The Centre of Astronomy and Planetary Science (CAPS) at the University of Kent is pleased to offer two fully funded STFC studentships and a Europlanet Studentship starting in September 2020. These studentships and the Europlanet Studentship cover home tuition fees and an annual maintenance grant (which is £15,009 for 2019/20). STFC studentships are open to Home/EU students who meet UKRI residency guidelines. The Europlanet Studentship is open to UK, EU and overseas students.

CAPS is one of 6 active research groups within the the School Physical Sciences and contributes to the innovative and interdisciplinary research across a broad and diverse range of topics. Kent has a rich legacy in astrophysics and planetary science since the University opened in the 1960s. Since 2005 the CAPS has operated two portfolios; one of Astrophysics (with foci on star formation and the structure of our Galaxy) and one in planetary science (with foci on comets & asteroids observational, involvement in space missions, and impact studies). The group hosts a Light Gas Gun Facility, the Beacon Observatory and SEM and Raman analytical tools. Our dynamic research community has numerous collaborative links with colleagues in other universities and research institutions, both in the UK and overseas.

Please note that there are three positions available for the group and therefore there will be an internal competition and the quality of the applicants will play a role in the final decision of the group. We welcome applications from people with disabilities and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.

Any enquiries about the application process should be directed to the Postgraduate Admissions Team (spsadmissions@kent.ac.uk). For enquires about the individual projects please feel free to contact the project supervisors directly. For more information about the School of Physical Sciences and our Research groups please visit our School pages. More details about the individual projects can be found following the links below.

Criteria

• The University of Kent invites applications for a full-time PhD studentship commencing in September.
• We are looking for an excellent student with a good Honours degree (First or 2i) and, preferably, a Master’s degree at Merit or Distinction in a relevant subject, or equivalent.
• Successful candidates will demonstrate academic excellence and outstanding research potential.
• The STFC studentship is open to UK and EU applicants who meet RCUK residency guidelines and have been resident in the UK for 3 years prior to commencement are eligible to apply. The Europlanet Studentship is open to all UK, EU and overseas students.

To apply please see: https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/how-to-apply/