Available PhD projects
The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Digital and Automated Materials Chemistry (CDT) offers multiple studentships for students from backgrounds spanning the physical and computer sciences.
Students joining the DAMC CDT will develop core expertise in robotic, digital, chemical and physical thinking, which they will apply in their domain-specific research in materials design, discovery and processing. By working with each other and benefiting from a tailored training programme they will become both leaders and fully participating team players, aware of the best practices in inclusive and diverse R&D environments.
Applicants are advised to review our "how to apply" guide and submit an online application as soon as possible (no later than the application deadline indicated in the project advert).
Please see the full list of projects starting in academic year 2025-26 below. We have one project remaining to be filled at this time. The next round of projects for 2026 entry will be published in December 2025. For the latest announcements, please follow our LinkedIn or revisit this page regularly.
List of PhD projects starting in academic year 2025-26
OPEN PROJECTS:
CLOSED PROJECTS:
- Adaptive Robotic Chemists for Resilient Pharmaceuticals
- Automated Approaches for Efficient, Scalable, and Sustainable Synthesis of Material Precursors
- Computational Identification of Catalytic Covalent Organic Frameworks
- Digital Discovery of Polymeric Materials
- Digital Exploration and Structural Modelling of Hybrid Glass Formers
- Digital Exploration of Novel Polymeric Materials for Structural Composites
- Digitally-led Discovery of Solid Electrolyte Materials for Net Zero Applications
- Explaining Structure-Property Relations in the Materials Space
- Guaranteed Structure Prediction With Machine Learning
- High Entropy Alloys for new PGM (Platinum Group Metal) applications
- High Throughput Discovery of Iridium Free OER Catalysts
- Intelligent optimisation of inline purification – delivering automated product profiling for pharma
- Machine Learning for Material Performance Predictions Across Climates
- Optimisation Algorithms for Flow Chemistry
- Optimised Flow Pathways for Monodisperse Nanoparticles of Porous Materials
- Polarised Rheo-Microscopy and Dynamic Coarse-Grained Modelling of Hydrogels
- Understanding, and high-throughput development, of the formulation of spray coating solutions for industrial applications
Eligibility
Candidates will have, or be due to obtain, a Master’s Degree or equivalent related to Physical Science, Engineering or Computational Science. Exceptional candidates with a First Class Bachelor’s Degree in an appropriate field will also be considered.
The minimum English Language requirements for international candidates is IELTS 6.5 overall (with no band below 5.5) or equivalent. Further information on English Language requirements is available here.
Funding
The EPSRC funded Studentship will cover full tuition fees of £5,006 pa. and pay a maintenance grant for four years, starting at the UKRI minimum of £20,780 pa. for academic year 2025-2026. The Studentship also comes with a Research Training Support Grant to fund consumables, conference attendance, etc.
EPSRC Studentships are available to any prospective student wishing to apply including both home and international students. While EPSRC funding will not cover international fees, a limited number of scholarships to meet the fee difference will be available to support outstanding international students.