PhD Studentships

The Astrophysics Group offers a limited number of fully funded PhD studentships for research projects in astrophysics, leading to a PhD degree from the University of Bristol. Funding sources include, but are not limited to, STFC and the University. Depending on the source of funding, the duration of the studentship ranges from 3.5 to 4 years.

We encourage applications from any suitably-qualified students (usually with a first class or upper second class degree in Physics or a related subject) from the UK or overseas. Our normal recruiting cycle for funded PhD places runs from October through January each academic year. Please check this website during that time for updates on which projects are available. Applications for funded studentships received outside this window will generally not be considered, unless specifically advertised as available.

While the number of funded studentships is necessarily limited, the Astrophysics group may also consider applications from well-qualified self-funded students. If you have a specific area of interest, and it aligns with the research undertaken by a member of staff, please feel free to contact that staff member directly to express your interest. Speculative applications without a clear research topic are unfortunately rarely successful.

We are committed to diversity and inclusivity and providing a supportive environment for our students, and we welcome students from any background who are enthusiastic about research in astrophysics. For all of our PhD studentships, please follow the application process described below.

Available PhD projects

PhD students carry out independent research under the direction of a member of academic staff in one of the group's areas of research interest, and the degree is awarded on the basis of examination of a thesis.

PhD projects are offered based on the interests and expertise of our academics. The projects listed below are available for the coming academic year.

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Project 1: An astronomical foundation model
(Supervisor: Dr Sotiria Fotopoulou)

Next generation surveys from Euclid and LSST are already delivering very high-quality measurements for large sky areas. This opens up the opportunity to confront current understanding of astronomical objects, and discover rare and unusual populations of stars, galaxies, and super massive black holes. This project will use the multiwavelength data lake at the DIANA group and high performance computers to create a multi-modal AI foundation model. The multi-modal nature of the model will capture information present in photometry, spectroscopy, and images in the multi-terabyte archive, creating a holistic view of the Universe. The model can then be used for a number of downstream tasks, including classification, physical parameter estimation, and finding rare types of sources.

Project 2: Bridging the gap between emission and absorption
(Supervisor: Dr Natasha Maddox)

Radio telescopes are becoming increasingly powerful, detecting the neutral hydrogen gas (HI) in galaxies to ever increasing redshifts. As the raw fuel for star formation, measuring the HI content of galaxies across cosmic time is an essential ingredient for understanding galaxy formation and evolution. HI can be detected in emission and absorption, and until recently, the redshift regimes for the two detection methods have had no overlap, leaving the question of whether the two methods are consistent. However, with the combination of new radio data from the SKAO precursor MeerKAT radio telescope, coupled with optical spectroscopy from large surveys including SDSS, DESI and 4MOST, we can bridge the gap between the two redshift regimes, and for the first time, measure HI in emission and absorption over the past 4 billion years of lookback time.

Project 3: Ice giant atmospheric modelling
(Supervisor: Dr Denis Sergeev)

Uranus and Neptune, also known as the Ice Giants of our Solar System, have mysterious and fascinating atmospheres. Their dynamics are very different from those of other giant planets, due to their size, composition, rotation period and greater distance from the Sun. Much of what we observe on Uranus and Neptune is also mediated by aerosols and their interactions with the global circulation. Current understanding of these processes limits how much our models can explain what telescopes see. This PhD project will advance our understanding of atmospheric dynamics and aerosols on the Ice Giants, ultimately providing new insights into the formation and evolution of the Solar System and extrasolar planets.

In this project, the student will develop a three-dimensional general circulation model of the Ice Giants based on LFRic-Atmosphere, the Met Office's next-generation atmospheric model. The primary focus will be the coupling of atmospheric dynamics to aerosol regimes but the student will have an opportunity to shape the project according to their research interests. The results will inform the interpretation of existing ground-based and JWST observations, and support planning for future missions.

The project would suit a candidate with a strong background in physics, mathematics, meteorology, astrophysics, scientific computing or a related discipline; experience with Python or Fortran is an advantage but training will be provided.

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How to apply for a PhD

To apply for a PhD, please use our online application form, and select “Physics (PhD)” as the programme. At the top of your personal statement, please state clearly that you are applying for a PhD in astrophysics, and state which of the PhD projects above you are interested in (you may list as many as you like). Please use the following format:

I am interested in the following Astrophysics PhD projects:
  - Project number: project title
  - Project number: project title
  - etc
I would/would not like to be considered for other PhD projects if additional funding became available.

If you do not provide this information, your application may not receive full consideration. A research proposal is not required for an astrophysics application, so please upload a single page pdf with "Research proposal not required" to satisfy the submission tool. Anonymity is also not required for an astrophysics application.

Chinese Scholarships

There are additional studentships available for Chinese students, as detailed on the China Scholarship Council page. You must specify that you wish to apply for the China Scholarship Council — University of Bristol Joint Scholarships Programme in your application form. Please contact us before this deadline to discuss your application.