Physics PhD

Programme overview

For more than 100 years, the Bristol School of Physics has made major research contributions, including the discovery of the pi meson (Nobel Prize in Physics, 1950) and fundamental advances in quantum mechanics.

The School of Physics has a world-class reputation for cohort-based research training and has over the past ten years received UK national funding for Centres of Doctoral Training in Functional Nanomaterials, Condensed Matter Physics, Quantum Engineering, Particle Physics, Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning, and Advanced Computing.

Our Physics Graduate School community comprises nearly 200 students from a diverse global background, and with a very good gender balance. We have strong interactions with industry and are very well connected to the unique Bristol start-up and SME community.

As a research student you will be a member of the Graduate School, which organises social and scientific events to support you, coordinates skills training in Physics, organises induction, builds a community, and helps you navigate through the University procedures.

Careers

A PhD in Physics is an essential qualification for a career as a research physicist, whether in industry, academia or elsewhere. It is highly valued by employers looking for leadership, initiative, numeracy and an ability to plan and execute strategically. Our research graduates work in a variety of fields, from finance to high-technology start-ups to academia.