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Electronic and Electrical Engineering MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

UK students International students

Study mode

UK tuition fees (2023/24)

£5,860

£2,930

Overseas tuition fees (2023/24)

£29,000

£14,500

Duration

3 calendar years

5 calendar years

Programme starts

Research degrees may start at any time of the year, but typically start in September.

Applications accepted

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A UK Master’s degree, or a minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor’s degree, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. The qualification may be in any relevant subject, e.g. electronic engineering, communication engineering, computer science, chemistry, materials science (the latter two for electronic materials research).

The English language level for this programme is: Level 1

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level. International Preparation Courses

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

If you are intending to apply for a time-limited visa to complete your UCL 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.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL 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

Thanks to the breadth of research we carry out in the department, we offer doctorates across a wide range of topics in electrical engineering from nanotechnology and novel materials, to circuits and systems, radar, communications, photonics and optical networks and large scale networks. We collaborate widely, both with other departments in UCL, and internationally with leading research groups around the world.

Read about what it takes to become a UCL graduate research student

What this course will give you

Our department is the oldest electronic engineering department in England and remains one of the most highly regarded and research active. Our research is at the cutting edge of the discipline and we have an enviable track record of exploiting our research in new technologies.

Our facilities are world class with access to the state-of-the-art London Centre for Nanotechnology and excellent in-house design and test facilities for RF, radar, communications, optical networks, materials and photonic research. More than this, we also offer comprehensive training and support packages with dedicated staff and access to the support system offered by UCL graduate school.

Find out how your research could have an impact

The foundation of your career

Our research students are in high demand post-graduation, going on to take up careers in industry, as postdoctoral researchers and, in many cases, continuing to permanent academic positions at leading educational institutions.

Many of our students have taken up senior positions in industry at companies such as Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia-Siemens, Deutsche Telekom with some progressing to Directorships.

Several graduates have been awarded prestigious fellowships, including Royal Academy of Engineering and Royal Society University Fellowships, Leverhulme Trust Early Career Awards and EPSRC Fellowships.

Many have become successful academic researchers at institutions including the University of Liverpool, Queen Mary, University of London, University of British Columbia, Aston University, City University and the University of Hokkaido.

Employability

Many of our recent PhD graduates have taken up positions as postdoctoral researchers at leading universities, whilst others continue their research careers in industry. A significant number use the PhD as a stepping stone to careers in other sectors, including management consultancy and finance. Several have started up their own businesses and become successful entrepreneurs.

Networking

Our doctoral students engage widely with the world outside academia via mechanisms including Knowledge Transfer (KT) programmes, public engagement, and outreach activities. In the former case, we have seconded students to collaborating companies via KT studentships to carry out highly industrially relevant work and the students are often employed by the company at the end of their PhD.

Students are required to present posters at the Unit's annual Barlow & Mildner lectures during each of the three years of their PhD study, offering networking opportunities with senior academic and industrial partners.

Teaching and learning

You are required to register initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an upgrade viva. For a successful upgrade to PhD, you prepare a written report, give an oral presentation and pass an oral examination.

For a PhD award, you will be examined on your submitted thesis, this involves a viva (an oral exam) with two independent examiners.

Research areas and structure

Communications and information systems: telecommunication networks and services; wireless communications; IP networks; sensor networks; information security and retrieval
Electronic materials and devices: optical materials and electronic devices; quantum nanoelectronics; diamond electronics; laser processing; resistive switching
Optical networks: optoelectronic devices and systems; large scale optical networks; dense WDM optically routed networks; optical packet networks; high speed optical systems
Photonics: connected electronic and photonic systems; ultrafast photonic devices; wireless over fibre devices and systems; photonic generation of THz signals; advanced liquid crystal devices; uncooled and coherent wavelength division multiplex technology
Sensors, systems and circuits: radar and sonar; antennas and EM modelling; medical electronics; RFID systems; IC design.

Research environment

We have a large and vibrant community of doctoral students researching a broad range of topics in electronic and electrical engineering. Our graduates are in high demand, going on to careers in industry, academic research, and permanent academic positions at top institutions. Many of our graduates now hold senior positions in the industry.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support & Wellbeing team.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time	Part-time
Tuition fees (2023/24)	£5,860	£2,930
Tuition fees (2023/24)	£29,000	£14,500

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 UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

There are no additional costs for this programme.

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

A number of competitive EPSRC funded studentships are available each year for UK and EU students who meet residency requirements. The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) also awards competitive scholarships for graduate study

Further information about funding and scholarships can be found on the departmental pages.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

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 How to apply 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.

This programme requires two references. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2023-2024

Research Degree: Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Full-time

Research Degree: Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Part-time

Year of entry: 2022-2023