PhD, MPhil, MRes Civil & environmental engineering

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Research opportunities

Located in the heart of Glasgow’s City Centre, we offer a unique combination of expertise including civil, environmental, chemical, mechanical and electrical engineering, as well as geosciences, material science, physics, chemistry and microbiology.

We have a vibrant postgraduate research community, with over 90 research students from a wide variety of backgrounds. We offer training in a diverse and international setting and working closely with industry and government ensures our research is sector-leading and meets the needs of our stakeholders. Our world-class research portfolio includes international and multi-institutional research collaborations.

Our postgraduate research degrees can be studied over one year (MPhil, MRes) or three years (PhD). Our research is supported by funding from research councils, the Scottish Government and industrial partners.

Industry links

Our Civil & Environmental Engineering department has close links with industry. Around 25% of our PhD students have financial help from those links.

We also have several high-profile visiting professors who supervise current PhDs.

A worker on an oil rig

View our current research opportunities

New materials for ‘green’, large scale clean-up of contaminated water

This project develops a novel solution for removing transition metal ions from water for recycling into useable cobalt solids for clean energy production.

Deadline:

Funding:

unfunded

Clean Energy - Understanding hydrate formation in porous rock for enhanced geothermal energy

An enhanced geothermal system (EGS) is a renewable energy technology that extracts energy from a naturally occurring heat source. EGS technology injects a fluid under high pressure, typically water, down into rock subsurface, fracturing the rock and enabling access to the thermal reservoir. One of the challenges in this technology is mineral precipitation. This project aims to understand how the precipitation (nucleation) of these minerals occurs in different rock types.

Deadline:

Funding:

unfunded

AI approaches and automatic uncertainty for robust, reliable, and trustful digital twin: application to sustainable critical infrastructure and systems

The research will develop methods for automatic uncertainty characterization and propagation based on probabilistic computing and virtual experts. Probabilistic computing is a promising approach from the AI community for addressing the uncertainties inherent in so-called natural data (or uncertain numbers).

Deadline:

Funding:

unfunded

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in the Environment

Investigate antimicrobial resistance (AMR) development and dissemination in the One Health context—the interaction between human, agricultural and environmental health.

Deadline:

Funding:

unfunded

Verifiable and efficient simulation for structural-health digital twins

The correctness and validity of simulation models for structural-health digital twins is under scrutiny in this project. We propose a paradigm shift in the way simulation models are solved numerically that allows the efficient and rigorous uncertainty propagation. The research will investigate current scalability concerns in relation to the application of these rigorous solvers in structural-health monitoring.

Deadline:

Funding:

funded

Creating ‘green’ cements from incinerator waste ash – a crystal-chemical study of ion binding in the glassy and mineral phases

Cement and concrete are unsustainable materials for the modern world coping with the effects of climate change. One solution to reduce reliance on cement is to create concretes from incinerator waste ash. This project uses chemical analysis of ash compositions to create safe, ‘green’, concrete formulations and understand their long-term stability in a concrete material.

Deadline:

Funding:

unfunded

Digital technologies for Resilient & Sustainable Infrastructures

The PhD student will work closely with our industrial partners to develop innovative digital tools and methodologies for improving the resilience and sustainability of critical infrastructure. These will include but not limited to the development of: mathematical models to address the performance of critical functions and critical hazards; new uncertainty methods with quantifiable confidence; fast simulation tools based on machine learning and engineering-physics based automatic learning.

Deadline:

Funding:

unfunded

Optimizing green infrastructure for rainwater harvesting: converting stormwater into a valuable water resource

Green infrastructure like raingardens can be used to capture and filter the water from roads and paving, cleaning it and thus increasing its potential uses. This research explores how the soils, aggregates in the raingardens can be used to enhance water cleaning, and explores ways of optimizing further water cleaning to increase the potential use of the stormwater.

Deadline:

Funding:

unfunded

Novel sustainable retrofitting techniques to mitigate building/infrastructure damage due to drought-induced ground subsidence

The project aims to develop innovative techniques to mitigate building and infrastructure damage caused by drought. It will be conducted in collaboration with Uretek France, a company specialising in ground reinforcement. The PhD research will explore sustainable, low-carbon approaches such as the installation of capillary barriers and the creation of rainwater-harvesting wells. The project will include both experimental and numerical components.

Deadline:

25 September 2025

Funding:

funded

John Anderson Research Studentship Scheme (JARSS)

John Anderson Research Studentship Scheme (JARSS) doctoral studentships are available annually for excellent students and excellent research projects.

There are two main sources of funding:

Central University funding
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council - Doctoral Landscape Award (EPSRC - DLA) funding.

The JARSS 2025/26 competition will open in October 2024 and students successful in this competition will commence studies in October 2025. Faculties will set their own internal deadlines for the competition.

Academics/Supervisors make the applications for this scheme and there are various deadlines across Departments and Faculties, therefore, in the first instance, all interested students should contact the Department where they would like to carry out their research.

Deadline:

Funding:

Funded

THE Awards 2019: UK University of the Year Winner

What you'll study

MPhil & PhD

You can study for your choice of these degrees in any of our research areas:

Get in touch with us at contact-civeng@strath.ac.uk to discuss your own project ideas.

You'll have the opportunity to attend our research seminars, as well as specialist classes and training courses from across the University.

MRes

Our MRes degree is specific to the following programmes:

Industrial Doctorate

For applicants looking to do a work-based PhD, the Faculty of Engineering’s Industrial Doctorate Programme allows you to remain in full-time employment while working on a PhD relevant to your area of work. You can find more information on the Industrial Doctorate web page.

Our research facilities & expertise

Facilities

You'll have access to our £6 million state-of-the-art research laboratories. Our facilities include:

Geomechanics Laboratory
Environmental Chemistry Laboratory
Microbiology Laboratory
Structures Laboratory
Numerical Modelling of Geomaterials
Field Investigation Capabilities

You'll also be given your own work area with an allocated desk, computer and storage space in our offices in the James Weir building.

Research collaborations

We support a wide range of international research collaborations. These include activities in:

Brazil
Canada
Cuba
India
Kenya
Malawi
Swaziland
Thailand
United States

Staff excellence

Our staff are experts in their fields. Some examples of their prestigious achievements include:

Saltire Award 2023 - Professor Zoe Shipton
Awarded an OBE in the 2022 New Year Honours List for services to geosciences and climate change mitigation. This award reflects Zoe's outstanding work on geothermal energy and decarbonizing heating, as well as her work in understanding the deep subsurface, including chairing the UK Geoenergy Observatories Science Advisory Group - Professor Zoe Shipton
Telford Premium Prize 2023 - Dr Enrico Tubaldi
Awarded a 5-year extension to her Royal Academy of Engineering Chair, with continued sponsorship from BAM Nuttall in 2023 - Professor Rebecca Lunn
Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) (2014); Geological Society of London Aberconway Medal (2011) for distinction in the practice of geology with special reference to work in industry - Professor Rebecca Lunn

Student Success

Kanzis Mattu, PhD student

Kanzis has been awarded £1k funding from the Met Office to formally recognize and support her continued collaboration with the Met Office (as this is where her third supervisor, Joanne Robbins, is based). This support means she can spend time at the Met Office headquarters in Exeter during the final year of her PhD.

Kanzis’ research investigates multivariate compound cold events in the UK, their link to weather patterns, and their associated impacts. This is executed through hazard characterization, analyzing impacts on the Scottish railway sector, and producing a framework for an operational impact-based forecasting tool.

Hamish Dow, PhD student

Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Scotland's Emerging Engineer 2024
Strathclyde Inspire Stephen Young Entrepreneurship Award for Outstanding Business Idea Research Paper
Nuclear Institute Scotland Branch YGN Speaking Competition - 1st Place

Magdalena Raykova, PhD student

Magdalena won an Innovate UK ICURe award in 2024 to commercialise her PhD project. It funds her for 12 weeks to conduct a market assessment and build her industry network

Rachel Bray, PhD student

Rachel's research paper 'The co-benefits and risks of smart local energy systems: A systematic review' has been awarded ‘‘Highly Commended” in the Research Design and Methods category of the RGS-IBG Energy Geographies Postgraduate Paper Prize.

Rachel’s paper will be included in the 2024 winners on the Energy Geographies Research Group (EnGRG) competition webpages.

Postgraduate research at the Strathclyde Doctoral School

The Strathclyde Doctoral School offers a vibrant, student-centred research and training environment, dedicated to supporting both current and future research talent.

Bringing together all four of our faculties, it is committed to enhancing the student experience, increasing research outputs and opportunities, and ensuring that training is delivered at the highest standard.

As a postgraduate researcher, you will automatically become a member of the Strathclyde Doctoral School.

Find out more about the Doctoral School

Fees & funding

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Fees & funding

All fees quoted are per academic year unless otherwise stated.

Entrants may be subject to a small fee during the writing up period.

Fees may be subject to updates to maintain accuracy. Tuition fees will be notified in your offer letter.

All fees are in £ sterling, unless otherwise stated, and may be subject to revision.

Annual revision of fees

Students on programmes of study of more than one year (or studying standalone modules) should be aware that the majority of fees will increase annually. The University will take a range of factors into account, including, but not limited to, UK inflation, changes in delivery costs and changes in Scottish and/or UK Government funding. Changes in fees will be published on the University website in October each year for the following year of study and any annual increase will be capped at a maximum of 10% per year.

2024/25

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Scotland	£4,786
England, Wales & Northern Ireland	£4,786
Republic of Ireland	If you are an Irish citizen and have been ordinary resident in the Republic of Ireland for the three years prior to the relevant date, and will be coming to Scotland for Educational purposes only, you will meet the criteria of England, Wales & Northern Ireland fee status. For more information and advice on tuition fee status, you can visit the UKCISA - International student advice and guidance - Scotland: fee status webpage. Find out more about the University of Strathclyde's fee assessments process.
International	£27,500
Additional costs	Some projects will have research costs in addition to the tuition fees. Assessment is made on a case by case basis. Applicants are informed at the point of offer that their project may incur bench fees (max £5,000 per year) and are sent a letter if a bench fee applies. This only applies to projects which will use particularly expensive equipment in one particular research lab. Students are provided with lab coats, gloves etc. International students International students may have associated visa and immigration costs. Please see student visa guidance for more information.
Funding	Take a look at our funding your postgraduate research web page for funding information. You can also view our scholarships search for further funding opportunities.
Postgraduate research opportunities	Search for all funded and non-funded postgraduate research opportunities.

Please note: the fees shown are annual and may be subject to an increase each year.

We've been awarded the Athena Swan Gold Award for our commitment to improve equality, and being an inclusive and supportive place to work and study.

Athena Swan Award

Supervisors

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Supervisors

When you apply, you'll be asked to choose a potential supervisor. Don't worry if you can't see your desired area below – we'll do our best to match you to a supervisor when you apply.

Name	Area of expertise
Tara Beattie	public health in low income countries waste management in low income settings legionella species in compost environments free living protozoa and ocular infection
Doug Bertram	water engineering hydraulics and hydrology flooding and flood risk assessment urban drainage systems SUDs hydropower and water-related energy technologies
Neil Burnside	groundwater resource assessment for geothermal energy, potable water, and sustainable mining engineered remediation design (e.g. mine water treatment) environmental diagnostics (particularly hydrochemistry and isotopes) for assessment of human impact thermal energy / carbon / nuclear waste storage in shallow and deep geological reservoirs properties of overburden above geological storage repositories
James Dixon	transport-energy system modelling e-mobility and power system integration transport demand modelling low carbon energy systems
Kate Dobson	characterisation, development and evolution of microstructures of materials multi-phase flow in porous materials (rocks, soils, concrete, other natural and engineered materials) evolution of porosity and permeability x-ray tomography for engineering, materials and geoscience applications, especially in situ observation of processes and behaviours the effect of freeze-thaw and wetting-drying cycles on microstructure design and performance of barriers for Geological Disposal of Nuclear Waste; the hydro-mechanical behaviour of fractured rocks geological processes sustainability of critical resources (energy, soil, food, water, minerals) fractures, fluids and fluid rock interactions
Gráinne El Mountassir	bio-physico-chemical processes which may influence the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of soils and rocks including biomineralisation processes in porous media & fractured rock development of novel biogeochemical grouting technologies for alteration of subsurface permeability/ground improvement erosion of bentonite buffer and backfill material in engineered barrier systems influence of soil microstructure on macroscopic behaviour (e.g. collapsible soils) and hydro-mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils
Neil Ferguson	travel behaviour, the role of land use regulation on travel and location choice and the link between accessibility and health/quality of life quantitative and qualitative choice analysis and GIS applications for transportation
Jannik Giesekam	industrial strategy and decarbonisation policy embodied and whole life carbon assessment and management in buildings and infrastructure material productivity, resource efficiency and circular economy applications in built environment supply chains science Based Targets and corporate climate action process, input-output and hybrid life cycle assessment
Andrea Hamilton	chemo-mechanics of porous materials which includes cement mineralogy and chemistry design of cements for radioactive waste novel nano-particle cements including 'synthetic' green cements and sustainability stability, fading and cracking in contemporary artworks
Bahareh Kamranzad	ocean and coastal modelling (numerical, soft computing and hybrid) climate change impacts ocean renewable energies, resource assessment and sustainability extreme events coastal protection and resilience
Charles Knapp	water quality determinations wastewater treatment biological indicators of environmental pollution eco-toxicology, bioremediation microcosm/mesocosm experimental toxicology systems microbiological community stability and resilience PPCP (pharmaceutical & personal care products) in the environment antibiotic/antimicrobial resistance in the environment antimicrobial susceptibility assays algal/phytoplankton ecology
Rebecca Lunn	development of low viscosity grouts for ground improvement and ground sealing. Grouting technologies currently under development include micro-biologically induced mineral precipitation, colloidal silica-based grouts and detectable cement-based grouts that can be imaged post ground injection development of new injection based grouting systems for hydraulic barrier formation in nuclear decommissioning and waste disposal design and performance of bentonite barriers for Geological Disposal of Nuclear Waste; the hydro-mechanical behaviour of fractured rocks the influence of faults on groundwater flow systems, with applications in nuclear waste disposal, carbon capture and storage, shale-gas production and conventional hydrocarbon production modelling structural geological uncertainty and its influence on fluid flow in the subsurface
Tracy Morse	environmental health in low and middle income countries social determinants of health behaviour change communication water, sanitation and hygiene
James Minto	fluid flow in porous and fractured media flow and reactive transport numerical modelling x-ray CT for non-destructive analysis of engineering and geological materials civil engineering ground improvement microbially Induced Carbonate Precipitation (MICP): using bacteria to develop sustainable building materials novel grouting materials to enable subsurface energy storage biodegradation of road-runoff microplastic pollutants
Edoardo Patelli	risk assessment, reliability and resilience of critical infrastructure and systems nuclear safety and probabilistic risk assessment uncertainty quantification and reliable simulation methods including digital twin machine learning and artificial intelligence approaches human reliability analysis and interaction with autonomous systems decision making under deep uncertainty Bayesian approaches (including Bayesian Networks, Bayesian Probabilistic Approach to Structural Health, Model identification) validation and verification
Matteo Pedrotti	General topics: experimental hydro-mechanical characterization of soils and grouted soils microstructural characterization of soils and hydrogels use of hydrogels for hydro-mechanical enhancement of soil Specific topics: formation of hydraulic and chemical ground barriers to inhibit contaminant migration on radioactively contaminated sites use of clayey materials and hydrogel to create self-healing well barriers for underground gas storage carbon geological storage: understanding micro-mechanisms of CO2 capillary breakthrough and localized pathways to assess caprock CO2 leakage hazard soil stabilization for pavement structures plant-inspired technologies for soils
Vern Pheonix	environmental chemistry and microbiology bioremediation (capture and remediation of pollutants with bacteria) biofilms and capture/degradation of pollutants in natural and engineered systems imaging of pollutant transport in rocks, soils and biofilms wastewater treatment sustainable urban drainage systems innovations in cleaning urban run-off for domestic and commercial use generation of novel cements by bacteria for civil engineering applications environmental nanotechnology
Stella Pytharouli	Development of monitoring strategies for Civil Engineering Infrastructure Microseismic and geodetic monitoring of unstable slopes Imaging the subsurface – fault re-activation, fluid pathways Brownfield site investigation Development of methodologies for the analysis of large and noisy data sets
Jo Renshaw	environmental radiochemist who works in decommissioning nuclear sites and clean-up of contaminated soils and waters
Jen Roberts	geological contributions to net zero: CO2 storage, hydrogen underground storage, geothermal assessing, perceiving and conceptualising risks - particularly around the subsurface life cycle environmental assessment decision-making processes, including the role of experts and evidence in decision making, citizen representation in decision making just transition Jen is also co-director of Strathclyde's Global Environmental Monitoring and Policy Centre for Doctoral Training (GEMaP CDT)
Philippe Sentenac	fine fissuring detection in flood defence embankments using geophysics (miniature resistivity arrays and Electromagnetic sensors) and geotechnical sensors (tensiometers, pore pressure transducers) chemical attack of alcohol mixtures on consolidated clay using centrifuge experiments. Optical fiber sensor for distributed pore pressure measurements for slope stability industry-academia partnership in Geophysical site investigation of wind turbines footings and foundations
Zoe Shipton	the 3D structural and permeability architecture of faults understanding and communicating geological uncertainty fault zone structural controls on seismic events geological contributions to net zero: geothermal energy, CCS, waste disposal
Stephen Suryasentana	offshore wind foundations (monopiles, suction caissons, floating etc.) ground modelling using Bayesian machine learning numerical modelling of soil-structure interaction thermodynamically-consistent soil constitutive modelling
Christine Switzer	contaminant fate, transport and remediation contaminated land and water organic contaminants non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) source zone characterisation emerging contaminants
Alessandro Tarantino	hydro-mechanical behaviour of soil in partially saturated states and the response of geostructures interacting with climate. This includes fundamental aspects of partially saturated soil behaviour, development of suitable equipment for laboratory and in-situ testing, and application of partially saturated soil mechanics to engineering practice (stability of natural and artificial slopes, foundation subsidence, tunnel face stability, nuclear waste engineered barrier)
Enrico Tubaldi	structural analysis seismic control of structures by means of isolation/energy dissipation devices seismic vulnerability and risk assessment of structures and infrastructures flood risk assessment of bridges
Christopher White	flood risk, hydrology and climate resilience nature-based flood risk management natural hazards risk management, uncertainty and decision-making multi-hazards and compound extremes
Shangtong Yang	durability of civil engineering structures and buildings fracture mechanics of civil engineering materials mainly including concrete and rocks whole life cycle analysis of civil engineering infrastructures failure prediction of pipelines under loads and environmental degradation ananotechnology and nanomaterials for enhancing durability and fracture resistance of cementitious materials

For effective completion of PhD, it's necessary to have a healthy interaction with your supervisor, a good research facility and academic support. I am lucky enough to have all of these at Strathclyde.

Prateek Kumar Dhir
PhD student

More about Prateek

Support & development

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Support & development

Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development (PgCert RPD)

As part of your PhD, you will be enrolled in the Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development (PgCert RPD).

This certificate is designed to enhance your research experience and recognize the skills and activities you develop as a research student.

It will help you build essential skills for both professional development and employability, including:

Knowledge and intellectual abilities to conduct your research
Personal qualities that will enable you to succeed in your research and future career
Understanding the standards, requirements, and conduct expected of a professional researcher in your field
The ability to collaborate effectively and communicate the impact of your research to diverse audiences

You will plan these activities alongside your doctoral studies, documenting and reflecting on your journey to success along the way.

Find out more about the PgCert RPD programme.

Careers

The University Careers Service can help you with everything from writing your CV to interview preparation.

Student support

From financial advice to our IT facilities, we have a wide range of support for all students here at Strathclyde. Get all the information you need at Strathlife.

Our research

In 2022, our Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering became the only engineering department in the UK to hold a Gold Athena Swan Award. This award marks our commitment to being an inclusive and supportive place to work and study, and recognises our efforts to improve and embed gender equality in all aspects of department activity. The award recognises our 'commitment to advancing women's careers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.'

We have strong links with industry, including input from high-profile visiting professors. We have an active industrial advisory board and we offer a varied seminar series, which includes speakers from industry. We work closely with academics and industry to produce world-leading publications.

Find out more about our research

Civil Engineering Student on bridge structure

My favourite aspect about Strathclyde was the people. From the students, to the mentors and lecturers. Everyone I spoke with was very helpful and engaging. I also loved the fact that Strathclyde had a number of interaction events with industry, this allowed students to liaise directly with industry and prepare themselves for the professional world.

Dr Manpreet Singh Puri

More about Manpreet

International students

We've a thriving international community with students coming here to study from over 140 countries across the world. Find out all you need to know about studying in Glasgow at Strathclyde and hear from students about their experiences.

Visit our international students' section

Glasgow is Scotland's biggest & most cosmopolitan city

Our campus is based right in the very heart of Glasgow. We're in the city centre, next to the Merchant City, both of which are great locations for sightseeing, shopping and socialising alongside your studies.

Life in Glasgow

Apply

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Entry requirements

We look for a first-class or upper second-class UK Honours degree, or overseas equivalent, in a relevant discipline, from a recognised educational institution.

The application

During the application you'll be asked for the following:

your full contact details
copies of transcripts and certificates of all degrees (in English)
two references, one of which must be academic and completed using the Reference Form
an updated CV, detailing research and/or industry experience along with details of your publications
a research statement, outlining your research interests and future career aspirations (this is mandatory for PhD, MPhil and MRes applicants)

By filling these details out as fully as possible, you'll avoid any delay to your application being processed by the University.

Note for MRes Applicants:

Research Statement (Mandatory): The content and structure of this statement is largely up to you, but it should communicate why you want to do an MRes, why you want to do this MRes programme, and why you are a suitable candidate. It can also be helpful to outline how you meet the application criteria, your career aspirations, and an indication of the research topic or topic area you are interested to pursue (and any potential supervisor(s) that you have identified). We cannot process your application without your research statement.

International applicants

If you're applying internationally, you'll also need to provide us with the following:

proof of IELTS English language proficiency if English isn't your first language (taken within two years)
a scanned copy of your passport
a scanned copy of your sponsorship letter (if available)

Supervisors

Research supervisors are assigned to you by the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. Let us know in your application who you'd like to work with, but the department will team you up with the best supervisor for your project.

Once we've received your application, your research proposal is passed to potential supervisors for consideration. If it's not compatible with the researcher's current projects and they are unable to supervise, it's passed along to another for consideration. If they can supervise you, they’ll confirm and nominate a potential second supervisor.

As soon as a second supervisor is confirmed, an offer will be sent to you through Pegasus, our online application system.

When you accept our offer of study, you'll receive a full offer in writing via the email address you'll have provided.

Accepting an offer

Once you've accepted our offer, we'll need you to fulfil any academic, administrative or financial conditions that we ask.

UK students

If you're applying as a UK student, you'll then be issued with your registration documentation.

International students

An ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance certificate is a mandatory requirement for some postgraduate students in science, engineering and technology.

Find out if you need an ATAS certificate.

Start date: Sep 2025

Engineering

MRes

full-time

Start date: Sep 2025

Apply now

Start date: Sep 2025

Engineering

MRes

part-time

Start date: Sep 2025

Apply now