CDT MPhil + PhD in Computational Methods for Materials Science

University of Cambridge

This four-year Doctoral Training Programme on computational methods for material modelling aims to train scientists not only in the use of existing modelling methods but also in the underlying computational and mathematical techniques. This will allow students to develop and enhance existing methods, for instance by introducing new capabilities and functionalities, and also to create innovative new software tools for materials modelling in industrial and academic research.

The first year of the doctoral training programme is provided by the existing MPhil course in Scientific Computing, which has research and taught elements, as well as additional training elements.

The MPhil in Scientific Computing is administered by the Department of Physics, but it serves the training needs of the Schools of Physical Sciences, Technology and Biological Sciences. The ability to have a single master’s course for such a broad range of disciplines and applications is achieved by offering core (ie common for all students) numerical and high-performance computing (HPC) lecture courses, and complementing them with elective courses relevant to the specific discipline applications.

In this way, it is possible to generate a bespoke training portfolio for each student without losing the benefits of a cohort training approach. This bespoke course is fully flexible in allowing each student to liaise with their academic or industrial supervisor to choose a study area of mutual interest. The final three years consist of a PhD research project, with a student-led choice of projects from a large pool contributed by researchers associated with the CDT. Visit the Projects and Supervisors page on the Centre for Scientific Computing website for more details.

Based on their first-year training and subject to the outcome of examinations, students will then choose a research project to continue a PhD from the start of the second year. This project may be based on the same topic as the preceding placement or project, or it may be different.