Civil Engineering PhD

From developing innovative new construction materials, to investigating the sustainability of managed realignment coastal protection schemes, our civil engineering staff and PhD students are at the leading edge of research into the ways materials, soils, structures and engineered systems respond to forces imposed by the natural environment.

Most of our work has real-world application. Data generated by researchers in our Sustainability and Resilience Engineering Research and Enterprise Group (SuRE) is being used, for example, in the design and redesign of structures in earthquake-prone regions, the smart management of infrastructure assets such as highway bridges, and the geotechnical engineering of foundation systems for wind turbines.

We provide Civil Engineering PhD students with opportunities to work across the spectrum of civil engineering, including research which straddles traditional disciplinary boundaries into, for example, geology, physical geography and environmental science. We believe that this interdisciplinary focus provides our students with an appreciation of real-world problems and ensures that they are highly employable.

As a Civil Engineering PhD student, you will benefit from: a supervisory team comprising two to three members of academic staff. Depending on your research specialism you may also have an additional external supervisor from another School, another research institution, or industry; All students are provided with desk space and access to a desktop PC, either in one of the postgraduate offices on the sixth floor of the award-winning Cockcroft Building, or within the adjacent Heavy Engineering Block. You will additionally benefit from access to a range of electronic resources via the University’s Online Library, as well as to the physical book and journal collections housed within the Aldrich Library and other campus libraries; PhD students within SET are able to use various state-of-the-art research facilities on the Moulsecoomb site, including specialist geochemical and geotechnical laboratories, microbial and water quality laboratories, hydraulic flumes, an experimental river basin, a water efficiency laboratory, microscopy laboratories (optical and scanning electron microscopes), and a concrete laboratory, as well as a large array of field equipment. All these facilities are supported by a team of dedicated laboratory and workshop technicians.

The entry requirements for the PhD are: a recognised Master’s degree with a significant research component, for example MPhil from another university, or similar qualification which is regarded by the University of Brighton as being equivalent and relevant or substantial appropriate research or professional experience at postgraduate level which resulted in published work, written reports or other appropriate evidence of accomplishment. An application made by someone with this experience will be considered on its merits and will normally require independent academic references or, unless a School exercises their right to specify more stringent entry requirements, we may consider a first or upper second honours degree or other qualification which is regarded by the University of Brighton as being equivalent and relevant.