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Our projects offer 4-years funding of a tax-free stipend at the UKRI PGR rate - currently £20,780 in the 2025-26 academic year, UKRI home tuition fees, and a research budget for conferences, placement and project expenses. All projects are co-developed with an industrial partner, who will closely oversee the project and provide regular industrial supervision. If the project is eligible for a London weighting stipend supplement, this will be confirmed in the project description.

Our standard requirements to apply for an advertised project are;

  • Graduates with a 2.1 undergraduate degree including (preferably) an integrated Masters qualification, from any STEM discipline, with an aptitude for practical engineering.

  • Non-native UK language applicants will be required to provide an IELTS certificate in English at the level required by the host university, and ATAS clearance.

  • Applications must be submitted to the project host universitiy via their PGR Application system, We do not accept speculative applications or CVs via email.

  • Projects that are open to applications from non UK residents are clearly stated. Please do not apply for a project that is only open to UK residents if you do not meet the criteria, as your application will be rejected.

How to Apply

Take a look at our resources to help you prepare your application at our How to Apply page. Use the link in the advert to go to the relevant university PGR application system. You’ll need to specify the full name of the project, the named supervisor, that you are applying for CDT funding, details of your previous study, and names and contact details of two academic referees. Your application will not be processed without all of the required documents submitted at the time of application, and we cannot accept responsibility for late or missed deadlines. Incomplete applications will not be considered. You should upload the following supporting documents:

  • Final Transcript and certificates of all awarded university level qualifications

  • Interim Transcript of any university level qualifications in progress

  • CV

  • Contact details for two referees (please make sure that the contact email you provide is an official university/work email address as we may need to verify the reference)

  • Supporting statement: A one page statement outlining your motivation to pursue postgraduate research, the area(s) of fusion engineering research you’re interested in, why you want to undertake postgraduate research in the CDT, any relevant research or work experience, and relevant skills you’ve developed.

  • English Language certificate (if applicable).

Please read our Privacy Notice before submitting any application to a project within the Fusion Engineering CDT so that you are aware of how we process your data.

Projects open to application

  • University of Manchester logo with "1824"

    Tritium transport and retention in solid blankets; multiphysics driven impacts and coupling

    Industrial sponsor: UK Atomic Energy Authority

    Supervsior: Professor Lee Margetts

    Open to: home and international tuition fee candidates

    Applciation Close date: 31st May 2025

    Apply online: here

  • The University of Manchester logo, with "MANCHESTER 1824" on a purple background.

    From Defects to Durability: Scaling Fatigue Predictions for Additive and Welded Structures in Fusion Systems

    Industrial sponsor: UK Atomic Energy Authority

    Supervsior: Dr Matthew Roy

    Open to: home and international tuition fee candidates

    Applciation Close date: 30th June 2025

    Apply online: here

  • The University of Manchester logo with "Manchester 1824" on purple background.

    Adaptive Inverse UQ for Reliable Parameter Estimation in Fusion Engineering Systems

    Industrial Sponsor: UK Atomic Energy Authority

    Supervisor: Professor Lee Margetts

    Open to: home and international tuition fee candidates

    Application Close date: 30 June 2025

    Apply online: here

  • Multi-Fidelity Simulation Ensembles for Near Real-time Failure Prediction in Digital Twins

    Industrial sponosr: UK Atomic Energy Authority

    Supervisor: Professor Perumal Nithiarasu

    Open To: Home and international fee candidates

    Application Close date: 31st May 2025

    Apply online: here

  • A real-time PINN-based computational framework for data integration and digital twinning

    Industrial sponsor: UK Atomic Energy Authority

    Supervisor: Professor Perumal Nithiarasu

    Open to: Home and international fee candidates

    Application Close date: 31st May 2025

    Apply online: here

  • Manufacturing and high temperature mechanical evaluation of reduced activation W heavy alloys (RA-WHA)

    Industrial sponosor: UK Atomic Energy Authority

    Supervisor: Prof Sandy Knowles

    Open to: UK candidates only

    Application Close date: 30th June 2025

    Apply online: here

  • Accelerated creep-fatigue qualification through high-throughput testing and data fusion

    Industrial sponosor: UK Atomic Energy Authority

    Supervisor: Professor Bo Chen

    Open to: home tuition fee candidates

    Application Close date: 13th June 2025

    Apply online: here

  • Manufacturing and structural integrity validation of dissimilar material bonds for tungsten component joining

    Industrial sponosor: UK Atomic Energy Authority

    Supervisor: Prof Sandy Knowles

    Open to: home tuition fee candidates

    Application Close date: 30th June 2025

    Apply online: here

  • An Open Architecture Framework for Fusion

    Industrial sponosor: UK Atomic Energy Authority

    Supervisor: Dr Michael Henshaw

    Open to: home tuition fee candidates

    Application Close date: 30th June 2025

    Apply online: here

  • Scaled Experimental Platform for Magnetically Confined Fusion Process Emulation and Digital Twin Integration

    Supervsior: Professor Lee Margetts

    Open to: Home and international fee candidates

    Application Close Date: 30th June 2025

    Apply online:here

  • Understanding phase decomposition in SMART-W alloys in a fusion power plant environment

    Industrial sponsor: UK Atomic Energy Authority

    Supervisor: Dr Tessa Davey

    Open to: Home and international fee candidates

    Application close date: 29th June 2025

    Apply online: here

  • Hydrogen Isotope Extraction from Liquid Lithium for Liquid Lithium Fusion Breeder Blankets

    Industrial sponsor: Tokamak Energy

    Supervisor: Dr Dan Reed & Professor Arun Bhattacharya

    Open to: Home fee candidates

    Application Close Date: 22nd June 2025

    Apply online: here

  • Probabilistic lifetime assessment of Breeding Blankets under irradiated conditions

    Industrial sponsor: UK Atomic Energy Authority

    Supervisor: Dr Christos Skamniotis

    Open to: Home fee candidates

    Application Close Date: 23rd June 2025

    Apply online: here

  • Enhancing Fusion Engineering with Augmented and Virtual Reality and Digital Twins

    Industrial sponsor: UKAEA

    Supervisor: Professor Lee Margetts

    Open to: Home fee candidates

    Application close date: 30th June 2025

    Apply online: here