PhD opportunities and funding

PhD opportunities

‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌Graduates of our PhD programmes are active with industrial firms, universities and research establishments, not only within the aerospace sector, but in fields as diverse as deep-sea oil rigs, atomic reactors, submarine and ship design, bridge research, racing car and engine research, atmospheric pollution, and in many other aspects of industrial aerodynamics, structural analysis and materials.

Highly qualified prospective PhD students are also encouraged to obtain their own PhD scholarship. Opportunities for this can be found on the postgraduate scholarship webpage (note that most of these are highly competitive).

Prospective students should contact relevant academic staff to agree on a suitable project if interested in this option.

Funded PhD opportunities:

10 PhD Studentships in Aeronautics - open for application

We are currently accepting applications for the following ten PhD Studentships in the Department of Aeronautics:

• Programmable matter from entangled architected materials
• Structure-photodegradation-performance relationship in carbon fibre-reinforced thermosets
• The chemistry of contrails
• A Lagrangian perspective of entrainment into wind-turbine wakes
• Machine learning-based control of reacting flow extreme events
• Electric Composites
• Generative Neural-Operator Surrogates for Real-Time Multiphysics Design
• Real-time data assimilation for multi-physics flows
• Turbulence under strain
• Parallel adaptive multi-physics simulations

Deadline: 23.59 on 4 January 2027 (UK time)

Start date: These PhD Studentships can start anytime between 1 August 2027 and 1 July 2028

More information: Find out more information about each PhD Studentship project and important information on how to apply for these projects on our PhD Studentships 2026-27 webpages

The Brahmal Vasudevan Institute of Sustainable Aviation - Doctoral Programme in Sustainable Aviation

Applications are now open for the October 2027 PhD Cohort in Sustainable Aviation in The Brahmal Vasudevan Institute of Sustainable Aviation - a pioneering programme addressing urgent challenges in aviation sustainability. There are six PhD projects available, each aimed at delivering transformative impact across technology, operations, policy, economics, human factors or environmental impact. More details on the projects are available on our dedicated Doctoral Programme in Sustainable Aviation webpages.

Deadline: 4 January 2027

Fees, Funding and Scholarships

The amount of funding you will need to fund a PhD will vary according to your fee status (UK, EU or overseas). Please see Imperial College's student fees and funding pages for information on fees, living costs and College-administered scholarships.

Students in the department are funded from a variety of sources, including UK Research Councils, industry, College scholarships and departmental funding.

For scholarships administered from either the College or our Department, any applicant is automatically considered for any scholarships they are eligible for, unless stated otherwise by the applicant and unless it is the President’s PhD Scholarship. Special procedures apply when applying for the President’s PhD Scholarship.

There are many funding options available for students, including, but not limited to the below:

• President’s PhD Scholarship
• Project-specific studentships
• Centres for Doctoral Training
• Imperial College Scholarships (search tool)
• External funding
• International scholarship collaborations