Imperial College London has opened 16 fully funded PhD scholarships in aeronautics and sustainable aviation, and all of them are open to international students. Each covers full tuition fees and pays a tax-free stipend of £23,805 a year for 3.5 years. Applications for all 16 close on 4 January 2027.
The 16 places come through two routes with the same funding but different application steps. Below, we list every project in plain English, explain the entry requirements and walk through how to apply to each route.
What the funding covers
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Tuition fees | Paid in full, including the international rate |
| Stipend | £23,805 a year, tax-free |
| Duration | 3.5 years |
| Extra (Sustainable Aviation only) | A “generous travel budget” for the cohort |
The adverts do not mention visa costs, the Immigration Health Surcharge or travel to the UK, so international students should plan to pay for these. Many engineering subjects also need an ATAS certificate for non-UK nationals, which takes several weeks; Imperial will tell you if your project requires one.
Entry requirements
Imperial describes these studentships as highly competitive. Every advert asks for a First-class honours Master’s-level degree: an integrated MEng or MSci, or a Master’s or higher degree, or the international equivalent. Relevant subjects include aeronautical, mechanical or computational engineering, applied mathematics and physics, depending on the project. Sustainable Aviation applicants also need strong numerical methods and scientific computing skills, clear technical writing and a demonstrated interest in sustainability.
The 10 Department of Aeronautics projects
These are individual projects in Imperial’s Department of Aeronautics, covering materials, fluid dynamics, combustion, climate and machine learning. Click a project for the full advert.
| Project | Supervisors |
|---|---|
| Programmable matter from entangled architected materials (AE0088) Materials made of interwoven filaments whose stiffness can be re-programmed after they are built. | Dr Tian Chen |
| UV damage in carbon-fibre composites (AE0089) How UV light degrades composites used in aircraft and space, with industry partner Syensqo. Starts as soon as possible. | Prof Koon-Yang Lee, Prof Ambrose Taylor |
| The chemistry of contrails (AE0090) How aircraft contrails change the chemistry of the atmosphere. | Dr Sebastian Eastham |
| Entrainment into wind-turbine wakes (AE0091) How turbine wakes spread through wind farms, to design more efficient farms. | Prof Oliver Buxton |
| Machine learning to control extreme combustion events (AE0092) Predicting and preventing rare, dangerous events in hydrogen and sustainable-fuel engines. | Dr Nguyen Anh Khoa Doan |
| Electric composites (AE0093) Structural materials that carry load and store energy, for electric aircraft, EVs and satellites. | Dr Ajit Panesar, Prof Emile Greenhalgh |
| Generative AI for real-time engineering design (AE0094) Combining generative models and neural operators to design and test components in seconds. | Dr Ajit Panesar, Prof Rob Hewson |
| Real-time data assimilation for multi-physics flows (AE0095) Correcting physics models with live data, for wings, wind turbines and combustors. | Dr Andrea Nóvoa |
| Turbulence under strain (AE0096) Wind-tunnel experiments on an unexplored regime of turbulent wakes. | Dr Kostas Steiros |
| Parallel adaptive multi-physics simulations (AE0097) Automatic mesh generation for complex simulations on supercomputers. | Prof Spencer Sherwin, Prof Joaquim Peiró, Dr Chris Cantwell |
The 6 Sustainable Aviation projects
These six form the October 2027 cohort of the Doctoral Programme in Sustainable Aviation (DPSA), run by Imperial’s Brahmal Vasudevan Institute for Sustainable Aviation. This year’s theme is “sustainability across stakeholders”: airports, airlines, air traffic management, aircraft and passengers. Alongside their own projects, students share training, networking and outreach as a cohort.
| Project | Supervisors |
|---|---|
| Heat exchangers for circular aircraft maintenance (BI0001) Optimised spare parts made with available materials and 3D printing, including for airport hydrogen infrastructure. | Prof Rob Hewson, Dr Ajit Panesar |
| Agent-based modelling for flexible aircraft design (BI0002) Using simulation and machine learning to design aircraft that are easier to build and adapt. | Dr Thulasi Mylvaganam, Dr Ajit Panesar, Prof Rob Hewson, Dr Rhea Liem |
| Market-based solutions for sustainable aviation (BI0003) How carbon pricing, mandates and subsidies could speed up sustainable aviation fuels to 2050. | Dr Gbemi Oluleye, Prof Laura Mainini |
| Sharing pilots’ contrail observations (BI0004) A system for airlines and air traffic control to share what pilots see, to help avoid contrails. | Prof Marc Stettler, Dr Sebastian Eastham |
| Aircraft, clouds and climate (BI0005) The first global assessment of how aircraft wakes thin high clouds, and what that means for climate. | Dr Edward Gryspeerdt, Prof Oliver Buxton |
| Next-generation fuels for net-zero aviation (BI0006) Whether hydrogen and other new fuels could cut contrail formation. | Dr Stelios Rigopoulos, Dr Sebastian Eastham, Prof Marc Stettler |
How to apply
Department of Aeronautics projects (AE codes)
- Open the project page from the advert. It gives the research topic and supervisor to enter on your form.
- Apply through Imperial’s online application. Choose programme Aeronautics Research (PhD), research group Aero, and entry term Autumn or Spring 2027/8.
- Upload your CV, personal statement and transcripts, and give contact details for two referees.
- Submit by 23:59 on 4 January 2027 (UK time), and make sure both references arrive by 5 February 2027. Incomplete applications without references are rejected.
Sustainable Aviation projects (BI codes)
- Apply through Imperial’s online application, searching for Aeronautics Research (PhD).
- Enter “Brahmal Institute” as the group and quote the project reference (BI0001–BI0006).
- Instead of a research statement, attach a one-page letter answering two questions, in up to 200 words each: What steps have you taken, and what future ones will you pursue, to become a leader in sustainability? and Why does your background and experience make you a good fit for the DPSA?
- Submit by 4 January 2027. Questions go to brahmal-institute@imperial.ac.uk.
Applying for two projects
You can apply for at most two PhD projects at Imperial in the same year, and that includes combining one Aeronautics project with one Sustainable Aviation project. If you apply for two, choose different entry terms (one Autumn 2027/8, one Spring 2027/8); Imperial can change the term later if you receive an offer.
Key dates
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Application deadline (all 16) | 4 January 2027 (23:59 UK time for Aeronautics) |
| References received | By 23:59, 5 February 2027 |
| Sustainable Aviation start | October 2027 |
| Aeronautics start | Between 1 August 2027 and 1 July 2028 |
| Carbon-fibre composites (AE0089) | As soon as possible |
Also advertised: tyre and road emissions
Imperial’s Department of Mechanical Engineering is also advertising a four-year PhD on tyre and road particle emissions, with the Technical University of Munich. It pays fees at the UK Home rate only, so it is not fully funded for international students, and we have not counted it in the 16. Its deadline is 16 December 2026 (see the advert).
Before you apply: what to remember
These 16 studentships give international students full fees and a £23,805 tax-free stipend at one of the world’s leading engineering universities. The bar is high: a First-class Master’s-level degree, a focused application and two prompt referees.
Pick the two projects that fit you best, contact the supervisors early with a short, specific question, and submit by 4 January 2027. Then make sure your references reach Imperial by 5 February 2027.
Official links
- Department of Aeronautics: PhD studentships admissions round – how to apply
- Aeronautics PhD admissions FAQs
- All Imperial PhD studentships on jobs.ac.uk
- Imperial: how fee status is assessed
- Academic Technology Approval Scheme (GOV.UK)
- Aeronautics admissions: aerophd.admissions@imperial.ac.uk · Sustainable Aviation: brahmal-institute@imperial.ac.uk
Information reviewed: 11 November 2026. Funding, eligibility, deadlines, start dates, supervisors and application steps were checked against the 17 Imperial College London adverts on jobs.ac.uk (placed 5–6 November 2026, and 17 September 2026 for the tyre-emissions studentship) and the Department of Aeronautics’ admissions round page. Project summaries are our plain-English descriptions of each advert.