on your research area.

Evidence of ability to study for employed part-time applicants

If you are applying for part-time study and are currently employed, you may be asked to provide evidence that your employment will not affect your ability to study and that you can commit sufficient time to fulfil all elements outlined in the course description. You may be asked to provide details about your pattern of employment and provide evidence to show how you will fulfil your commitment to make time available to study, to complete coursework, and attend course and University events and modules.

Department of Materials

As a student on one of Oxford's research degree programmes in materials, you will be part of one of the top-ranked materials departments in the world (QS World University Rankings 2024).

In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) assessment of research excellence in UK universities, research from the University's Department of Materials and Department of Engineering Science was jointly submitted to REF Unit of Assessment (UOA) 12 - Engineering (there is not a specific REF UOA for Materials). The results for this submission show that:

  • 71% of the research activity of the two departments was judged to be in the highest category of excellence, Grade 4* ('World- leading');
  • a further 26% of the research activity of the two departments was judged as Grade 3* ('Internationally Excellent'); and
  • 90% of research impact was judged to be ‘World-leading’.

The department's high rating for research is evidence of its excellence in a wide range of materials research.

At the time of writing the department's vibrant materials research community consists of 31 academic staff, 10 Senior Fellows / Senior Research Staff, over 200 DPhil students, and 80 postdoctoral researchers. Research students are of many nationalities and come to the department from diverse scientific backgrounds; primarily materials science, physics, chemistry and engineering, but including too subjects such as mathematics, earth sciences and biology.

Leading-edge research is carried out across a wide range of materials science, ranging from atomic-scale characterization, through state-of-the-art materials modelling, to pilot industrial-scale processing.

Research students in the Department of Materials are also members of the University's MPLS Graduate School, which provides a wide range of support and training in addition to that offered by the department.

Funding

For entry in the 2025-26 academic year, the collegiate University expects to offer over 1,000 full or partial graduate scholarships across a wide range of graduate courses.

If you apply by the January deadline shown on this page and receive a course offer, your application will then be considered for Oxford scholarships. For the majority of Oxford scholarships, your application will automatically be assessed against the eligibility criteria, without needing to make a separate application. There are further Oxford scholarships available which have additional eligibility criteria and where you are required to submit a separate application. Most scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and/or potential.

To ensure that you are considered for Oxford scholarships that require a separate application, for which you may be eligible, use our fees, funding and scholarship search tool to identify these opportunities and find out how to apply. Alongside Oxford scholarships, you should also consider other opportunities for which you may be eligible including a range of external fundingloan schemes for postgraduate study and any other scholarships which may also still be available after the January deadline as listed on our fees, funding and scholarship search tool.

Details of college-specific funding opportunities can also be found on individual college websites:

Please refer to the College preference section of this page to identify which of the colleges listed above accept students for this course.

For the majority of college scholarships, it doesn’t matter which college, if any, you state a preference for in your application. If another college is able to offer you a scholarship, your application can be moved to that college if you accept the scholarship. Some college scholarships may require you to state a preference for that college when you apply, so check the eligibility requirements carefully.

All applicants who are offered a place on this course will be offered a fully-funded scholarship, covering all course fees for the duration of their course and a living stipend.

Further information about funding opportunities for this course can be found on the department's website.

Costs

Annual fees for entry in 2025-26

Full-time study

Fee status

Annual Course fees

Home£10,070
Overseas£33,370

Part-time study

Fee status

Annual Course fees

Home£5,035
Overseas£16,685

Information about course fees

Course fees are payable each year, for the duration of your fee liability (your fee liability is the length of time for which you are required to pay course fees). For courses lasting longer than one year, please be aware that fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on changes to fees and charges.

Course fees cover your teaching as well as other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies. Unless specified in the additional information section below, course fees do not cover your accommodation, residential costs or other living costs. They also don’t cover any additional costs and charges that are outlined in the additional information below.

Continuation charges

Following the period of fee liability, you may also be required to pay a University continuation charge and a college continuation charge. The University and college continuation charges are shown on the Continuation charges page.

Where can I find further information about fees?

The Fees and Funding section of this website provides further information about course fees, including information about fee status and eligibility and your length of fee liability.

Additional information

Full-time study

There are no compulsory elements of this course that entail additional costs beyond fees (or, after fee liability ends, continuation charges) and living costs. However, please note that, depending on your choice of research topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips. You will need to meet these additional costs, although you may be able to apply for small grants from your department and/or college to help you cover some of these expenses.

Part-time study

Please note that you are required to attend in Oxford for a minimum of 30 days each year, and you may incur additional travel and accommodation expenses for this. Also, depending on your choice of research topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur further additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips. You will need to meet these additional costs, although you may be able to apply for small grants from your department and/or college to help you cover some of these expenses.

Living costs

In addition to your course fees and any additional course-specific costs, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course.

Living costs for full-time study

For the 2025-26 academic year, the range of likely living costs for a single, full-time student is between £1,425 and £2,035 for each month spent in Oxford. We provide the cost per month so you can multiply up by the number of months you expect to live in Oxford. Depending on your circumstances, you may also need to budget for the costs of a student visa and immigration health surcharge and/or living costs for family members or other dependants that you plan to bring with you to Oxford (assuming that dependant visa eligibility criteria are met).

Living costs for part-time study

Your living costs may vary depending on your personal circumstances but you will still need to cover your cost of living on a full-time basis for the duration of your course, even if you will not be based in Oxford throughout your studies. While the range of likely living costs for a single, full-time student living in Oxford is between £1,425 and £2,035 per month, living costs outside Oxford may be different.

Part-time students who are not based in Oxford will need to calculate travel and accommodation costs carefully. Depending on your circumstances and study plans, this may include the cost of a visitor visa to attend for short blocks of time (assuming that visitor visa eligibility criteria are met).

Further information about living costs

The current economic climate and high national rate of inflation make it very hard to estimate potential changes to the cost of living over the next few years. For study in Oxford beyond the 2025-26 academic year, it is suggested that you budget for potential increases in living expenses of around 4% each year – although this rate may vary depending on the national economic situation. For further information, please consult our more detailed information about living costs, which includes a breakdown of likely living costs in Oxford for items such as food, accommodation and study costs.

College preference

Students enrolled on this course will belong to both a department/faculty and a college. Please note that ‘college’ and ‘colleges’ refers to all 43 of the University’s colleges, including those designated as societies and permanent private halls (PPHs). 

If you apply for a place on this course you will have the option to express a preference for one of the colleges listed below, or you can ask us to find a college for you. Before deciding, we suggest that you read our brief introduction to the college system at Oxford and our advice about expressing a college preference

If you are a current Oxford student and you would like to remain at your current Oxford college, you should check whether it is listed below. If it is, you should indicate this preference when you apply. If not, you should contact your college office to ask whether they would be willing to make an exception. Further information about staying at your current college can be found in our Application Guide. 

Part-time study

The following colleges accept students for part-time study on this course:

 

Before you apply

Our guide to getting started provides general advice on how to prepare for and start your application. You can use our interactive tool to help you evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive.

If it is important for you to have your application considered under a particular deadline – eg under the January deadline in order to be considered for Oxford scholarships – we recommend that you aim to complete and submit your application at least two weeks in advance. Check the deadlines on this page and the information about deadlines and when to apply in our Application Guide.

Application fee waivers

An application fee of £20 is payable for each application to this course. Application fee waivers are available for the following applicants who meet the eligibility criteria:

  • applicants from low-income countries;
  • refugees and displaced persons; 
  • UK applicants from low-income backgrounds; and 
  • applicants who applied for our Graduate Access Programmes in the past two years and met the eligibility criteria.

You are encouraged to check whether you're eligible for an application fee waiver before you apply.

Readmission for current Oxford graduate taught students

If you're currently studying for an Oxford graduate taught course and apply to this course with no break in your studies, you may be eligible to apply to this course as a readmission applicant. The application fee will be waived for an eligible application of this type. Check whether you're eligible to apply for readmission.

Application fee waivers for eligible associated courses

If you apply to this course and up to two eligible courses during the same application cycle, you can request an application fee waiver so that you only need to pay one application fee. We recommend that you use your application fee waiver to apply only for eligible courses that are closely related in research area to this one.

To be considered eligible for an application fee waiver, each additional course must be:

If this is the first eligible course that you are applying to, you can request an application fee waiver for an additional course after you have submitted your application for this course. If you have already applied to another course that the meets the eligibility criteria shown above, you should request an application fee waiver before starting an application to this course.

Remember to state clearly in your request which course(s) you intend to apply to. If your request is successful, you will receive an application fee waiver code that is valid for this admission cycle (ie for entry in the 2025-26 academic year). Our Application Guide provides instructions for entering your application fee waiver code.

Do I need to contact anyone before I apply?

Prior to applying, you are strongly encouraged to contact the department for advice and assistance using the contact details provided on this page under Further information and enquiries

Having first read the guidance and project descriptions on the Department of Materials website, if you wish to learn more about a specific project please contact the relevant supervisor by email.

Completing your application

You should refer to the information below when completing the application form, paying attention to the specific requirements for the supporting documents

If any document does not meet the specification, including the stipulated word count, your application may be considered incomplete and not assessed by the academic department. Expand each section to show further details.

Proposed field and title of research project

Under 'Field and title of research project' please enter your proposed field(s) or area(s) of research if known.
 
You should not use this field to type out a full research proposal. You will be able to upload your research supporting materials separately if they are required (as described below).

Proposed supervisor

Under 'Proposed supervisor name' enter the name of the academic(s) whom you would like to supervise your research. 

For each research project you list in your Statement of Purpose (see guidance below) please enter the name of the academic who is the lead supervisor for the project. 

Referees
Three overall, of which at least two must be academic

Whilst you must register three referees, the department may start the assessment of your application if two of the three references are submitted by the course deadline and your application is otherwise complete. Please note that you may still be required to ensure your third referee supplies a reference for consideration.

It is desirable that one of your references is from an academic staff member who has supervised you in a research project.

If you are a current master’s student or have completed a master’s course, one of your referees should be your supervisor or course director on this course. If you do not provide a reference from your master’s supervisor or course director, the department will usually ask you to do so before completing the assessment of your application.

Normally at least two of your references should be from academic staff members who taught or supervised you during your bachelor’s and/or master’s degree programmes. The primary purpose of the three references is to provide the department with evidenced insight into your potential to excel as a research student.

Official transcript(s)

Your transcripts should give detailed information of the individual grades received in your university-level qualifications to date. You should only upload official documents issued by your institution and any transcript not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation.

More information about the transcript requirement is available in the Application Guide.

It is very important that you include official evidence of your overall mark (%) or cumulative GPA if this is not clearly stated on your transcript. If possible, please also provide official evidence of your rank within your year-group for the degree programme.

CV/résumé

A CV/résumé is compulsory for this course. Most applicants choose to submit a document of one to two pages highlighting their academic achievements and any relevant professional experience.

In your CV/résumé, please include the references and abstracts of any publications you may have in peer-reviewed international journals. Please do not include full copies of your publications.

Statement of purpose:
A maximum of 400 words, accompanied by a list of preferred projects and supervisors

A detailed research proposal is not required. Instead, you should provide a single document comprising both:

  • a list of up to four research projects (and the associated supervisors) in which you are interested, in order of preference, selected from currently advertised projects; and
  • an outline of your research interests, written in English, that clearly indicates the rationale behind your choice of projects.

Please be sure to also include all of the supervisor names in the supervisors field of the application form. However, there is no need to repeat the project titles in the research project field of the application form.

The 400-word limit applies to the outline of your research interests. There is no word-count limit for the list of preferred projects and supervisors. 

If possible, please ensure that the word count is clearly displayed on the document.

For each research project you list in your Statement of Purpose please make sure you also enter the name of the academic who is the lead supervisor for the project in the ‘Proposed supervisor name’ section of the application form (see above). If the project has more than one supervisor the lead supervisor is always the first who is named in the project advert. 

Start or continue your application

You can start or return to an application using the relevant link below. As you complete the form, please refer to the requirements above and consult our Application Guide for advice.

Apply - Full Time Apply - Part Time Continue application

After you've submitted your application

Your application (including the supporting documents outlined above) will be assessed against the entry requirements detailed on this course page. Whether or not you have secured funding will not be taken into consideration when your application is assessed. You can find out more about our shortlisting and selection process in our detailed guide to what happens next.

Find out how to manage your application after submission, using our Applicant Self-Service tool.

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