Centres for Doctoral Training
As a leader in many academic fields, Bristol has a wide range of popular Centres for Doctoral Training which provide excellent doctoral-level training across our faculties. Our Centres bring together internationally-leading staff with diverse areas of expertise and exciting industry partners to equip you with the skills, knowledge and confidence to tackle issues that are still evolving and launch a successful career in academia or in industry.
As a Doctoral Training Centre student, you will follow an extended PhD or EngD programme which includes a substantial component of taught coursework to develop and enhance your technical knowledge and broaden your skills, in addition to completing a full original research project at doctoral level.
There are two types of Centre: Doctoral Training Centres (DTCs), leading to a PhD; and Industrial Doctorate Centres (IDCs), leading to an EngD (a professional qualification whereby the Research Engineer (ie the EngD student) works within a sponsoring company and receives an enhanced stipend of at least £5,000). The University of Bristol has six DTCs, one IDC, and a Doctoral Training Partnership.
Doctoral Training Centres
- The Advanced Composites Centre for Innovation and Science
- The Doctoral Training Centre in Functional Nanomaterials
- The Doctoral Training Centre for Chemical Synthesis
- The Centre for Doctoral Training in Communications
- The Bristol Centre for Complexity Sciences (BCCS)
- South West Doctoral Training Centre (SWDTC)
Please note: industrial sponsorship with enhanced stipends are available in some cases.
Industrial Doctorate Centres
Doctoral Training Partnerships
The Advanced Composites Centre for Innovation and Science Doctoral Training Centre
The Advanced Composites Centre for Innovation and Science Doctoral Training Centre is based in the Department of Aerospace Engineering. Research encompasses all aspects of the materials science and engineering of composite materials.
The Doctoral Training Centre in Functional Nanomaterials
The Doctoral Training Centre in Functional Nanomaterials aims to train a new generation of scientists in the area of functional nanomaterials to connect fundamental nanoscience with real-life applications, coupled to economic and social benefits, in areas including healthcare, computing and pharmaceuticals.
The Doctoral Training Centre for Chemical Synthesis
The Doctoral Training Centre for Chemical Synthesis, based in the School of Chemistry, is aimed at creating better, greener and more efficient processes for making new drugs and medicines, and new materials, polymers and nanomaterials.
The Centre for Doctoral Training in Communications
The interdisciplinary Centre for Doctoral Training in Communications combines the strengths of the University’s Centre for Communications Research with its world-leading mathematics capability and its strengths in interactivity to address challenges in safety-critical systems.
The Bristol Centre for Complexity Sciences (BCCS)
The Bristol Centre for Complexity Sciences (BCCS), a major collaboration across four faculties, aims to nurture the next generation of scientists and engineers in the most challenging areas of the emerging sciences of complexity.
Industrial Doctorate Centre in Systems
The Industrial Doctorate Centre in Systems provides a research and training environment designed using 'systems thinking' principles to develop tomorrow’s leaders in the heart of UK industry and to deliver industrially relevant research and commercially successful innovation.
South West Doctoral Training Centre (SWDTC)
The SWDTC is a partnership between the universities of Bristol, Exeter and Bath and is one of the UK’s largest centres of postgraduate research training for social scientists.
South West Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP)
The South West Doctoral Training Partnership is led by the University of Bristol, with the Universities of Exeter and Bath, and Rothamsted Research. Together, these institutions provide outstanding interdisciplinary research training in Food Security and World-Class Bioscience.