Postgraduate research (PhD)

Minimum entry requirements

UK qualifications

• an integrated Master's (MEng) honours degree in electrical engineering or a related subject at 2.1 or 1st; 

OR

• a Bachelor's (BEng) honours degree in electrical engineering or a related subject at 2.1 or 1st, and a Master's degree at Merit or higher.

International qualifications

• The equivalent of a UK 2.1 in a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or a related subject AND the equivalent of a UK Master's degree at Merit.

We accept a wide range of international qualifications for postgraduate study at Imperial.

Our accepted qualifications page provides general guidance by country on how qualifications awarded by public institutions overseas may satisfy our minimum academic admission requirements.

English language

To study with us all applicants must demonstrate they meet the required Higher  English language competency level.

Please see our English Language page for further details. 
 

Finding a supervisor depends on which PhD route you're taking:

• you're putting forward your own research proposal; or
• you’re applying for a funded research project (studentship) in response to an advertisement.

If you’re proposing your own PhD project, you will need to do some research to identify potential supervisors whose research interests align with your own. You will need to discuss your research idea with a potential supervisor before you apply.

You can view a list of potential supervisors and their research interests on our website.

You can also find out more about research in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Once you have identified a potential supervisor,  the best way to move forward is to contact them by email. 

This should be a formal email, which shows that you have done your research into their particular research expertise and past research work. 

If you’re applying for a studentship, your supervisor will usually be the academic who made the funding application for the research project.

General information on the application process is available on the Application Process page. 

Make sure you have indicated a potential supervisor or research area for your proposed PhD.

As part of the application you will include:

Your cv / resume (1-2 pages)

Your cv or resume should summarise your educational qualifications and awards. It should give details of any relevant research experience, work experience or internships. If you have any publications these should be listed in your cv.

Personal statement (1-2 pages)

This discusses your motivation for studying for a PhD, and how it fits in your career plans.   Personal statements also usually discuss any relevant work experience or projects, and why you have chosen your research area. 

Research statement (2-3 pages)

The research statement should describe a research problem or area that you are interested in, and your initial ideas on the research work towards solving the problem, referring to existing scientific literature where appropriate. You should highlight any relevant experience you have in this area or any relevant publications that can be downloaded. The research statement will be evaluated as part of the application process; it does not constitute a commitment to carry out the exact research you have described.

Applicants will be considered for all of the potential Imperial College funding opportunities available. If you are applying to be considered for a specific scholarship please check the deadlines and make sure that your application is submitted in time. 

Please see our Funding page for further information.

Applications are not usually reviewed until both references have been received.

Your application will be considered by your proposed supervisor or others  working in the area specified on your application.   If you have given the name of a potential supervisor, it will be sent to them first. If you are short-listed for a place you will have an interview with your potential supervisor and one of their colleagues. This interview will take place on Teams.

Once the decision on your application has been made it is returned to the Department's admissions team. We check the decision and send it to our central admissions team.  They make a final check and process the decision and communicate the decision to you.  Once this is done you will be able to check the decision on the admissions system. 

You should expect to receive a decision on your application within 8 weeks of the application arriving in the Department.

When to apply

PhD applications are accepted throughout the year. However, applicants seeking scholarship funding are encouraged to apply as early as possible. Some funding schemes have fixed deadlines. Please check the Imperial College Scholarships pages for the most up-to-date information.

Start date

Research studies can start on:

• start of Autumn term in early October
• start of Spring term in early January
• 1 April
• 1 July