A PhD degree in Theoretical Physics enables outstanding students to pursue fundamental research at the forefront of theoretical physics. The research interests are diverse but possible topics include string theory, M-theory, quantum gravity, foundations of quantum theory, thermal field theory, cosmology and particle physics.
There are about 20 PhD students in theoretical physics at any one time, including both UK and non-UK citizens. Competition for places is intense, so successful candidates require outstanding academic records and/or must demonstrate excellence in other ways.
For some applicants, our MSc Course can provide a more appropriate route to PhD study, though it does not guarantee a PhD place.
General information about postgraduate study and student life at Imperial can be found in the online postgraduate prospectus. International applicants may also want to look at the online guide for international students.
More information
Applications should be made online via the postgraduate applications system My Imperial.
The Theoretical Physics Group is part of the Universe Community. In the Proposed studies section of your application, under Proposed stream/pathway choose Universe. In the Research Details section of your application, you are asked for your proposed research group. Please write Theory.
The form asks to provide a Proposed research topic and Proposed research supervisor. Please note we do not expect you to know what you will be working on, you may suggest a general area and several possible supervisors you may be interested in.
The official application asks for a personal statement. This is an opportunity to talk about your research interests. We do not expect any kind of lengthy or detailed reasearch proposal, it is sufficient for you to describe what you find most interesting in physics and which area or areas you might like to do research in. This will help in terms of pairing you with a potential supervisor. Also, it is not necessary for you to contact a prospective supervisor directly, you can simply indicate potential names of supervisors you may interested in working with. Flexibility is encouraged. See also the information about staff members and their research interests on the Theory Group website.
The official Imperial application form allows applicants to specify only two different research fields or two different courses (e.g PhD and MSc). However, some applicants are interested in more than two research fields. If so, please indicate this in the supervisor field of the application form (and also in the personal statement). Administrators processing the form will then forward it appropriately. For example, many students applying to do a PhD in Theoretical Physics may also interested in Astrophysics, Climate, Particle Physics, Plasma, Space, Light or Matter.
We usually have a very large number of applicants for a small number of places (last year over 180 applicants for just 4 places). In the past successful applicants have generally had a strong first class four-year degree from a UK institution in physics or applied mathematics (or an equivalent level from abroad). It is very unlikely that we will shortlist any applicants not close to this level of performance. It is also a significant advantage to have done an MSc course in theoretical physics or the Cambridge Part III but this is not a pre-requisite.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview before being accepted. This provides an opportunity to discuss possible supervisors and research projects. Due to the large number of applicants we do not interview all candidates.
Open days
Theoretical physics held an open day on Wednesday 27 November 2024 in Huxley Building, Room 311 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm. If you are planning to attend in person or online please register interest here.
This includes an overview talk about MSc and PhD applications and then faculty and current students are available to answer questions.
Theses
Copies of PhD theses are available in Spiral, the College's open access repository.