Exoplanets and Planetary Physics

Award Award	Duration Duration	Start dates Start dates	Application Application
PhD (MPhil also available) PhD (MPhil also available)	Full-time: 3–4 years Part-time: 6–8 years Full-time: 3–4 years Part-time: 6–8 years	February and October February and October	January to April January to April

The study of exoplanets is a rapidly moving field at the forefront of astrophysics. At the OU, we work to find and characterise new exoplanets and study the atmospheres of known planets using space telescopes.

We are members of the SuperWASP, PLATO, Ariel, and RedDot consortia and lead the Dispersed Matter Planet Project (DMPP), which has identified a critical population of rocky exoplanets orbiting bright nearby stars. We use competitively awarded telescope time at international observatories, and have proprietary access to the 10-metre Southern African Large Telescope and our own PIRATE and COAST telescopes.

We work extensively with spectroscopic observations from Hubble and JWST. We use state-of-the-art models to infer the atmospheric composition and structure of transiting planets from ultrahot Jupiters to super Earths.

We collaborate with the OU's planetary science, space instrumentation and astrobiology groups, especially in exoplanet compositions, planetary atmospheres and habitability.

Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English.

We welcome enquiries from prospective students in the following areas:

Please also see further opportunities.

UK fee UK fee	International fee International fee
Full-time: £5,006 per year Full-time: £5,006 per year	Full-time: £16,420 per year Full-time: £16,420 per year
Part-time: £2,503 per year Part-time: £2,503 per year	Part-time: £8,210 per year Part-time: £8,210 per year

Some of our research students are funded via the UKRI Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Doctoral Training Partnership; others are self-funded.

For detailed information about fees and funding, visit Fees and studentships.

To see current funded studentship vacancies across all research areas, see Current studentships.

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