Loughborough University is a leader in technological research and innovation with an excellent reputation within industry and academia. Research is one of the founding blocks of our mission to advance knowledge and transform lives. Committed to excellence and impact, we provide a supportive and stimulating environment for you to make a substantive contribution to academia, society, and the economy.
Funded PhD opportunities
Browse our funded PhD opportunities to discover more about the projects, funding and how to apply. Most of these projects already have a specified topic and allocated supervisor, but we also encourage you to submit your own proposals. If you can't find what you're looking for, you can also take a look at our self-funded PhD opportunities.
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PhD Adaptive Mobile Robot Automation for Quality-aware Large Volume Inspection and Data Fusion
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: 1 October 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 3 March 2026
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PhD Assessment of stability of shallow foundation affected by erosion voids due to pipe leakage
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: October 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 22 February 2026
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PhD Computational modelling of sustainable alloys
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Materials
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: July 2026, October 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 14 February 2026
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PhD Developing an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based acoustic monitoring integrating energy harvesting sensing nodes
Campus:
Department(s): Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: July 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 15 February 2026
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EngD Development of a Quantum Network Testbed
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: October 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 28 February 2026
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PhD Development of novel lubricant additives for electric vehicles powertrains
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: October 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 27 February 2026
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PhD Digital transformation of crystallization processes through model-based design of experiments and optimization
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Chemical Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: April 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 15 March 2026
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PhD Dynamic Digital Twin Modelling of Multimodal Traffic at Urban Intersections
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: October 2026, February 2027
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 22 February 2026
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PhD Engineering Hydrogen-Compatible Systems: Design and Manufacturing Innovation
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: October 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 27 February 2026
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PhD High pressure flow boiling in water based nuclear reactors
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: April 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 15 February 2025
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PhD Human-centred Manufacturing Engineering with eXplainable AI (HUMANE-XAI)
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: 1 October 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 3 March 2026
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PhD Intelligent Built Environment: AI for Energy-efficient, Low-carbon and Healthy Buildings
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: October 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 22 February 2026
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PhD Intelligent Healthcare Infrastructure: AI Agentic Systems for Optimising Building Asset Performance
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: October 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 22 February 2026
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PhD Intelligent Sensor Fusion for Sustainable Cleaning in the Food Industry
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: October 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 16 February 2026
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PhD Inverse Modelling of Ocean-Surface Physics for Robust Maritime Vision
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: 1 October 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 16 February 2026
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PhD Natural Computing with MEMS Neuromorphic Reservoirs for In-Sensor Intelligence
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Study mode: Full-timePart-time
Start date: July 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 16 February 2026
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PhD Passive RF tomography for early wildfire detection in forested environments
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: October 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 16 February 2026
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PhD Reinforcement Learning–Driven Optimisation of Low-Carbon Shipping Strategies for Construction Materials
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: October 2026, February 2027
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 22 February 2026
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PhD Resilient Modernities: Twentieth-Century Urban Heritage in the Face of Climate and Social Change
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: October 2026, February 2027
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 22 February 2026
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PhD Safe and Sustainable Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Using Digital Twins, Computer-Assisted Retrosynthesis, and Life Cycle Assessment
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Chemical Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: April 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 15 March 2026
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PhD Soil micro-structure evolution during deterioration driven by environmental cycles
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Materials, Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: April 2026, July 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 14 February 2026
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PhD Sustainable Hydrogen-Rich Fuel Production from Wastewater and Food Waste for Floating Offshore Fuel Platforms
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, Chemical Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: October 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 20 March 2026
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PhD Tailored Gas Composition for High-Quality and Sustainable Laser Processing
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: 1 October 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 3 March 2026
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PhD Transforming Global Health: AI-Driven Acoustic Biomarkers for Early Lung Disease Detection
Campus: Loughborough
Department(s): Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Study mode: Full-time
Start date: October 2026
Funding status Funded
Application deadline: 17 February 2026
Self-funded PhD opportunities
World-class research takes place across all our Engineering Schools and Departments. We have a vibrant and inspiring community of research students and staff, who work on an incredible range of projects with real world impact. Choose your subject area to browse our self-funded PhD opportunities.
Further information
For further information about funding and writing your research proposal, please see our dedicated webpages.