King’s College London is using EPSRC doctoral training funding to recruit PhD students across physics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering, and informatics, with a particular push into technology and big data. The university is expanding its science and engineering base as part of its Strategic Vision 2029, building on existing strengths in physical sciences and their interface with health research. This matters because the UK needs a steady pipeline of researchers trained in fundamental science and emerging technologies—areas that underpin everything from medical imaging and telecommunications to statistical modelling and robotics. The funding supports two streams: 85% goes to core studentships in areas already backed by EPSRC grants, while 15% is reserved for strategic growth in mathematical sciences and new technology fields. If successful, this will produce a cohort of early-career scientists equipped to work across disciplines, strengthening the research base that quietly supports diagnostics, data analysis, and infrastructure systems. The project is primarily about training people rather than delivering a specific application, but the fundamental science these students pursue—in photonics, condensed matter theory, or algorithms—could later feed into unexpected breakthroughs, much as past basic research in geometry now underpins modern cryptography.
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King's College London has embarked on a transformative initiative to expand the breadth and depth of its science and technology as a part of its Strategic Vision 2029. Growth in these areas will: build on existing strengths within the university in physical science and engineering; build on the thriving interface with the university's leading activity in health sciences; include expansion into new areas of technology. Our EPSRC DTP funding provides the flexibility to target PhD studentships in priority research areas of growth and provide opportunities for doctoral research in areas of active current research supported through EPSRC funding, and offers support to Early Career Researchers on academic appointments. In all cases, students will be immersed in a supportive and thriving research environment. King's has a strong bedrock of basic sciences and DTP funded opportunities will be available across pure and applied mathematics, in particular in Statistics and Applied Probability; in Photonics, Nanotechnology, Biophysics and Soft Matter, Condensed Matter Theory and Simulation, and in Chemistry in areas with a focus on understanding the chemistry of life and the interface with biology and biomedical sciences. Further EPSRC funded doctoral training opportunities in mathematical and physical sciences exist within our EPSRC CDTs in Geometry and Number Theory and in Cross-Disciplinary Approaches to Non-Equilibrium Systems (CANES). We are also committed to growing new activity in the areas of Technology and Engineering. DTP funded opportunities will be available within our present vibrant research groups in Agents & Intelligent Systems, Algorithms & Bioinformatics, Robotics, Telecommunications, Planning and Software & Logic within Informatics, and in the broad area of Big Data which we will develop further, building upon our considerable expertise in Health Data. The university has significant strength in Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, where DTP funded opportunities will complement those within our EPSRC CDT in Medical Imaging, and naturally align to the EPS research areas within the Centre of Medical Engineering (Wellcome Trust/EPSRC). Students are supported through training at three levels, centrally through our Centre for Doctoral Studies (www.kcl.ac.uk/study/doctoral-studies), at Faculty level and at School/departmental level. The interdisciplinarity of King's research and our partnerships and collaborations with other institutions in London and beyond will enhance and broaden the applicability of the research and the student experience. Prospective students can find out more about the subject areas we offer by visiting the postgraduate prospectus (www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg). In addition they can identify specific areas of interest through supervisor profiles on the Faculty web-pages including the Faculty of Natural and Mathematical Sciences including Mathematics, Physics, Informatics and Chemistry (www.kcl.ac.uk/nms/research) and the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine (www.kcl.ac.uk/lsm) including the School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences (www.kcl.ac.uk/lsm/research/divisions/imaging) and Randall Division of Cell & Molecular Biophysics. DTP funding will be in two streams: a core studentship fund (85%) to ensure provision of doctoral training opportunities in areas with a strong research environment supported through EPSRC awards; and a strategic studentship fund (15%) to provide PhD opportunities in mathematical science and in areas of growth. Provisional allocation of DTP funding will be made to Departments in November and PhD opportunities will be advertised from December to March, with assignment and award of studentships from February onwards
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