Materials PhD: FAQs

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Accodion Widgit

Glad to hear that you are interested in a PhD in the Department of Materials!

Here you can find a list of DTP and other funded projects. Otherwise, please, have a look at the list of academics, and just get in touch with the ones in fields relevant to you - just a head up, teaching fellows cannot be PhD supervisors. Whether they have a position advertised or not, it is good practice to get in touch before applying to check if they are willing to support your application.

Make sure that you choose a supervisor in your PhD application so your application can be shared with them.

You can submit your application through the Imperial application portal. Also, check the admission policy.

Please visit How to Apply for more info. Once on the page, please follow the step-by-step guide to complete your application. 

For admission to a PhD research programme, the College would normally expect you to hold or achieve a Master's degree, in addition to a Bachelor's degree at UK Upper Second Class Honours Level.

If you are an international student you can find more details on the Entry Requirements webpage.

 

The College's English language requirements can be found on our English Language Requirement webpage.

All Materials courses require Standard-level English.

To apply, you will need to fill in your personal details in the application form and upload the following documents:

  • CV
  • Transcripts
  • Personal statement
  • English certificate 
  • Contact details of 2 referees

Unfortunately, you will not be able to upload your reference letters and your prospective supervisor cannot be appointed as one of the referees.

Your referees will need to upload your reference using their work email. Alternatively, they can send your reference directly to Engineering Admissions.

What to include in your statement will depend on the scholarship that you are applying for. We recommend that you send a research proposal (no longer than two pages) and a short presentation letter. To ensure you meet all the requirements you can also ask for advice from your prospective supervisor.

To find available academics for your application, please visit our 'Academic staff' webpage.

Unfortunately, the application process allows you to only apply with one academic per Department.

Please add the name of your chosen academic and the project you are interested in to your application. 

Once you have submitted your documents to the College, they will be reviewed by our admissions team. This takes approximately a week but can take up to a month during extremely busy periods (December - late January). 

When the admissions team has reviewed your documents, they will be sent to your chosen academic (if your application contains at least one reference). 
 
Once your application is sent to an academic, they have up to five weeks to make a decision.
 

Therefore the total application process is expected to be between six to nine weeks.

We accept applications if you are still finishing your degree, and if your application is accepted, you will be given a conditional offer until you meet the requirements. 

This process is the same for English requirements. 

You are only allowed to have two live applications for one given academic year.

If you have already applied for a department and you would like to add a second choice, you can add this to your application. 

Depending on your citizenship, you can apply for different scholarships. Find all the scholarships offered by the College.

Some of the available scholarships are: 

  • CSC-Imperial Scholarship
  • Lee Family Scholarship
  • Hans Rausing Scholarship
  • The Anne Seagrim Accommodation Scholarship
  • Stephen and Anna Hui Fellowship 
  • Imperial Commonwealth Scholarships 
  • The Imperial Marshall Scholarships

The Department of Materials also offers some funded PhD opportunities. Please enquire if you would like to know more.

If you are an overseas student, you will have to contact the CDT administrator before applying.

CDT's, unfortunately, cannot fund overseas students and most of the CDTs do not accept self-funded students. 

You can find information about the tuition fees associated with your course on our Tuition fees website.

If you think your fee status assessment is incorrect, please visit our Fee Status webpage for more information.

The CAH code to use for PhD programmes in the Materials Department: CAH10-03-02

For queries about visas, ATAS clearance and other international student matters, you can contact the International Student Support team.

Of course, if you have a STEM background and meet the entry requirements you can definitely apply! Materials research is such an interdisciplinary field so you can definitely bring your unique perspective and contribution to your prospective PhD research group, even if you have a different background. 

No worries! Each research group comprises a mix of students and postdocs of different ages. Additionally, the Department is a large welcoming community! Departmental events and seminars will allow you to connect and interact with other researchers and research students with a variety of backgrounds, ethnicity and age. 

If you have any further questions, please contact Annalisa Neri, Postgraduate Research Coordinator in the Department of Materials.