Finding a PhD supervisor

Our world-class academics provide research students with excellent supervision. If you're considering a research degree, you will need to make contact with a potential supervisor. 

To find a supervisor or the name of postgraduate advisor or director:

• Find the school or institute most relevant to your area of interest. If your proposed research is interdisciplinary, you may need to look at more than one area.

• Familiarise yourself with our staff profiles via the table below or via the 'Connect' sections of our School  pages.

• You can also look for key names or search terms in our Research Portal, (PURE).

The first place to look for research opportunities is the postgraduate programmes in our Course finder: a-z of research programmes.  If your chosen area of study is not covered by our current programme you should reach out to potential supervisors working in your field of interest.

If you're interested in a particular project, we suggest you contact the relevant academic before you apply, to introduce yourself and ask questions.

If you have your own research idea, contact the relevant School to discuss it with us. If you are unsure of who to contact, email our Faculty Hubs for guidance:

Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Hub  |  Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences Hub  |  Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Hub

Interdisciplinary Research

We welcome enquiries and applications from prospective research students with interdisciplinary research interest. Bringing together a critical mass of excellent researchers, our Global Research Institutes are flagships for interdisciplinary research in areas of major societal challenge. They bring together researchers from a wide range of disciplines in world-class facilities to tackle some of the greatest global issues of our age.  Links to these are provided in the table below:

Applying

When you have discussed your project with a potential supervisor or advisor, you can then apply online. If you are unsure, ask your supervisor what is the best subject area to apply under.

Apply using our online Postgraduate Applications Portal and follow the step-by-step instructions on how to apply.

You may have to write a research proposal to apply for your PhD. Talk to your supervisor about whether you need to do this.