Our PhD programme has a single intake of up to13-14 students in October each year.
Applications for Cohort 7 – October 2025 intake – are now open.
We welcome applications from individuals holding or expecting a good degree in physics, electronic or electrical engineering or other relevant STEM subject (first or 2:1) with a genuine interest in compound semiconductors and enthusiasm for the group approach. Applicants with a lower second-class degree (2:2) in these subjects may be considered if they have a good result at Masters-level study (merit or distinction) and/or other relevant qualifications or industry experience which demonstrates their scientific or engineering research capability. We will also consider applicants with related physical sciences degrees on an individual basis.
We are only permitted to take a maximum of 30% of our annual number as international students. The competition for these places is therefore extremely high and only the most highly qualified students are invited to interview, in the second round of interviews, once we have a better idea of how many places we can offer international students and stay within the 30% cap. International students should state the UK equivalency of their qualifications by checking this degree equivalency table or checking their specific country here, or by using the Gov.uk website or UK ENIC, which is the UK National Information Centre for global qualifications and skills (note there is a charge for this).
Applicants whose first language is not English are normally expected to meet the minimum requirements of Cardiff University, which is currently an IELTS (Academic) of 6.5 with a 5.5 in each sub-score, or equivalent.
We will consider applications from students who wish to self-fund, or have full funding via a company or government organisation, as long as they meet the minimum academic and English language requirements and can provide evidence of sufficient means to pay for the course. The cost of a studentship will vary according to which university is chosen to do the PhD part of the studentship, as tuition fees vary by institution, and can be anywhere between approximately £22,000 and £35,000 per year for international students (please see relevant Universities’ webpages for up-to-date figures). A contribution of £20,000 over four years would also be required to match the Research Training and Support Grant of UKRI students, which covers bench fees and additional training provided by the CDT.
We run up to three application rounds a year. Closing dates for applications are:
1st Round – 31st January 2025; interview – 3rd March 2025
2nd Round -31st March 2025; Interviews – 1st or 2nd May 2025
3rd Round -7th July 2025; interviews late July 2025 (UK /HIME FEES STATUS APPLICANTS ONLY)
We reserve the right not to consider applicants who have previously been unsuccessful at interview.
Applications are made via a two-part process. Make sure you complete BOTH parts:
Part 1
Complete your application to the CDT, by submitting our online application form.
This is the form that will be used to shortlist candidates for interview, and for the interview panel to find out more about you. Questions are designed to assess your experience and motivation to do a PhD in compound semiconductor manufacturing.
It also asks some personal questions to gather data required by EPSRC for its annual EDI monitoring. This data will not be made available to the shortlisting or interview panels and will be destroyed after the recruitment process is complete. There is always the option to tick ‘prefer not to say’ to any of these questions.
Save a copy of your answers in a word document or download a copy of the PDF available once you have submitted your application form. You may then use this copy to submit as your ‘personal statement’ at the next stage of the process. This form cannot be edited after submission – if you make a mistake, you will need to submit a new application form and contact us to delete the first one.
Part 2
Complete your application for admission to the university, available here.
This is the form to apply for a place at Cardiff University, using an online system called SIMS; we need this to process your application and, hopefully, make you an offer if you are successful at interview. For this stage of the application, use the ‘apply box’ on the right hand side of the web page. Select ‘Doctor of philosophy’, ‘Full time’ and your preferred start date (October of the following academic year). Once you click ‘Apply Now’ the application form will confirm that you are applying for the CDT Compound Semiconductor Physics and Engineering (PhD Progression 1+3). Please note the guidance below before you begin the application process.
A research proposal is not required for this PhD Programme as you will choose your PhD project during your MSc year. Instead, please state that you are applying for the CDT PhD in Compound Semiconductor Manufacturing and your preferred MSc route: Physics or Electronics – depending on which fits your interests and your qualifications.
Some of the questions on the SIMS form may be the same as on the CDT Part 1 form – please fill them in anyway. You will also be asked to upload a CV and a personal statement – to save yourself time and effort you can use the copy of your answers at Part 1 above. You may upload a different document if you prefer, but this will not be seen by the shortlisting or interview panel, although it will stay with your university records.
You will also need to upload your academic transcripts and two recent references*, dated within the last six months**, and at least one of which must be from an academic.
To recap, please include with your SIMs application:
- A copy of the online application form you downloaded at Part 1 above OR a CV detailing your education and relevant work experience – remember these will not be used as shortlisting tools but they will stay with your university records.
- your academic certificates and transcripts
- two recent references* dated within the last six months**, that address your capability for PhD study, at least one of which should be an academic referee. Please note: it is the applicant’s responsibility to request references and upload them* to their application. If your referees would prefer to send their references directly to us, please ask them to email semiconductors-cdt@cardiff.ac.uk.
*References and transcripts should be uploaded to SIMS at the time of submission of the Part 2 form, but we can arrange for any references sent directly to us to be uploaded on your behalf.
**If you left education more than six months ago, then the academic reference must be from your most recent educational provider.
Interviews
Interviews are required. These are usually conducted virtually over Zoom, but you are welcome to visit us at any time to see the facilities and meet current students. We will pay reasonable expenses for attendance at interviews if they are in person. Details will be provided in your invitation. The interview will be with a panel of academics in the CS field, and lasts about 30-40 minutes. The panel will ask questions about your experience, motivation for doing a PhD and technical knowledge of Compound Semiconductors. There is no presentation element to the interview.
References
Both the shortlisting panel and the interview panel will see your references. At least one positive reference is required for us to make you an offer.
Eligibility
Our studentships are available to both Home and International fee paying applicants (note the ‘international’ category now includes EU/EEA applicants). However there is a cap on the number of studentships that can be awarded to those with international fee status, which is a maximum of 30% of the total intake.
The CDT studentship pays the UKRI-set tuition fee at the ‘Home fees’ rate. For successful international applicants therefore Cardiff University will provide an award equivalent to the difference between home and international tuition fees for the MSc year, and all four University partners will provide a similar mechanism to cover the PhD fee difference for the second to fourth years of the programme. Each university may limit their intake of International CDT students to 30% of their overall intake.
To be classed as a ‘Home’ student, candidates must meet the following criteria:
- Be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or
- Have settled status, or
- Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
- Have indefinite leave to remain or enter, or
- Have been granted full refugee status or is the child or spouse / civil partner of a refugee (meeting residency requirements)
If a candidate does not meet the criteria above, they would be classed as an International student.
Note that international students from some countries may need clearance under the Academic Technology Approval Scheme from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to be able to study with us – at both the MSc stage (physics route MSc students only) and the PhD stage (all students). International students who require a visa must apply for a one-year visa for MSc study at Cardiff in the first instance, then a further 3 year visa once the home institution for the PhD is known.
Please see full details of the programme and online application form via the Cardiff University website.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us at semiconductors-cdt@cardiff.ac.uk.