Automotive Engineering

Entry requirements

Applicants are expected to hold a first or upper-second class degree in a relevant discipline (or equivalent overseas qualification), or a lower second plus a good Masters degree (distinction normally required).

Months of entry

January, April, July, October

Course content

A PhD in automotive engineering gives you the chance to employ cutting-edge science to make new discoveries. Our excellent laboratories and facilities are nationally and internationally recognised, and a stage for world-class research. We provide a multidisciplinary environment where doctoral students from different disciplines can meet and work together on applied engineering research topics with direct impacts on society.

Our researchers also regularly collaborate with key players in industry, including Rolls-Royce, Dstl and Jaguar Land Rover. We are also host to the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre in Thermo-Fluid Systems and the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Micro- and NanoMaterials and Technologies.

In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, 80 per cent of our ‘general engineering’ research outputs were rated as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’.

Our PhD in Automotive Engineering will give you the knowledge, skills and expertise needed for a career in engineering, research or academia. You’ll be intellectually challenged, develop research and management skills, and become an expert in your chosen field of study.

It normally takes around three years to complete a full-time PhD. You’ll be assigned a minimum of two supervisors, who’ll guide you through your studies. You’ll learn how to conduct literature reviews, develop your ideas and verify them with experiments, and collaborate and perform interdisciplinary research. Over time, we’ll develop your skills and transform you into an independent researcher.

Research themes:

• Automotive engineering
• Computational fluid mechanics
• Design
• Hybrid vehicles
• Tyre dynamics
• Vehicle dynamics