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PhD opportunities: University of Edinburgh

Compare 18 doctoral research opportunities connected with University of Edinburgh, including project summaries, funding and application deadlines.

Bioinformatics

Characterising the role of the spliceosome in dominant forms of monogenic male infertility

University of Edinburgh

About the Project The problem Infertility affects roughly 1 in 7 couples, and in approximately half of these cases the cause lies with the male partner. Despite this, research into the genetic underpinnings of male infertility lags behind other fields, with only a small number of genes linked to male infertility having been identified. Severe male infertility, by definition, cannot be passed from father to son.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
30 September 2026
Funding
Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Law

Leverhulme Center for Algorithmic Life – Decisions Cluster

University of Edinburgh

About the Project Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD position with the “Decisions” Cluster of the Leverhulme Centre for Algorithmic Life. The successful applicant will work with Professor Nehal Bhuta at Edinburgh Law School, but will also be integrated into the research environment and wider PhD and postdoctoral cohort of the Leverhulme Centre for Algorithmic Life, which is based at Durham University.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
30 September 2026
Funding
Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Chemical Engineering

Tackling Membrane BioFouling

University of Edinburgh

About the Project Surfaces in wet environments biofoul, which is a pressing issue affecting many industries, including water treatment industries: during membrane filtration, bacteria adhere on the membrane surface and biofouling forms, reducing water quantity and quality produced, increasing energy costs and requiring frequent harsh cleaning methods.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
10 October 2026
Funding
Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

Data Analysis

Mathematical Modelling and Data Integration to Derive Correlates of Protection Against Invasive Non-Typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) Disease in African Children

University of Edinburgh

About the Project Invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) disease is a leading cause of bloodstream infection and death in young children across sub-Saharan Africa, and the World Health Organization (WHO) ranks an iNTS vaccine among its top-ten vaccine priorities for the continent.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
26 October 2026
Funding
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Applied Mathematics

Adaptive structures for operational variability and damage management

University of Edinburgh

About the Project This project aims to investigate the capabilities of adaptive structures that change their geometry and mechanical properties to accommodate operational loading and damage management. The core objective of this project is to engineer an adaptive structure that adjusts to the prescribed loading conditions. This adaptation is achieved by integrating local structures that accommodate stiffness variations along the global structure.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
30 October 2026
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Dynamics

Vibration data and underlying physics for adaptive structural health monitoring

University of Edinburgh

About the Project In the context of long-term monitoring applications, there are numerous structural states that exhibit similar behavior but cannot be generalized with a single model (whether data- or physics-based) due to the inherent time-variant nature of structural evolution (1).

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
31 October 2026
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Applied Chemistry

Water treatment with membranes in Scotland: how to improve their lifespan?

University of Edinburgh

About the Project Mankind cannot survive without potable water. Despite this, our potable water resources are becoming more polluted due to human activity (e.g., mining, industry and agriculture), rendering them unfit for consumption. Additionally, water scarcity is becoming more common with over 1/3 of the world’s population living in water stressed countries. In order to guarantee our survival, processes that allow obtaining clean potable water are crucial.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
24 November 2026
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Chemical Engineering

Modelling particles subject to permanent plastic deformations

University of Edinburgh

About the Project A plastic wear model for ductile materials was recently developed within the supervisor’s group, based on the discrete element method (DEM). An initial model developed for flat surfaces [1] has since been extended to arbitrarily shaped closed surfaces representing abradable particles. Each particle is essentially a multi-sphere clump in which the non-interacting constituent spheres are arranged to form a hollow shell.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
1 December 2026
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Applied Mathematics

Tomographic Imaging of Dynamic Combustion Plumes

University of Edinburgh

About the Project Reconstructing 3D gas concentration and temperature profiles within dynamic, turbulent plumes from sparse optical measurements is a classic ill-posed inverse problem. Positioned at the intersection of radiative transfer, fluid dynamics, and statistical physics, this project aims to push the boundaries of computational imaging in extreme, harsh environments.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
11 December 2026
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Applied Statistics

Unsupervised Statistical Learning for In-Situ Anomaly Detection in LPBF

University of Edinburgh

About the Project In-situ optical spectroscopy during Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) captures high-resolution signals encoding the physical state of the melt pool. However, this data presents a formidable statistical challenge: observations are strongly non-i.i.d., exhibiting spatiotemporal autocorrelation, directional asymmetry from moving laser paths, and complex thermal dynamics.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
14 December 2026
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Energy Technologies

Circular Printable Gas Sensors: Bio-Based Materials, Sustainable Manufacturing and Recycling

University of Edinburgh

About the Project This PhD project will develop sustainable, bio-based gas sensors for applications in environmental monitoring, healthcare and smart packaging. The research will explore renewable and low-impact materials, including bio-derived substrates, functional polymers and carbon-based sensing layers, combined with scalable printing and coating techniques.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
31 December 2026
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Energy Technologies

Eco-friendly & high performing organic photovoltaics

University of Edinburgh

About the Project Developing renewable energy solutions that can be rapidly implemented in the market using eco-friendly materials and manufacturing methods is crucial. Among various renewable technologies, photovoltaics have significant potential to support climate change mitigation.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
31 December 2026
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Applied Mathematics

Rheology of Dense Suspensions of Elongated Particles

University of Edinburgh

About the Project This PhD tackles a fundamental open problem in soft matter physics that sits at the heart of multiple industries and natural systems: the rheology of dense suspensions of elongated particles. Why does a slurry packed with cellulose fibres flow so differently from one packed with spherical particles?

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
1 March 2027
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Applied Mathematics

Molecular engineering of water treatment membranes

University of Edinburgh

About the Project Context Reverse osmosis (RO) holds significant promise in alleviating global water scarcity through seawater desalination. But shortages of increasing frequency and intensity now demand treatment of unconventional waters beyond seawater, such as wastewater, to expand supply. RO is also increasingly deployed to treat industrial streams in microelectronics, pharmaceutical, and food & drink manufacturing, which must meet stringent water quality standards.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
2 March 2027
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Chemical Physics

Extreme Conditions Chemistry of Lanthanide and Actinide Metals and Oxides

University of Edinburgh

About the Project About the Project Lanthanide and actinide materials play a central role in nuclear science and technology, underpinning nuclear fuels, structural materials, and long-term waste forms. Their oxides and hydrides are particularly important, controlling fuel performance, hydrogen uptake, and chemical stability under extreme conditions.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

Analytical Chemistry

Investigating the Environmental and Health Impacts of Titanium Ore Deposits on Communities Near Mining Operations

University of Edinburgh

About the Project A fully funded PhD studentship is available in the research group of Dr Maya Al-Sid-Cheikh (School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh), who will act as the Main/Principal Supervisor and will lead the project.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Materials Science

Magnetism and Structure–Dynamics Interplay in Correlated Materials

University of Edinburgh

About the Project Project Summary Understanding how magnetic order, crystal structure, and spin dynamics interact is central to the discovery and control of new functional and quantum materials. Many strongly correlated systems exhibit rich behaviour arising from the coupling between lattice, spin, and electronic degrees of freedom, which can be accessed uniquely through scattering techniques.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Chemical Engineering

Molecular Simulations of Nanofluids for Cooling Applications

University of Edinburgh

About the Project A PhD studentship is available in the molecular-simulation group of Professor Philip J. Camp, School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh in collaboration with Castrol Limited. Nanofluids are made up of nanometre-sized solid particles dispersed in carrier liquids. They have higher thermal conductivities than the carrier liquids alone, and so they are good candidates as thermal management fluids for cooling applications.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)