Postgraduate research opportunities MPhil scholarships for progression to fully funded doctoral research
ApplyKey facts
- Opens: Monday 15 December 2025
- Number of places: 2
- Duration: 12 or 48 months
- Funding: Equipment costs, Home fee, Stipend, Travel costs
Overview
This MPhil research course is intended for applicants to obtain training in their respective specialised disciplines and prepare them for further doctoral research study in the themes of an interdisciplinary doctoral centre, funded by The Leverhulme Trust, to pioneer the science, technology, and analytical frameworks for sustainable applications and energy management. The scholarships are targeted at students from either i) low-income household backgrounds or ii) Black categories of ethnicity.Eligibility
You must satisfy the following criteria:
- qualify for UK/Scottish home fees (see funding details)
- meet at least one group criterion below, as set by external funder. You must either be from:
- a low-income household background evidenced by, for example, being in receipt of a full maintenance loan or Special Support loan during their undergraduate studies, or
- one of the following categories of ethnicity: Black African; Black Caribbean; Black Other; Mixed – White and Black Caribbean; Mixed – White and Black African; Other mixed Black background (including Black African, Black Caribbean and Black Other)
- hold or expect to hold a university degree at UK 2:1 level or above in a relevant discipline (see Project Details).
- demonstrate experience in conducting an extended piece of technical work, such as placement, research/group/thesis project, professional employment, set of technical data analysis
Please note that applicants may enter the programme with either a Bachelors or Masters degree except for Strathclyde degree holders, who may only enter with a Bachelors degree from Strathclyde (but may hold any other degree from a different institution).
Project Details
We invite applicants from a range of disciplines and a curious mindset – including engineering, chemistry, design, materials, machine learning, biology, psychology, social science, architecture – to join the interdisciplinary Leverhulme Doctoral School in Nature Inspired Acoustics (NIA).
Research themes
The research themes of the doctoral training centre are:
- Bioinspired Chemistry & Materials
- Nature-Inspired Sensors & Devices
- Nature-Inspired Design for Intelligent Environments
- Psychology, Futures & Foresight
Applicants are encouraged to propose their own research topics relevant to the themes of NIA. Examples include, but are not limited to:
Themes 1 & 2
- molecular assembly
- machine learning
- insect inspired hearing systems
- microdevices & sensors
- cell systems
- hydrogels
- peptide-mimicry
- biopolymers
- green chemistry
- 3D printing
Theme 3
- nature-inspired design for intelligent environments
- architectural soundscape design
- infrastructure monitoring
- living materials
- biomimetic communications
Theme 4
- futures thinking on technological advances
- using judgment to anticipate nature inspired devices
Applicants may hold a Bachelors or Masters degree by the time of entry. Applicants will ordinarily apply for a 4-year PhD scholarship. Talented applicants with less preparation could qualify for a 5-year Masters and PhD scholarship (see Eligibility).
Funding details
You must be a home student (UK citizen or holding settled status).
International students who do not qualify or who do not have their own funding will not be considered.
Scholarships include full tuition at the home fees rate, a tax-free stipend (£20,780 per year for 2025/2026), and a £10,000 research budget for consumables and travel. The stipend may be revised to track the UKRI minimum stipend rate at the discretion of the project funder (The Leverhulme Trust).
While there is no funding in place for opportunities marked "unfunded", there are lots of different options to help you fund postgraduate research. Visit funding your postgraduate research for links to government grants, research councils funding and more, that could be available.
Apply
If you are interested, please apply as soon as possible. Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis between 31 January to 31 March 2026. After this date, email to inquire about the availability of the opportunity.
To apply, download the Application and Cover Letter template and return the completed form to nia-leverhulme@strath.ac.uk.
Include the following and any other information requested in your form when returning it:
- explanation of whether you qualify for UK/Scottish home fees (see form);
- brief explanation of what interests you to the doctoral centre;
- brief explanation of what has prepared you for an extended scientific investigation, such as, academic achievement, overcoming of barriers, placement, research, data analysis, group project
- CV
Number of places: 2
To read how we process personal data, applicants can review our 'Privacy Notice for Student Applicants and Potential Applicants' on our Privacy notices' web page.