Program Overview

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Physics

Overview

All research students join one of the following research groups, and those associated with the two materials themes may be allocated a studentship as part of the Doctoral Training at the Centre for Metamaterial Research and Innovation.

Contact

Web: Enquire online
Phone: (UK)
+44 (0) (non-UK)

How to Apply

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Most students studying for a PhD at Exeter are funded by research grants or industry sponsors, though we are also happy to consider applications by "self-funded" students (including those supported by external scholarships) as well.

You have 4 options to apply for a PhD project:

1. You can apply directly for a specific project listed in our directly funded projects list. Please note the individual deadlines for each project within the project descriptions.
2. You can apply for one of the studentships funded through the EPSRC DLA programme. In order to do so, you will need to submit a research proposal.
3. If you are interested in Astrophysics, please view current Astrophysics PhD opportunities.
4. If you have your own funding, you may also apply for admission to postgraduate degrees. When you apply, you must indicate potential supervisors and upload a description of the research you hope to carry out during your PhD/MbyRes/Mphil. We recommend that you contact potential supervisors to discuss your plans before submitting an application.

Requirements for International Students

If you are an international student, please visit our international equivalency pages to enable you to see if your existing academic qualifications meet our entry requirements.

English Language Requirements

International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course. The required test scores for this course fall under Profile A: view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country.

PhD and Research Programme Application Process

The information below applies to self-funded PhD, MPhil and Masters by Research applicants, but if you are applying for a funded PhD studentship, please follow the specific instructions related to that application.

• Pinpoint your PhD research area
• Investigate whether this area is available at Exeter
• Ensure that you meet our English language entry requirements (international students only)
• Construct and refine your PhD research proposal
• Approach your potential supervisor(s)
• Apply online

PhD studentships pages can be accessed in our Funding lists on Finance tabs under each research topic page, and are also available from the Postgraduate Research search results pages on this site, on the PhD projects tab.

Full details of the application process can be found on our Apply now webpage.

Fees and Funding

Fees 2025/26

• Home: £5,006 full-time; £pro-rata part-time
• International: £29,600 full-time

For those studying for more than one year, our fees are expected to increase modestly in line with Consumer Price Inflation measured in December each year. More information can be found on our Student Finance webpages.

Current Funding Opportunities

Our Postgraduate Funding webpage provides links to further information. If you are considering a PhD in the future, in addition to University of Exeter funding, we have been successful at securing postgraduate funding for PhD research through our Funded centres.

Current Available Funding

Award	Value	Application Deadline	Description
Computational and ML Modelling of Low Temperature Plasmas PhD (Co-Funded with Industry)	UK tuition fees plus an annual tax-free stipend of at least £19,237 for 3.5 years full-time, or pro rata for part-time study.	Mon 30th Jun 2025	UK tuition fees plus an annual tax-free stipend of at least £19,237 for 3.5 years full-time, or pro rata for part-time study.
3D printed ultrafast optical metamaterials – PhD studentship	UK tuition fees plus an annual tax-free stipend of at least £19,237 for 3.5 years full-time, or pro rata for part-time study.	Fri 4th Jul 2025	This PhD studentship will develop 3D-printed optical metamaterials to control ultrafast laser pulses on femtosecond timescales. Combining nanofabrication, electromagnetic simulation, and pump–probe laser measurements, the project will explore how 3D geometry, and different materials platforms, enable light manipulation for next-generation ultrafast applications in spectroscopy, sensing, and telecomms.
University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship 2025/26	20% reduction in the first year tuition fee	There is no application for this award. You will be automatically considered.	A tuition fee discount for University of Exeter alumni who start a postgraduate degree with us in 2025/26
University of Exeter Class of 2025 Progression Scholarship	20% reduction in the first year tuition fees	There is no application for this award. You will be automatically considered.	A tuition fee discount for current University of Exeter students completing a degree in 2025 and progressing directly to a standalone postgraduate programme with us in 2025/26

Supervision

Being part of a collaborative research community is the ideal environment for you to flourish. We encourage our students to engage with each other, as well as our world-class academics, to promote a vibrant, supportive and friendly research atmosphere.

The group structure provides a very positive support mechanism, helping research students to sustain productive research; over 90 per cent submit within the EPSRC deadline period, with most publishing several scientific papers during their period of study.

We understand that it is vital that you are a part of a stimulating and energetic environment with your peers throughout your research degree. We also recognise that being in a position to discuss stages of your work is essential to your long-term success. To support this, we organise a series of postgraduate seminars where research students discuss their work, carry out presentations and swap ideas. We strive to ensure that you are a valued and intrinsic member of a close-knit group of ambitious research students, who will cooperate and provide support to each other when necessary.

All postgraduate research students are allocated a second supervisor and/or mentor to guide you throughout your postgraduate degree and we deliberately create a policy of openness and approachability. You will undertake a full programme of induction and training in order to:

• provide the technical, mathematical, organisational and personal skills required for your research;
• heighten your awareness of recent advances in physics and astronomy research, through the Colloquium Programme;
• provide you with essential safety, and fire training;
• introduce you to the facilities, support and monitoring services provided by Physics and Astronomy and throughout the Faculty.

You will only be able to pursue a research degree with us if we can offer appropriate supervision. Your supervisors will provide the necessary support and guidance and so need to have expertise in your chosen research field. You may join a research team or work with specific members of staff.

Facilities

The Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy has excellent teaching and research resources and has recently invested £2.8 million to provide new academic and social facilities. You will have access to our fully-equipped research centres, comprehensive laboratories and workshops and computer facilities including wireless networking in most areas.

The excellent computing facilities are based around a Unix/Linux system networked to the University computer system. We have our own supercomputing facility built around a Beowulf cluster which is used, for example, by students modelling astrophysical and geophysical fluid flows. The faculty has a brand new study area with core texts for courses, individual rooms for study groups to meet, and wireless connection for laptops and LCD TVs to display presentations.

The working environment for postgraduate students is friendly and welcoming: each research student has a desk in a shared or open plan office equipped with a networked computer terminal. We provide training in research methodology and in relevant computer software, bibliographical resourcing and mathematical word-processing. You will have access to state-of-the art facilities for remote collaboration and advanced PhD training via the APTS and MAGIC consortia.

Careers

We have an excellent reputation with graduate recruiters and our students compete very successfully in the employment market. In addition to Employability Officers, Career Zone gives access to a wealth of business contacts, support and training as well as the opportunity to meet potential employers at our regular Careers Fairs.

Postgraduate research students can access our Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme, which covers a range of topics to help you complete a successful research degree and acts as a springboard for your research career.

Graduate Destinations

Below are some examples of initial employment titles and employers of Physics postgraduates who have studied with us in recent years.

Job Title	Organisation
Applied scientist/engineer	Aix Marseilles University
Associate Research Fellow	Arizona State University
Associate Research Fellow in Microwave Metamaterials	Aviva
Billing Analyst	BAE Systems
Climate Services Consultant	Bristol Royal Infirmary
Content Scientist	CASA, University of Colorado at Boulder
Data Scientist	Civil Service
Design engineer	Columbia University in the City of New York
General Surgeon	DSTL
Graphene-based nano-electromechanical systems	Dynamon
Head of Analytics	Hokkaido University
Lab Assistant	Imperial College London
Lecturer	Institute of Astrophysics Paris
Lecturer in Medical Imaging	Institute of Photonics, Vienna University of Technology
Meteorologist	Institute of Physics, Chinese academy of Sciences
NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship	Intellectual Property Office
Operational Researcher	Lipson Community College
Patent Examiner	Met Office
Post Doctoral Researcher	Ministry of Defence
Post-Doctoral Contract	NASA
Post-doctoral Physicist	Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology
Post-doctoral Research Assistance	QinetiQ
Postdoctoral Research Scientist	QinetiQ Group plc
Postdoctoral researcher	Radboud University
Project Assistant	Renishaw
R & D engineers	RWTH Aachen University
Radar Scientist	Sharp Laboratories of Europe Limited
Radiotherapy Physicist	The University of Sheffield
Research and Development Engineer	University College Cork
Research Assistant	University College London
Research Engineer	University of Cambridge
Research Fellow	University of Exeter
Research Scientist	University of Sheffield
Research Technician/Fellow	University of Surrey
Scientist
Secondary School Teacher
Senior Design Engineer
Senior Electromagnetics Engineer
Service Delivery Graduate
Super User
Teacher of science
Test and Installation Engineer for XPS Systems