MPhil, PhD, EngD & Industrial Doctorate Electronic & electrical engineering

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Research opportunities

We offer MPhil, PhD, Engineering Doctorate (EngD) and Industrial Doctorate postgraduate degree programmes. All of these pathways lie within our Doctoral Programme, which is aligned to the key research areas of our two broad-based research Institutes:

Detail of High voltage power transformer in substation

View our current research opportunities

THE Awards 2019: UK University of the Year Winner

Our Doctoral Programme

MPhil & PhD

You can apply for our one year MPhil or three year PhD programmes at any point during the year. We welcome speculative research proposals or you can select from our list of defined PGR projects offered by our Institutes.

All PhD students will be enrolled in the Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development programme (PgCert RPD).

This certificate is designed to support you with your research and rewards you for things you'll do as a research student here. It'll help you improve skills which are important to professional development and employability:

the knowledge and intellectual abilities to conduct your research
the personal qualities to succeed in your research and chosen career
the standards, requirements and conduct of a professional researcher in your discipline
working with others and communicating the impact of your research to a wide range of audiences

All you have to do is plan these activities alongside your PhD, documenting and reflecting your journey to success along the way.

EngD

We offer EngD programmes in two research areas:

Optics and Photonics Technologies
Non-Destructive Evaluation

These are delivered in partnership with a number of other reputable UK universities, so do not worry if you are directed to another university website to submit your application. You can apply for these all year round. EngD students are not required to enrol on the PgCert RPD.

Industrial Doctorate

An Industrial Doctorate offers those currently in work, the opportunity to gain a PhD through undertaking a three-year industrial-focused research project with their employer. Your project focuses on issues relevant to the company, enabling it to gain valuable knowledge, supporting its growth and development.

Email carol.brady@strath.ac.uk for further information. Industrial Doctorate students are not required to enrol on the PgCert RPD.

Minjiang’s journey from Strathclyde to SP Energy Networks

Minjiang joined our Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering from China through one of our articulation programmes, before continuing his studies with a PhD. Minjiang now works for SP Energy Networks, and discusses his journey to where he is today.

Find out what our students think

Fangzhu Yu

It’s a supportive, relaxed and diverse community. It is competitive, but your colleagues and supervisors are always happy to help.

Find out about Fangzhu's research

Minjiang Chen

During my PhD study, I increased my relevant skillsets in power system design, analysis, and modelling. I've also learnt effective planning, communicating with colleagues from different countries, and delivering technical reports within the pre-defined deadline.

Read how studying here helped Minjiang

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 should be aware that tuition fees are revised annually and may increase in subsequent years of study. Annual increases will generally reflect UK inflation rates and increases to programme delivery costs.

2023/24

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Scotland	2023/24: £4,712 2022/23 - £4,596
England, Wales & Northern Ireland	2023/24: £4,712 2022/23 - £4,596
International	£24,450
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.
Additional costs	Full-time students will have access to a phone, networked printing facility and a photocopier. Students are given an annual limit of £100 worth of credit on the 1 October each year. This re-sets at the start of each academic year. Additional credit can be purchased through the online shop. International students may have associated visa and immigration costs. Please see student visa guidance for more information.

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

Our research

We're one of the leading departments of our kind, internationally recognised for our research excellence, industry engagement and first-class teaching programmes.

All our activities are driven by two broad-based research institutes, supported by 60 academic staff and more than 220 researchers. The Institutes’ expertise spans power and energy, telecommunications, signals, ultrasonics, microsystems, photonics and control systems.

Find out more about our research

Pylons in the sunset

Supervisors

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Supervisors

Research supervisors are assigned to you by the department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering.

We ask you to highlight a potential supervisor in your application, 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.

Postgraduate research at the Strathclyde Doctoral School

The Strathclyde Doctoral School provides a vibrant and comprehensive student-centred research and training environment in order to grow and support current and future research talent.

The School encompasses our four faculties and is committed to enriching the student experience, intensifying research outputs and opportunities, and ensuring training is at the highest level. As a postgraduate researcher, you'll automatically become a member of the Strathclyde Doctoral School.

Find out more about the Doctoral School

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Support & development

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Support & development

Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development (PgCert RPD)

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

This certificate is designed to support you with your research and rewards you for things you'll do as a research student here.

It'll help you improve skills which are important to professional development and employability:

knowledge and intellectual abilities to conduct your research
personal qualities to succeed in your research and chosen career
standards, requirements and conduct of a professional researcher in your discipline
working with others and communicating the impact of your research to a wide range of audiences

All you have to do is plan these activities alongside your doctorate, documenting and reflecting 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.

International students

We've a thriving international community with students coming here to study from over 100 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

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Apply

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Apply

Entry requirements

You'll need a first-class or upper second-class UK Honours degree, or overseas equivalent, in a relevant engineering, physical sciences or technology-based discipline from a recognised academic institution.

If English isn't your first language, you'll also need to have a recent UKVI recognised Secure English Language Test (SELT) qualification.

The application

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

your full contact details
transcripts and certificates of all degrees
proof of English language proficiency if English isn't your first language
two references, one of which must be academic
funding or scholarship information
research proposal of 250-1,000 words in length, detailing the subject area and topic to be investigated

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

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 or EU students

If you're applying as a UK or EU 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.