The 4-year postgraduate programme consists of a 1-year MRes in Fluid Dynamics (Master of Research) followed by 3 years of PhD research. The programme is specifically designed to cultivate researchers with a broad range of expertise in Fluid Dynamics and Fluids Engineering, including transferable skills that are highly desirable elements in the profile of scientists and engineers who aspire to be leaders in industry, commerce and academia. The creation of a vibrant, interactive student‐cohort culture is one important aspect of the Centre’s programme.

There is a strong industrial participation in the Centre by companies such as Airbus, BP, McLaren, Procter and Gamble, Shell and Siemens. The programme is designed to help fulfil the industry-wide need for personnel with the requisite knowledge and understanding in Fluid Mechanics. The diagram below gives an impression of the 4-year programme.

Training programme diagram

Our programmes

MRes programme (year 1)

N.B.  The MRes in Fluid Dynamics is offered as part of the 4-year postgraduate programme OR as a 1-year standalone course.

In Year 1, all students undertake bespoke core courses to master the fundamentals, and courses/workshops in professional skills. The successful completion of the first year will lead to the award of a Master of Research (MRes) degree.

The MRes programme is assigned 90 ECTS overall. All students will take Fluids core courses of 8 ECTS as part of their formal requirements to master the fundamentals; these will be formative courses. They will also take 4 courses/workshops in research techniques,  transferable and professional skills, and personal development.  The other main component of the MRes will be an Independent Research Project (May-September). The taught courses will be timetabled in the Autumn and Spring Terms 1 and 2, together with a seminar programme. Term 3 is given over to the independent research project.

The core courses are 8 ECTS each and consist of the following:

  • Fluid Dynamics Part 1 (Autumn Term)
  • Fluid Dynamics Part 2 (Autumn and Spring Term)
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (Autumn and Spring Term)
  • Experimental Fluid Mechanics (Autumn and Spring Term)
  • Applications of Fluid Dynamics across Themes (Spring Term)

The split between examined courses, and the Independent Research Project will be weighted approximately 50:50 towards the MRes grade: the courses will be assigned 40 ECTS in total, and the project 50 ECTS. Students will be required to pass all formative courses and the Independent Research Project in order to achieve the MRes award. Courses that will not be examined will have a Pass/Fail grade.

PhD programme (years 2-4)

At the end of Year 1, students choose the topic of their PhD which will take place in one of the seven participating departments. For information about the areas of expertise of the Departments, visit the research page. The project will generally be supervised by two academics from different departments to ensure cross-disciplinary knowledge transfer. If the research is funded by industry, there will be an industrial supervisor.

Apart from carrying out PhD research projects, students take elective courses to broaden their perspectives in allied areas and acquire state-of-the-art knowledge of the research strengths of the participating departments. Cohort cohesion during the PhD phase of the programme is ensured through regular cohort activities:

  • An annual one-day 'PhD Student Symposium'
  • A two-day 'Annual Fluids Conference' open to the wider community including Imperial staff and students, invited academics, industrialists, and EPSRC representatives
  • An annual 'Industry-Academia Interface' week (IAI-week) that will showcase industrial problems/presentations alongside CDT research. The activity will be a conduit for defining research projects for the following year’s industrial internships and MRes or PhD research projects by bringing students and industry together
  • An annual 'Summer School' on a strategically-chosen fluid mechanics topic, for students to interact with external peers and be taught by world-class academics

Year 3 and 4 students will participate in organising some of these events in order to enhance their organisational skills and team-work experience in outreach, engagement and academic issues.