Applicant FAQ

Yes, many people start a PhD in Acoustics straight from an undergraduate degree, but you need at least a 2:1 or better in a very relevant topic, especially if you are an international applicant.

Most international applicants have completed a masters degree with a merit (or equivalent) award.

It has to be equivalent to a 2:1 or higher. There is no flexibility, sorry.

Your degree must be in a relevant topic and you will need achieve at least a 2:1 (or equivalent) especially if you are an international applicant. Your academic qualifications must be equivalent to the expected qualification required by the university hosting the PhD Project. See below:

• University of Bristol
• University of Salford
• University of Sheffield
• University of Southampton

Most international applicants have completed a masters degree with a merit (or equivalent) award.

It’s best to message the project supervisor you want to work with to get an answer. People with Sound Design degrees do Acoustics PhD but the topic needs to be carefully chosen to fit your background.

Many people come into acoustics from different degrees. It’s best to message the project supervisor you want to work with to get an answer.

Yes

We’re looking for applicants who have shown the potential to learn the skills needed, rather than necessarily having experience of the exact methodology being used for the project. To give you an example, at Salford we tend to teach undergraduate students using MATLAB. If you do a machine learning PhD, you’re likely to need to use Python. But having done MATLAB you’ve shown you’ve got some programme skills and can therefore pick up the Python you need as part of the PhD.

Key skills/training necessary for a specific PhD projects are usually listed in the advert. You can also email the first supervisor with any specific questions.

Supervisors can provide limited email support for interested applicants to respond to queries such as suitability of qualifications, necessary experience or more details about the actual project scope.

When contacting supervisors, be specific in your email/questions.

If your application is shortlisted by the project panel, you will have an opportunity to discuss your application and your suitability as part of the interview process.

On the Microsoft Forms page with the tick boxes to select named projects, there is a box labelled “Proposed Research Area and interests.” You must answer this question after selecting your preferred projects. Please describe:

• What particular skills and knowledge you want to develop during your research.
• Your research interests. Link this to the project you’d most like to research as well as discussing your broader interests.
• How they align with the CDT’s aim to create a more Sustainable Sound Future.

Yes. use very short text for references. For example

• use a very abbreviated way to list the references if necessary
• the title of the paper with lead author surname and publication year, if the character limit allows.

You don’t have to provide these at this stage. However you will be required to provide transcripts and proof of qualifications later.

Personal details form

The purpose of this information is to:

• communicate with you;
• request references from your referees;
• monitor interview offers to underrepresented groups and
• make decisions about widening participation enhanced stipends.
• comply with funding agency requirements.
• inform our EDI Strategy and monitor progress towards our goals.
• analyse the effectiveness of our EDI policies and processes.

This data will be collected and treated anonymously to ensure privacy and confidentiality. The information will not form the basis of any part of selection process. This information will only be used for statistics (we will not report any individual’s data in isolation) for the CDT management and advisory board.

The data will be managed by the CDT project manager or their nominee.

Project Application form

• This form is used to make shortlisting decisions. It will also be available to interviewers.
• It is seen by academics at the universities and by the relevant project partner, if you applied for one of our industry funded projects.
• All contact and personal details will be annoymised.

Not totally. Attendance at cohort training events at the four universities is required. Incidentally, many PhD students study hybrid doing a mixture of working from home (WFH) and attending their host university. But only WFH increases isolation and lessens peer-support, which are important for PhD success.

Yes and it is very much encouraged.

Yes we will try and make this happen. There will be some restrictions as specialist facilities may have expensive charge-out fees. There can also be issues with getting time in heavily used facilities.

That would depend on the sponsor and also the project. There might be commercial reasons why collaboration isn’t possible. But in many cases it will.

You are applying to do a PhD with a university and the supervision and support is no different from a non-industry partnered PhD. What might vary a bit is the input from industry, which will vary depending on the project and the supervisor.

To be classed as a UK Home Fees applicant,  have be a UK ordinary resident for 3 years (up to September 2026),  and you must meet one of the the following criteria:
• Be a UK National or,
• Have settled status or,
• Have pre-settled status or,
• Have indefinite leave to remain or enter or
• Be an Irish National

For more information, see https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/student-advice/find-a-category-for-he-england/.

• We can have up to 30% international students (funder restriction).
• If you are offered a place as an international student, it will cover the full international tuition fees.

Yes, all approved travel is funded by the CDT programme or your research grant.

• If you are an applicant and you have not started/registered on to the CDT programme, your student visa, and NHS surcharge are NOT reimbursed by the CDT. You must cover these costs from another source.

• If you are a registered CDT student, any visa costs related to your PhD research travel will be reimbursed by your PhD project research grant.

University research grant funding in acoustics is increasing, and they nearly all need post-docs. Many of our project partners are involved because the acoustics industry is short of skilled PhD gradates.

The UK has well-established industry expertise in acoustics and an internationally leading academic knowledge base distributed throughout the country. For more details see UK ACOUSTICS: SOUND ECONOMICS