DPhil studentship in Materials Chemistry

DPhil studentship in Materials Chemistry

Title: Correlated Disorder in Functional Materials

Supervisor: Professor Andrew Goodwin

Start date: 1^st October 2026

Applications are invited for a DPhil studentship in Materials Chemistry available from October 2026, to work under the supervision of Professor Andrew Goodwin in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Oxford.

The studentship will cover course fees at a Home rate and provide a stipend of no less than the standard UK Research Council rate (set at £21,805 p.a. for 2026/27 academic year) for at least three years. Please note the eligibility criteria set out by the UKRI at: https://www.ukri.org/what-we-do/developing-people-and-skills/esrc/funding-for-postgraduate-training-and-development/eligibility-for-studentship-funding/   

Research in the Goodwin group focuses on the dual roles of flexibility and disorder in functional materials. The group’s current research programme is funded predominantly through two large grants: an ERC Advanced Grant (administered by UKRI) on “Truchet-tile materials” and a Royal Society Faraday Discovery Fellowship on “Responsive disorder”. This DPhil studentship will be focussed thematically on a topic of relevance to one of those projects; examples include disordered photonics, disordered energy materials, magnetic disorder, orbital disorder, or supramolecular assemblies. Projects in the group tend to employ a mix of experimental and computational tools.

Candidates with a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree in Chemistry or a related subject are encouraged to apply. The candidate is expected to have a strong commitment to research and should have demonstrated the ability to independently learn new skills. The successful applicant will be based in the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford.

Candidates should submit a formal application for DPhil in Chemistry via the Oxford online application system:

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/application-guide

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/courses/dphil-chemistry

Please quote AG/Chem/2026 under ‘Departmental Studentship Applications’.

Application deadline: There is no deadline for applying. We will continue to process applications until a suitable candidate is found. Candidates are therefore recommended to enquire and apply as soon as possible.

Queries relating to the application and admission process should be directed to: graduate.admissions@chem.ox.ac.uk; tel.: +44 (0) 1865 272569.

The Department of Chemistry holds the Athena SWAN Silver Award and the Goodwin group is dedicated to promoting diversity, equality and inclusion.  

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