Self-Funded PhD opportunity in Physics (Ref: SCI26-SF-004)

About the Project

Physics at Loughborough University offers PhD research spanning fundamental physics and applied work in materials, photonics, and biomedical settings.

Themes

• Quantum and Complexity Physics: studying complex physical systems, identifying general principles, and making predictive models of their behaviour
• Medical and Biological Physics: applying physics methods to understand living systems and improve medical technologies
• Condensed Matter and Materials Physics: exploring the properties of materials and the collective behaviour of atoms in natural and engineered systems
• Emergent Photonics: research in integrated nonlinear photonic systems for quantum technologies, alongside innovative terahertz science

Environment and Facilities

• Recently refurbished laboratories following a £4.2m investment, including a new ISO Class 6 clean room and co-location with Chemistry
• Advanced thin-film and nanofabrication capability (including multi-chamber deposition and photolithography)
• Extensive materials characterisation across transport, magnetometry, X-ray diffraction/reflectivity, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning probe methods
• Access to the Loughborough Materials Characterisation Centre (e.g., SEM, TEM, XPS, high-resolution cathodoluminescence)
• High-performance computing via the Lovelace HPC cluster and HPC Midlands+

Supervisor

• Prof Joseph Betouras (J.Betouras@lboro.ac.uk)

Tuition fees for 2026-27 entry

• UK fee - £5,238 Full-time degree per annum
• International fee - £29,500 Full-time degree per annum

Fees for the 2026-27 academic year apply to projects starting in October 2026, February 2027 and July 2027.

UK tuition fees for 2026/27 are currently to be confirmed pending the release of the UKRI recommended rates. Once published, these rates will be subject to formal approval by the University before being confirmed.

Opportunity Details

• Target Start Date: October 2026
• Full time or part time available.
• Open to UK and international applicants.

How to Apply

We welcome discussions with interested candidates.

• Step 1: Interested applicants should first contact Professor Joseph Betouras (j.betouras@lboro.ac.uk) the Department's Deputy Director of Doctoral Programmes to discuss your research interests and funding options.
• Step 2: Applicants are then strongly encouraged to contact potential supervisors with a CV, academic transcripts, and confirmation of funding sources or planned funding sources.
• Step 3: following any informal discussion, applicants are invited to make a formal application on the Loughborough Website.