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Environmental Design and Engineering MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury and London, Hackney Wick (Here East)

UK students International students

Study mode

UK tuition fees (2023/24)

£5,860

£2,930

Overseas tuition fees (2023/24)

£26,200

£13,100

Duration

3 calendar years

5 calendar years

Programme starts

September 2023

January 2024

Applications accepted

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Research degree students start their programme in BSEER in September or January each academic year. Starting at other times is by exception where a strong justification is made.

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard, in a relevant subject, is essential. Exceptionally: where applicants have other suitable research or professional experience, they may be admitted without a Master's degree; or where applicants have a lower second-class UK Honours Bachelor's degree (2:2) (or equivalent) they must possess a relevant Master's degree to be admitted. We expect any successful application to include a sufficiently strong and convincing proposal, and those holding a Master's degree are typically well prepared to provide one. Relevant work experience is highly desirable.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

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.

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

Our academics, doctoral and postdoctoral researchers carry out world-leading research in the field of sustainable building design, engineering and social science. Our research is original, influential, and always relevant to the biggest global challenges. Our research themes are interdisciplinary, overlapping, and dynamic. Our ultimate goal is to deliver interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary built environment research to improve wellbeing, health and sustainability. Our specialist expertise covers a variety of interconnected themes related to the built environment including but not limited to:

•   Light & Lighting
•   Acoustics & Soundscapes
•   Moisture, Temperature & Air Quality
•   Climate Change, Sustainability & Cities
•   Smart Buildings & Digital Engineering
•   Life Cycle Assessment & Circular Economy
•   Energy Use, Retrofit & Net Zero

We use a range of methods in our research, including:

1.   Measurement, Monitoring & Testing
2.   System Dynamics
3.   Social & Participatory Research
4.   Urban Modelling & Geospatial Analysis
5.   Building Performance Simulation, Evaluation & Optimisation
6.   Data Analytics, Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence
7.   Building Physics & Mathematical Methods

If you have a research idea that falls within our research themes, a MPhil/PhD in Environmental Design and Engineering could be the right path for you. To get started with your application, find a potential supervisor with similar research interests from our staff list and email them with an informal enquiry, including a referenced research proposal and curriculum vitae (CV). They will be able to give you feedback before supporting your formal application.

Who this course is for

Our MPhil/PhD programme appeals to students from across many disciplines such as design, engineering, social science, health, and more. We appreciate such diversity in our student’s backgrounds because it helps address the grand challenges we are interested in.

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

What this course will give you

Are you interested in making our buildings, towns and cities more sustainable, healthier, more efficient and productive places to live? We explore exciting, emerging themes in built environment study and reflect the joined-up, interdisciplinary ways of thinking, communicating and working that are increasingly in demand in industry. And we do it in central London, an inspirational world capital of the building design industry.

MPhil/PhD Students are core to our activities, in terms of contributing to the ground-breaking research already underway and in building future research capacity here in the UK and around the world.

You will have the opportunity to work across disciplinary boundaries across The Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources – home to four specialist sustainability-focused Institutes on energy, resources, environmental design and engineering, and heritage. Studying with us is about excelling at your own discipline, whilst benefiting from thinking and working with interdisciplinary colleagues. This will allow you to develop your research skills, and open up new career opportunities in the broad field of environment, energy and resources.

In the latest national research assessment (REF 2021) our Faculty, The Bartlett, was number one for Research Power in the built environment, with 91% of our Faculty’s research was deemed ‘World Leading’ and ‘Internationally Excellent’. Most of our research is undertaken in partnership with government and industry to ground our work and create real-world impact.

Find out how your research could have an impact

The foundation of your career

We aim to train highly employable graduates who are equipped with the required analytical capability, research knowledge, management skills, and professional values to become leaders, researchers and entrepreneurs in their chosen field. Leadership, communication, teamwork, language and business skills are refined in the high-quality multidisciplinary research environment through our taught and research programmes, workshops, internal and external seminars.

Employability

A PhD indicates a highly qualified researcher, capable of independent analytical thought. It is a highly regarded qualification for those wishing to attain senior management positions in industry, consultancies and public sector organisations and is essential for those interested in pursuing careers in academia. Our graduates’ trajectories are diverse and many of our alumni have gone on to careers in academic research and teaching as well as UK-based on international government and policy organisations, consultancies and industry.

Networking

Supervision and mentorship is available from world-leading researchers with national and international contacts and collaborations across policy, government, industry and academic sectors. The Bartlett is built on enterprise, and the same is true of the UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering. We work with organisations such as Arup, Aedas, BR, Buro Happold, Clarion Group, Feilden Clegg Bradley, Hawkins Brown, Max Fordham and NICE. Our students also gain access to our excellent network as well as workshops, seminars and social events held by our Institute and the other institutes within the school.

Teaching and learning

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) consists of a piece of supervised research, normally undertaken over a period of three years full-time, but part-time study is possible. Assessment is by means of a thesis, which should demonstrate your capacity to pursue original research based upon a good understanding of the research techniques and concepts appropriate to the discipline or appropriate to the interdisciplinary work.

Initially, you will be registered for the MPhil degree. If you wish to proceed to a PhD, you will be required to pass an 'Upgrade' assessment. The purpose of the upgrade is to assess your progress and ability to complete your PhD programme to a good standard and in a reasonable time frame. It is expected that a full-time student will attempt upgrade within 9–18 months of registration.

Research areas and structure

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)	£26,200	£13,100

Route code RRDEERSEDE01

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

As a research student, your additional costs may include expenses such as books, conference attendance and field research, in the UK or overseas. Additional costs may also arise from specialist software and equipment that is not freely available at UCL.

The Bartlett provides financial support to students through the Bartlett Student Conference Fund, Bartlett Doctoral Initiative Fund and Bartlett Extenuating Circumstances Fund. However, please note that these funds are limited and available through competition.

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

UCL offers a range of financial awards aimed at assisting both prospective and current students with their studies.

Any additional funding available from the UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering and the and The Bartlett Faculty are advertised on the respective websites.

We also occasionally have funded studentships available. These are advertised on the Funded Research Opportunities page and can be found by filtering to the ‘Bartlett School of Environment Energy and Resources’. If you would like funded studentship opportunities sent to you via email, please register your interest in studying with us.

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

: Bartlett Promise Scholarship - PhD

Deadline: 12 May 2023

Value: Full fees, plus £19,668 maintenance (Normal duration of programme)

Criteria Based on financial need

Eligibility: UK

UCL Research Opportunity Scholarship (ROS)

Deadline: 13 January 2023

Value: UK rate fees, a maintenance stipend, conference costs and professional development package (3 years)

Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial need

Eligibility: UK

Next steps

You should prepare your application well before the date you intend to start. It is strongly advised that you identify and contact a potential supervisor before making your application. For more information see our How to Apply page. Those applying for scholarships should take note of their application deadlines.

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.