The Doctoral Programme in Sustainable Aviation (DPSA) offers the opportunity to pursue a PhD within a vibrant interdisciplinary research community addressing the challenges shaping the future of aviation. Students engage with projects spanning engineering, science, and policy, supported by leading academic and industry partners.


The programme's mission is to nurture ground breaking ideas and cultivate the skills needed to thrive in a net zero economy. Achieving sustainable aviation requires addressing system level challenges, which depend on expertise from multiple areas of engineering and related disciplines. The DPSA serves as a core mechanism for enabling this work.

Key information

Funding 

Students funded through the DPSA will have their primary affiliation with the Department of Aeronautics and a secondary affiliation anywhere across Imperial College London.

  • Full tuition fees for home or international students
  • An annual tax‑free stipend
  • A travel budget

Skills development, cohort building and academic support

The Institute provides regular training, networking, and cohort‑building activities throughout the duration of your placement. 

  • Regular progress reviews
  • Short training courses (delivered by Imperial academics and external partners) 
  • Foundation topics (ensuring shared grounding in fundamental climate science and aerospace engineering) 
  • Strategic topics (vary annually, mandatory for 1st year DPSA students) 
  • Year 1 group project
  • Annual research showcase for final year PhD candidates 
  • Brahmal Institute seminar series
  • Monthly social gatherings
  • Wider local and international networking and volunteer opportunities

Annual recruitment cycle

Though we may have some industrially funded or co-funded opportunities available at various points of the year, studentships funded in full by the Institute follow an annual recruitment cycle: 

  • Advertised: October
  • Applicaton deadline: January
  • Offers issued: March

Funding schemes

Strategic track

• Fully funded by the Brahmal Institute.
• Annual recruitment cycle beginning in Autumn.
• Each cohort works under a single strategic theme, which changes yearly.

Industrial track

• Projects funded or co-funded by industrial partners.
• Continuous recruitment cycle.
• Candidates falling under this funding scheme will join the current cohort.