Living Sensors: Harnessing Mussel Behaviour and Machine Learning for Coastal Water Quality Monitoring - PhD

University of Exeter – Engineering and Physical Research Council (EPSRC) Doctoral Landscape Award – Department of Biosciences PhD Studentships for September 2026 Entry Ref: 5731

About the award

Supervisors

The supervisory team will be made up of at least two University of Exeter academic staff, the location for studying your PhD will depend on where the lead supervisor is based either in Devon or Cornwall.  Details of the supervisory team are listed in the project descriptions.  

The University of Exeter has a number of fully funded EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) Doctoral Landscape Award (EPSRC DLA) studentships for 2026/27 entry.  

Students will be given sector-leading training and development with outstanding facilities and resources. The EPSRC studentships will be offered across the whole of EPSRC’s remit, with projects at the interface of disciplines and collaborations with users where appropriate. Studentships will be awarded to outstanding applicants, the distribution will be overseen by the University’s EPSRC Strategy Group in partnership with the Doctoral College.

The University of Exeter stimulates, supports and sustains a vibrant research and intellectual environment, across and between disciplines for postgraduate and early career researchers.  We have invested over £350 million in Science and Engineering since 2008 and we are one of the fastest growing and fastest rising research intensive universities in the UK.  We were ranked 23 out of 134 universities in the national Research Excellence Framework (REF) and 99% of our research is rated as being of international quality, with 89% internationally excellent and 47% world-leading in for REF 2021 – Research Excellence Framework.  For more information about our research results and case studies please visit the following link https://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/ref2021/

Projects Available in Participating Departments

Becoming a part of Exeter’s postgraduate research (PGR) community means you will have access to leading research facilities and industry connections. You’ll play a pivotal role in the University’s Science Strategy and have an instrumental part in research projects that have a significant impact on both your chosen field of study and wider society.

We combine leading academic staff with state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure to provide the perfect environment for research excellence and innovation. Our progressive research culture is underpinned by our continued investment, helping to create an energetic and vibrant academic community for our students and staff.

To find out more about the Department of Engineering please click on the following link https://engineering.exeter.ac.uk/

You are invited to apply for any of the projects listed below.  Note, you will need to submit an application for each project you wish to be considered, up to a maximum of three projects.  If you submit more than one application please indicate in your personal statement your preferred project.  

• Living Sensors: Harnessing Mussel Behaviour and Machine Learning for Coastal Water Quality Monitoring
• Protein Quantum Logic Gates

For further details about the EPSRC Doctoral Landscape Award at Exeter, please see the following webpage https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/pg-research/funding/phdfunding/epsrc-dla-studentships/

Eligibility
To be eligible for a fully-funded studentship, you must meet both the academic (see entry requirements) and residence criteria

Important:  Residency requirements are complex and too detailed to capture in full below.  Please read the below alongside the guidance provide on the GOV.UK website and UKCISA website to ensure you meet the criteria.  

For full details of residence requirements for these studentship please read the Funding eligibility for 2025/26 entry on the following webpage https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/pg-research/funding/phdfunding/epsrc-dla-studentships/important_information_epsrcdla/

Studentship Funding Information

For successful eligible applicants, the studentship comprises:

• An index-linked stipend for up to 3.5 years full-time (currently £20,780 per annum for 2026/27 rate), pro-rata for part-time students
• Payment of University tuition fees (Home)
• Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) of £5,000 over 3.5 years, or pro-rata for part-time students 

Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity

The University of Exeter is committed to promoting and supporting equality, diversity, and inclusion within our working environments and is at the heart of all our activities.  With over 27,000 students and 6,400 staff from 180 different countries we offer a diverse and engaging environment where our diversity is celebrated and valued as a major strength. 
We actively encourage applicants with varied experiences and backgrounds and from all sections of the community regardless of age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, religion, or disability status.  We are committed to creating an inclusive culture where all members of our community are supported to thrive.

Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented within our postgraduate research student community.  Reasonable adjustments can be made as part of the selection process (e.g. for interviews) and for undertaking your studies with us.

Information about setting up support whilst at university can be found in the Prospective Students guide.  Please also see our prospective students wellbeing services pages for information about the services offered.

   
Applicants who are successful in being awarded an EPSRC DLA studentship are encouraged to contact the wellbeing services team to seek support with any reasonable adjustments (if required) as soon as possible after receiving notification of an offer. 

Entry requirements

Applicants should have obtained, or be about to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class UK Honours degree, or the equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK, in an appropriate area of science or technology.  Applicants with a Lower Second Class degree will be considered if they also have a Masters degree or have significant relevant non-academic experience.

Important:  please note some projects include details of additional entry requirements that will be considered as part of the application process. Details can be found in the project pdf files listed above.  

If English is not your first language you will need to meet the English language requirements and provide proof of proficiency. Click here for more information and a list of acceptable alternative tests.

How to apply

To apply for EPSRC funding, you must click on the appropriate departmental application links provided below (Submitting an Application).

You will need to upload the following documents to the studentship application form. Please note our preferred format is PDF, each file named with your surname and the name of the document, e.g. “Smith – CV.pdf”, “Smith – Cover Letter.pdf”, “Smith – Transcript.pdf”:

• Personal Statement outlining your academic interests, prior research experience and reason for wishing to undertake the chosen project.  Please indicate your preferred project choice if applying for multiple EPSRC DLA projects.  
• CV
• Transcript(s) giving full details of subjects studied and grades/marks obtained. This should be an interim transcript if you are still studying.
• Two references (see Reference information section below)
• If you are not a national of a majority English-speaking country you will need to submit evidence of your current proficiency in English. For further details on the University’s English language requirements please see https://www.exeter.ac.uk/pg-research/apply/english/

Reference information

It is your responsibility to ensure that your referees email their references to pgrapplicants@exeter.ac.uk, by no later than 30th January 2026.  Please note that applications with missing documentation will not progress to shortlisting.

References should be in the form of a letter. Referees must email their references to us from their institutional email accounts. We cannot accept references from a personal/private email account, unless it is a scanned document on institutional headed paper and signed by the referee.

All application documents must be submitted in English. Certified translated copies of academic qualifications must also be provided.

The closing date for applications is midday on Monday 12 January 2026.  

If you are shortlisted by the department you may be asked to attend a technical interview. Applicants who are successful in being nominated to the next stage will be asked to attend a General Interview. General Interviews are likely to be held during w/c 16th February 2026.

Submitting an Application

To ensure your application reaches the correct panel, please apply via the link contained within the project description documents listed above.  

Contact Information

If you have any general enquiries about the application process please email pgrapplicants@exeter.ac.uk

If you have questions about submitting a research proposal please contact an appropriate supervisor whose research interests match your own via the ‘Finding your Academic Supervisor’ section on the main website.

Data Sharing

During the application process, the University may need to make certain disclosures of your personal data to third parties to be able to administer your application, carry out interviews and select candidates. These are not limited to but may include disclosures to:

• The selection panel and/or management board or the equivalent of the relevant programme, which is likely to include staff from one or more other HEIs;
• Administrative staff at one or more other HEIs participating in the relevant programme.

Such disclosures will always be kept to the minimum amount of personal data required for the specific purpose. Your sensitive personal data (relating to disability and race/ethnicity) will not be disclosed without your explicit consent.

Summary