Information and Requirements for Admission to Postgraduate Study in the DAMTP Astrophysics Group

DAMTP PhD Studentships

Adrian Barker and Min-Kai Lin working on their PhDs.

Entry requirements:: The minimum entry requirement is a 1st class honours degree after a four-year course in mathematics, physics or engineering, or a three-year degree plus a postgraduate course on advanced applied mathematics and theoretical physics. Part III of the Mathematical Tripos (also known as Master of Mathematics/Master of Advanced Study) provides such a course and graduates from outside Cambridge frequently take it as a fourth-year course.
DAMTP deadline:: The deadline for applications is the end of January each year, unless you require funding from the Cambridge Trusts, in which case earlier deadlines apply. However, later applications will be considered where possible. For more detailed information please go to http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/study/phdstudentships.html and http://www.maths.cam.ac.uk/postgrad/phd/
Funding:: There are other awards available from Cambridge sources outside DAMTP. The Graduate Studies Prospectus (GSP) contains an up-to-date guide. See also the Student Registry for funding-related information.

Funding for European Union and Overseas Students:: Applicants from the European Union (EU) will be considered for available STFC funding to cover their fees. Applications should also be made to: Cambridge European Trust, Isaac Newton Studentship. Some Cambridge Colleges offer scholarships and examining the details in the College section of the Graduate Prospectus http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/gsprospectus/colleges is worthwhile. There are some country-specific awards for study at Cambridge which is covered in detail by CamFunds.; The deadlines for applying for funding from the Cambridge Commonwealth and Overseas Trusts are relatively early in the admission cycle and early application is advised.; Funding from the EU or from sources within your own country for study abroad might be possible. Your own current university should have information about the range of options available.

Application Procedure:: You need to apply to the Board of Graduate Studies (BoGS). The Board of Graduate Studies Prospectus provides much information for applicants, application forms and answers to many frequently asked questions.
Note:: UK sudents considering applying to more than one Cambridge department (e.g. DAMTP and the Institute of Astronomy), should contact us (via Ms Virginia Mullins, for further advice. EU and overseas students should submit individual applications to each department, so that they can be ranked by each department for external funding.

Shown below are some of the titles that former students have submitted for their PhD. If known, a link to the full thesis is included.
Dr. Barbara Ferreira: PhD Thesis: Variability of black-hole accretion discs: a theoretical study
Dr. Min-Kai Lin: PhD Thesis: Dynamical instabilities in disc-planet interactions
Dr. Peter Mann: PhD Thesis: Nonlinear flux transport dynamos
Dr. Hanno Rein: PhD Thesis: The effects of stochastic forces on the evolution of planetary systems and Saturn's rings
Dr. Mark Rosin: PhD Thesis: Instabilities and transport in magnetized plasmas
Dr. Toby Wood: PhD Thesis: The solar tachocline: a self-consistent model of magnetic confinement
Dr. Adrian Barker: PhD Thesis: Tidal interactions between planets and stars
Dr. Tobias Heinemann: PhD Thesis: The dynamics of spiral density waves in turbulent accretion discs