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Research topics and projects

The Physics Department at Warwick offers postgraduate degree programmes leading to either a PhD or a MSc by Research. The intake of students is typically around 35 per year and we have a thriving postgraduate research community within the department. Students and other researchers give their views on life in the Physics Department here.

The UK's research councils, principally the EPSRC and the STFC, are major funders of PhD studentships in the Department, along with the University and a wide range of other funding bodies. For more details about funding and available scholarships, please see this page.

The research undertaken in the department falls into six broad areas, with more details available on our Research web pages. You are welcome to contact any potential supervisor directly; they will be happy to discuss their research and any potential PhD or MSc projects with you.

Below is a full list of the PhD research projects that supervisors have identified for potential students. Projects identified as funded typically only cover UK national students; however, some funded projects can be extended to cover international fees. Please contact the supervisor to discuss this. Projects listed as unfunded may become funded in the future, so if the topic interests you we encourage you to apply to it and contact the indicated supervisor. We anticipate that potential funding may come available to be allocated to exceptional students who apply to unfunded projects around March 10th 2025.

In-person interviews for Astronomy & Astrophysics projects will be on February 10-13th 2025, and for Condensed Matter Physics and Theoretical Physics projects on February 5th 2025.


 
Condensed Matter Physics
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Theoretical and Computational Physics
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Medical and Biophysics
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Astronomy and Astrophysics 
Filter: All projects.

Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics
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Elementary Particle Physics
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Predicting the crystal structures of polymorphs using machine learning approaches

Supervisor: Albert Bartók-Pártay and Steven Brown

More details on this project

Start date: Sept 2025

Funding: The project is fully funded for 48 months

Wed 11 Dec 2024, 10:40 | Tags: Theoretical and computational (funded)

Quantum algorithms for fusion and plasma physics

Supervisor: Animesh Datta and Tom Goffrey

More details on this project

Start date: Sept 2025

Funding: The project is fully funded for 48 months

Wed 20 Nov 2024, 12:25 | Tags: CFSA (funded) Theoretical and computational (funded)

CDT in Modelling of Heterogeneous Systems - HetSys

The HetSys Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) at Warwick recruits students from across physical sciences, mathematics and engineering who enjoy using their mathematical skills and thinking flexibly to solve complex problems.

More information on the research topics and how to apply can be found on the HetSys webpages.

Wed 20 Nov 2024, 12:01 | Tags: HetSys Theoretical and computational (funded)

Active Smectics in Developing Tissues

Supervisor: Gareth Alexander

More details on this project

Start date: September 2025

Funding: The project is fully funded for 42 months

Mon 18 Nov 2024, 11:34 | Tags: Theoretical and computational (funded)

Quantum light spectroscopy of complex quantum systems

Supervisor: Animesh Datta

More details on this project

Start date: September 2025

Funding: The project is fully funded for 42 months

Mon 18 Nov 2024, 11:27 | Tags: Theoretical and computational (funded)

Chirality and Odd Mechanics in Active Liquid Crystals

Supervisor: Gareth Alexander

More details on this project

Start date: September 2025

Wed 20 Nov 2024, 10:21 | Tags: Theoretical and computational