PhD positions on fundamental/theoretical physics still opened in the UK?

[IRobot]

Hi,

I am looking for PhD positions at some universities in the UK still opened? I missed the application deadline at the Kings College and Imperial, and I am quite disappointed with that. That's why I am asking here, I would hate to miss other opportunities. My subject predilections are CFT and theoretical particle physics in general. Thanks.

 

[mal4mac]

Deadlines? I don't think they're universal. Here's one amongst many that have different deadlines:

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ADS249/phd-opportunities-at-the-cockcroft-institute/

 

[IRobot]

Thanks a lot mal4mac, I am really REALLY grateful for your link! Time to apply now :d

 

[BruceW]

I think most universities keep offering places until they run out of funding to assign. So there is no real deadline. But your chances are better if you apply earlier.

 

[f95toli]

It really depends on how the position is funded. If it via a PhD program (then yes, there might be a deadline (althnough programs are quite rare in the UK).
But positons thar are funded via a grant (from say EU) can be announced at any time (basically when the a researcher needs a new PhD student). so it might be worth keeping an eye open.

 

[IRobot]

Thanks for the information f95toli, but to ask for those kind of funding I should first contact a professor, build up the project and then ask for the money. Is it the conventional way to get access to this funding opportunity?

 

[f95toli]

Thanks for the information f95toli, but to ask for those kind of funding I should first contact a professor, build up the project and then ask for the money. Is it the conventional way to get access to this funding opportunity?

You can't apply for money. The researcher applies for a grant to do research into project X, and if he/she gets the funding there is sometimes money in the grant to hire a PhD student (and/or maybe a postdoc).
Hence, as a PhD student you don't have much control over what you end up doing (although the same is of course true to some extent for senior researchers, er all need money), the best you can hope for is to be offered a few different positions so that you have something to choose from.
Note, however, that PhD projects are not neccesarily very rigid, i.e. there is some flexibility once you've started working on a project meaning you might have some freedom to pursue the things within the project you find interesting (the project descriptions for a PhD project are by design a bit vague, for precisely this reason). This is research after all, and you can't always predict what you might stumble across once you've worked for a year or so.

 

[BruceW]

IRobot, I'll be interested to know what you come up with, looking online. I've looked online, but there seem to be few theoretical particle physics PhD's offered. Some of the universities do say something along the lines of "get in contact with us about theoretical physics PhD's". But I'm not sure how many of these universities actually do have PhD opportunities this year.. I guess to get the best chance, you need to start getting into contact with universities, and maybe even going to open days. (That's what I'd be doing, if I was more pro-active).

 

[IRobot]

@f95toli: Ok thanks for this really clear picture about the working of this system. I still have one question: is there a easy way to know about whose teachers got the funding and what subjects are they proposing?

@BruceW: I PMed you about my background studies ;).

 

[BruceW]

Some universities tell certain websites about some of their phd projects, specifically. For example, sites: jobs.ac.uk, postgraduatesearch.com, and findaphd.com

Also, you can get an idea of the type of research a certain university does, by just going on its website.