Chemical Engineering MPhil/PhD
London, Bloomsbury
Chemical engineering research integrated with basic science offers great potential for bringing essential understanding and innovative technological solutions to the challenges of the future. To this end, we collaborate widely with various academic and industrial research groups and are partners in the Sargent Centre for Process Systems Engineering, ÂÒÂ×Ðã CoMPLEX and the ÂÒÂ×Ðã Materials Chemistry Centre.
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2024/25)
Overseas tuition fees (2024/25)
Duration
Programme starts
Applications accepted
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.Entry requirements
A UK Master’s degree in a relevant discipline with Merit or above; or an MEng degree from a UK university with an upper second-class or above; or an overseas qualification of equivalent standard.
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The English language level for this programme is: Level 1
ÂÒÂ×Ðã Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at ÂÒÂ×Ðã. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.
Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.
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If you are intending to apply for a time-limited visa to complete your ÂÒÂ×Ðã studies (e.g., Student visa, Skilled worker visa, PBS dependant visa etc.) you may be required to obtain ATAS clearance. This will be confirmed to you if you obtain an offer of a place. Please note that ATAS processing times can take up to six months, so we recommend you consider these timelines when submitting your application to ÂÒÂ×Ðã.
Equivalent qualifications
Country-specific information, including details of when ÂÒÂ×Ðã representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.
International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.
About this degree
Research is a core activity in the department, and it covers a broad range of scales from the molecular to the complex systems level. Our work is organised in five research groups: Catalysis & Reaction Engineering, Electrochemical Engineering, Molecular & Engineering Thermodynamics, Multiphase Systems and Product & Process Systems Engineering, addressing challenges in three research areas: Energy & CO2, Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing and Health & Environment.
Who this course is for
Our MPhil/PhD programme appeals to students from a wide spectrum of disciplines including, health, energy, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, bioengineering and more who wish to develop cutting-edge solutions to grand challenges.
What this course will give you
Our PhD programme involves a wide range of challenging and innovative engineering problems in tandem with the opportunity to be supervised and mentored by world-leading academics. Many of our PhD students are involved in industry-led projects acquiring a diverse set of analytical, business and problem-solving skills.
We offer exceptionally well-equipped research laboratories across our campuses in Bloomsbury and ÂÒÂ×Ðã East in Stratford, fully backed up by technical services. World-class computing facilities are also available for those involved in computational studies.
Graduates from our PhD programme have an outstanding track-record of securing competitive positions in industry, academia, consulting, finance as well as founding their own successful start-up companies.
The foundation of your career
Chemical engineering offers great potential for bringing quantitative understanding to the service of the chemical industry. Chemical industry alone is one of the UK's largest manufacturing industries and number one exporter. The skills achieved by our students not only make them employable in the major chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, food and energy industries, but are also transferable to other sectors including environmental technology, biotechnology and even management and finance. Our graduates have been employed in major industries such as GSK, Unilever, Procter and Gamble, Shell, Amec, Tate & Lyle Sugar, as well as continuing successfully in academia.
Employability
Recent graduates have secured positions in a wide range of industries, from engineering to finance. Examples of organisations include: Shell UK Exploration and Production, AMEC, Petrofac, Sun Chemicals, M W Kellogg, Procter and Gamble, Barclays Bank, UBS and HSBC. Many of our graduates who chose an academic career pathway hold academic posts in world-leading universities.
Networking
Extensive networking opportunities are provided through our weekly international departmental seminar series where eminent and worldwide experts from academia and industry talk about their research and development and new cutting-edge applications. The department has strong links with the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) and the Royal Academy of Engineering as well as other learned societies via the breadth of research undertaken in the department. In addition, career development seminars are embedded in the teaching curriculum and provide the students with an opportunity to learn more about the process and network with their peers as well as invited guests.
Teaching and learning
Apart from your primary supervisor you will be assigned a secondary one who you will meet regularly. As part of your degree you will participate in training courses from the ÂÒÂ×Ðã doctoral school, attend departmental seminars and related activities in the department.
Students of the programme are initially registered for the MPhil degree with the expectation to pass the upgrade viva and transfer to PhD within the first 18 months from their initial enrolment. For the successful upgrade from MPhil to PhD candidates are required to prepare a written report and pass an oral examination focusing on their preliminary findings and future plans.
For the award of a PhD, candidates will be examined on their final research thesis and have a viva with two independent examiners.
Research students’ attendance is not formally monitored; however, it is expected that their research time mirrors that of staff engagement as closely as possible. It is therefore recommended that full-time research equates roughly to 36.5 hours per week; this should be pro-rata to whatever part-time-equivalent has been agreed, but not normally less than 50% the full-time-equivalent (FTE). If a student has external funding, they should also ensure they meet the Terms & Conditions of their funder in this regard.
Research areas and structure
- Catalysis & Reaction Engineering
- Electrochemical Engineering
- Molecular & Engineering Thermodynamics
- Multiphase Systems
- Product & Process Systems Engineering
Within these areas, research expertise includes:
- Catalysis, photo catalysis and electro catalysis
- Cement chemistry and processing
- CFD modelling of multiphase flows
- Computational catalysis
- Data mining and visualisation
- Electrochemical engineering
- Fracture mechanics
- Fuel cells and batteries
- Functional materials
- Kinetic modelling
- Micro reaction technology
- Molten salts
- Particle technology (crystallisation and fluidisation)
- System modelling and optimisation
- Statistical modelling
- Thermodynamic modelling
- Two phase flow
- X-ray, micro PIV
Research environment
Through our research, we aim to create pioneering breakthroughs in science and technology and seek solutions to Grand Challenges (such as energy, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, materials, sustainable manufacturing, health and environment), based on significant advances in fundamental knowledge. To this end, we collaborate widely with other departments in ÂÒÂ×Ðã Engineering, Chemistry and beyond, as well as various academic and industrial research groups.
In the latest Research Evaluation Framework (REF 2021), 97% of our submissions rated as either “world leading” (4*) or “internationally excellent” in the Engineering Unit of Assessment at ÂÒÂ×Ðã.
The ÂÒÂ×Ðã Department of Chemical Engineering has access to a range of state-of-the-art facilities and equipment used for multidisciplinary research, including within our:
- Bio-Energy Technology Research Laboratory
- Materials and Catalysis Laboratory (MCL)
- Multiphase Labs
- Fluidization and Advanced Imaging Laboratory
- Solar Energy & Advanced Materials (SEAM) Labs
- Crystallisation and Nanoparticle Labs
- Adaptive and Responsive Nanomaterials Labs
- Centre for Correlative X-ray Microscopy
- Nature Inspired Chemical Engineering Labs
Details about these labs and their equipment are available on our chemical engineering research website.
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The length of registration for the research degree programme is 3 years for full-time and 5 years for part-time.
Within three months of joining the programme, you are expected to agree with your supervisor the basic structure of your research project, an appropriate research methodology and a realistic plan of work. You will produce and submit a detailed outline of your proposed research to your supervisor for their comments and feedback.
In your second year you will be expected to upgrade from an MPhil to a PhD. To successfully upgrade to a PhD, you are required to prepare a written report and pass an oral examination focusing on their preliminary findings and future plans.
Upon successful completion of your approved period of registration you may register as a completing research student (CRS) while you write up your thesis.
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The length of registration for the research degree programme is 3 years for full-time and 5 years for part-time.
Within three months of joining the programme, you are expected to agree with your supervisor the basic structure of your research project, an appropriate research methodology and a realistic plan of work. You will produce and submit a detailed outline of your proposed research to your supervisor for their comments and feedback.
In your second year you will be expected to upgrade from an MPhil to a PhD. To successfully upgrade to a PhD, you are required to prepare a written report and pass an oral examination focusing on their preliminary findings and future plans.
Upon successful completion of your approved period of registration you may register as a completing research student (CRS) while you write up your thesis.
Accessibility
Details of the accessibility of ÂÒÂ×Ðã buildings can be obtained from . Further information can also be obtained from the ÂÒÂ×Ðã Student Support and Wellbeing team.
Fees and funding
Fees for this course
Fee description | Full-time | Part-time |
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Tuition fees (2024/25) | £6,035 | £3,015 |
Tuition fees (2024/25) | £31,100 | £15,550 |
The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the ÂÒÂ×Ðã Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.
Additional costs
The programme may be subject to an Additional Fee Element (AFE). The AFE (also known as a bench fees) is levied to cover the additional costs related to consumables, equipment, materials, attending conferences etc. As each PhD project is unique in nature, the AFE is calculated on a student by student basis and is determined by the academic supervisor. The AFE is banded into four fixed amounts: £1,000, £2,500, £5,000, £10,000 with one further band for variable sums over £10,000.
For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs.
For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs.
Funding your studies
The department receives Research Council awards for outstanding research students. Information concerning current studentships available can be found on the chemical engineering departmental website.There are a number of funding opportunities throughout the year. For instance, we offer the H. Walter Stern Scholarship. There are ÂÒÂ×Ðã Research Scholarships (GRS and ORS) available each year. There is also the Dean's Prize, which supports overseas fee-paying students who have won a competitive scholarship to cover their stipend, by waiving the international fees.
Eligible students may apply for a ÂÒÂ×Ðã EPSRC DTP award, such as or the Interdisciplinary DTP scheme.
For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at ÂÒÂ×Ðã, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.
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CSC-ÂÒÂ×Ðã Joint Research Scholarship
Value: Fees, maintenance and travel (Duration of programme)Criteria Based on academic meritEligibility: EU, OverseasÂÒÂ×Ðã Research Opportunity Scholarship (ROS)
Deadline: 12 January 2024Value: UK rate fees, a maintenance stipend, conference costs and professional development package (3 years)Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial needEligibility: UK
Next steps
Deadlines and start dates are usually dictated by funding arrangements so check with the department or academic unit to see if you need to consider these in your application preparation. In most cases you should identify and contact potential supervisors before making your application. For more information see our page.
Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.
Choose your programme
Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.
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