Materials (Research)

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2025). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.

The DPhil/MSc by Research in Materials is a research-based course covering materials science, solid state physics, and chemistry, with projects in energy storage, quantum devices, biomaterials, nanomaterials, and computational modelling.

The DPhil in Materials is normally carried out in three and a half to four years of full-time study under the supervision of an experienced member of staff. A wide range of exciting DPhil projects is available.

The MSc by Research in Materials will provide you with the opportunity to develop knowledge, understanding and expertise in their chosen field of materials science, well beyond the level of a taught master’s degree, but without the requirement to complete as much novel research as a doctoral student. Students develop broad skills in relevant areas of materials science, as well as some aspects of solid-state physics and chemistry.

A small number of places are offered on the MSc by Research in Materials each year as the majority of the department's research students are enrolled on the DPhil in Materials. As an MSc student you will work, train and study alongside the DPhil students, together forming a cohort of research students. It may be possible to change from an MSc by Research and pursue a DPhil in Materials.

Research interests of the department extend over most branches of materials science, as well as some aspects of solid-state physics and chemistry: they include the study of a wide range of materials of relevance in advanced technological applications, including metals and alloys, composites, semiconductors, superconductors, polymers, biomaterials, ceramics and materials for quantum information processing.