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We welcome applications to study for a PhD in any of the research areas covered by our group. To get an idea of what kind of project you might be interested in, it will help to look at our staff members’ websites or some of their recent publications. You can also contact a member of staff directly for more insights into what type of research we do.
As is standard in the UK, you must directly apply to the University rather than sending documents to us by email, and funding for a PhD is separate from the academic offer of a place to study.
Current Opportunity (October 2026 application - start in early 2027 if possible): We have a fully funded PhD studentship (Home fee status only) to work with Eleonora Di Valentino on "Beyond ΛCDM: Testing Cosmological Tensions". Please send a standard PhD application and mention the project as a possible funding source.
PhD funding via EPSRC: For October 2027 starts, there will be limited funding via EPSRC studentships for the following projects:
Clocks and singularity resolution in quantum cosmology and quantum black holes (S3.5-MPS-Gielen)
Quantum breaking of scale symmetry and the geometry of axio-dilaton theories (S3.5-MPS-van de Bruck)
Charged quantum fermion fields on charged black hole space-times (S3.5-MPS-Winstanley)
The number of advertised projects is larger than the number of available studentships, so there is no guarantee that any particular project will receive funding. All projects are in principle open to Home and Overseas (international) applicants, but overall only a small fraction of studentships can be awarded to international applicants.
Please follow the links to the EPSRC DLA webpages for guidance for your application. The application deadline is 5pm on Wednesday 13th January 2027. Selected applicants will be invited for an interview shortly afterwards.
Further information on how to apply for a PhD and what to consider in your application can be found here.
A list of further projects, which are not funded by EPSRC studentships, is given below.
Projects for self-funded students or students with external funding (not covered by EPSRC studentships)
Beyond ΛCDM: Testing New Physics with the CMB and Large-Scale Structure (Eleonora Di Valentino)
Spin and superradiance in General Relativity (Sam Dolan)
Black hole perturbation theory for gravitational-wave astronomy (Sam Dolan)
Machine Learning Quantum Phase Transitions via Topology- and Symmetry-aware AI (Marco Fazzi)
Unitary quantum gravity and the fate of black holes (Steffen Gielen)
Spacetime emergence and cosmological dynamics in group field theory (Steffen Gielen)
Interacting dark energy models in light of cosmological data (Carsten van de Bruck)
Backreaction of quantum fields on black hole space-times (Elizabeth Winstanley)
Charged quantum fermion fields on charged black hole space-times (Elizabeth Winstanley)
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