Conduct cutting-edge research and gain expertise in a wide range of areas. Our School's main research interests focus on materials for energy and electronics, and supramolecular, interfacial and synthetic chemistry.
Our research degrees are based around laboratory and computational research projects. PhD study involves a 3-4 year research project on a full-time basis, or 5-6 years part-time. In all our research degrees you undertake a single, focused, research project from day one, and attend components of our transferable skills modules. You are supervised by a team which comprises your main supervisor(s) as well as supervisory chairs that give independent advice on progression.
The School’s latest PhD opportunities are announced throughout the year and can be found on the FindAPhD website or through the University of Kent scholarship finder.
If you have private or other funding you are welcome to apply for a PhD at any time, provided that your research interests are in line with the interests and capabilities of one of our research groups. In order to apply, you need to complete the following steps:
A first or upper second class degree in Physics or Chemistry.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.
The University requires all non-native speakers of English to reach a minimum standard of proficiency in written and spoken English before beginning a postgraduate degree. Certain subjects require a higher level.
For detailed information see our English language requirements web pages.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
Duration: 3 to 4 years full-time, 5 to 6 years part-time
The 2024/25 annual tuition fees for this course are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Find out more about general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Please note that, due to the technical requirements of certain laboratory-based research projects, some projects incur additional research costs to support consumable requirements.
Search our scholarships finder for possible funding opportunities. You may find it helpful to look at both:
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Search scholarshipsThe School of Chemistry and Forensic Science has a dynamic research community, conducting high-quality research across a diverse range of topics including creation of new materials, physical property investigation, biomedical science, sustainability, and soft materials (environmental/sustainable, etc). Take a closer look at our specialist research centres and groups:
Kent’s world-class academics provide research students with excellent supervision. The academic staff in this school and their research interests are shown below. You are strongly encouraged to contact the school to discuss your proposed research and potential supervision prior to making an application. Please note, it is possible for students to be supervised by a member of academic staff from any of Kent’s schools, providing their expertise matches your research interests. Use our ‘find a supervisor’ search to search by staff member or keyword.
Full details of staff research interests can be found on the School's website.
All of our Chemistry programmes equip you with the tools you need to conduct research, solve problems, communicate effectively and transfer skills to the workplace, which means our graduates are always in high demand. Our links with industry not only provide you with the opportunity to gain work experience during your degree, but also equip you with the general and specialist skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the workplace.
Typical employment destinations for graduates from the physics programmes include power companies, aerospace, defence, optoelectronics and medical industries. Typical employment destinations for graduates from our forensic science and chemistry programmes include government agencies, consultancies, emergency services, laboratories, research or academia.
Fatma Salahioglu graduated from Kent with a PhD in Chemistry. She now works as a Research Scientist for the Institute of Chemical & Engineering Sciences (ICES) in Singapore. Read the full profile.
The University has good facilities for modern research in physical sciences. These include: NMR spectrometers; powder X-ray diffractometers; X-ray fluorescence; atomic absorption in flame and graphite furnace mode; gel-permeation, gas, analytical and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography; mass spectrometry; scanning electron microscopy and EDX. We also have various microscopes, differential scanning calorimetry and thermal gravimetric analysis, dionex analysis of anions and automated CHN analysis. For planetary science impact studies, there is a two-stage light gas gun.
Much of our work is interdisciplinary and we have successful collaborative projects with members of the schools of Biosciences, Computing, Engineering and Digital Arts at Kent, as well as an extensive network of international collaborations.
Chemistry at Kent has collaborations with universities around the world, particularly in Germany, France, Italy and the USA. UK links include King's College, London and St Bartholomew's Hospital, London. Our industrial partners include BAE Systems, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, and Ophthalmic Technology Inc, Canada. We also have collaborations with NASA, European Southern Observatory (ESO) and European Space Agency (ESA) scientists.
Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. Among others, they have recently contributed to: Nature; Science; Astrophysical Journal; Journal of Polymer Science; Journal of Materials Chemistry; and Applied Optics.
Kent's Graduate School co-ordinates the Researcher Development Programme for research students, which includes workshops focused on research, specialist and transferable skills. The programme is mapped to the national Researcher Development Framework and covers a diverse range of topics, including subject-specific research skills, research management, personal effectiveness, communication skills, networking and teamworking, and career management skills.
Learn more about the application process or begin your application by clicking on a link below.
You will be able to choose your preferred year of entry once you have started your application. You can also save and return to your application at any time.
T: +44 (0)1227 823254
E: internationalstudent@kent.ac.uk
