MRes, MPhil, PhD Biomedical engineering

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Research opportunities

The Department of Biomedical Engineering is an international centre of excellence in postgraduate teaching and research. It offers a postgraduate degree programme that combines engineering, medicine and life and physical sciences.

Postgraduate education and research is directed at the application of the methods and ideas of engineering and the physical and biological sciences in medicine and surgery.

We have a particular emphasis on clinically-related research which ranges from basic investigations to direct clinical applications. Much of our research is based on active collaboration with clinical units, academic departments and industry in Glasgow along with other areas of the UK and overseas.

Our students play a vital role in the development of innovative research, enjoy state-of-the-art facilities and have the opportunity to network with industrialists, academic experts and clinical collaborators.

Visits to local clinical centres along with lectures from industrialists and visiting experts from the UK and overseas are a key part of our courses. You'll also have the opportunity to meet our many industrial and clinical experts to help advise and further your career.

Our postgraduate education includes research degrees that can be studied over one year (MPhil, MRes) or three years (PhD). Our external research is supported by funding from research councils, the Scottish Government, charities, commerce and industry within the UK, EU and internationally in countries such as the US and Japan.

Medical microscope examining a sample

View our current research opportunities

Development & manufacture of laser mirror coatings for future gravitational wave observatories & other space applications

3.5 year PhD opportunity with Biomedical Engineering and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland.

Deadline:

Funding:

funded

Developing an ultrawide dynamic range analytical platform for biomarker panel analysis

The aim of this project is to address the challenge of directly detecting disease biomarker panels in serum featuring target species whose relative concentrations span many orders of magnitude.

Deadline:

Funding:

unfunded

John Anderson Research Studentship Scheme (JARSS)

John Anderson Research Studentship Scheme (JARSS) doctoral studentships are available annually for excellent students and excellent research projects.

There are two main sources of funding:

Central University funding
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council - Doctoral Training Partnership (EPSRC - DTP) funding.

The JARSS 2023/2024 competition will open in October 2023 and students successful in this competition will commence studies in October 2024. Faculties will set their own internal deadlines for the competition.

Academics/Supervisors make the applications for this scheme and there are various deadlines across the Department and Faculties, therefore, in the first instance, all interested students should contact the Department where they would like to carry out their research.

Deadline:

Funding:

Funded

THE Awards 2019: UK University of the Year Winner

What you'll study

PhD & MPhil

You can study a degree in biomedical engineering within any of our three major research areas:

Rehabilitation Engineering
Cell, Tissue & Organ Engineering
Medical Diagnostic Devices & Instrumentations

MRes

You can study for an MRes in:

MRes Biomedical Engineering
MRes Biofluid Mechanics

Our research

We've developed an excellent research environment that allows new talent to thrive and develop within innovative research programmes and collaborations. These are supported through our established clinical and industrial multidisciplinary networks.

Find out more about our research

Scientist at microscope in laboratory

Maisie's PhD story

In the video below, Maisie explains what she enjoys most about her PhD studies:

Maisie's PhD profile

Fees & funding

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Fees & funding

All fees quoted are per academic year unless otherwise stated.

Entrants may be subject to a small fee during the writing up period.

Fees may be subject to updates to maintain accuracy. Tuition fees will be notified in your offer letter.

All fees are in £ sterling, unless otherwise stated, and may be subject to revision.

Annual revision of fees

Students on programmes of study of more than one year (or studying standalone modules) should be aware that tuition fees are revised annually and may increase in subsequent years of study. Annual increases will generally reflect UK inflation rates and increases to programme delivery costs.

2024/25

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Scotland	2024/25: £4,786 2023/24: £4,712
England, Wales & Northern Ireland	2024/25: £4,786 2023/24: £4,712
International	2024/25: £28,250
Additional costs	Some projects will have research costs in addition to the tuition fees. Assessment is made on a case by case basis. Applicants are informed at the point of offer that their project may incur bench fees and are sent a letter if a bench fee applies. printing: £15 (based on 300 sheets of A4 printouts of assignments, lecture notes, etc) thesis print out and binding: £50 textbooks: £75 (estimate) Total: £140 International students International students may have associated visa and immigration costs. Please see student visa guidance for more information.
Funding	Take a look at our funding your postgraduate research web page for funding information. You can also view our scholarships search for further funding opportunities.
Postgraduate research opportunities	Search for all funded and non-funded postgraduate research opportunities.

Please note: the fees shown are annual and may be subject to an increase each year.

Support & development

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Support & development

Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development (PgCert RPD)

As part of your PhD degree, you'll be enrolled on the Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development (PgCert RPD).

This certificate is designed to support you with your research and rewards you for things you'll do as a research student here.

It'll help you improve skills which are important to professional development and employability:

knowledge and intellectual abilities to conduct your research
personal qualities to succeed in your research and chosen career
standards, requirements and conduct of a professional researcher in your discipline
working with others and communicating the impact of your research to a wide range of audiences

All you have to do is plan these activities alongside your doctorate, documenting and reflecting your journey to success along the way.

Find out more about the PgCert RPD programme.

Careers

The University Careers Service can help you with everything from writing your CV to interview preparation.

Student support

From financial advice to our IT facilities, we have a wide range of support for all students here at Strathclyde. Get all the information you need at Strathlife.

Supervisors

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Supervisors

Research supervisors are assigned to you by the Department. We ask you to highlight a potential supervisor in your application but the department will team you up with the best supervisor to support your project.

Once we've received your application, your research proposal is passed to potential supervisors for consideration. If it's not compatible with the researcher's current projects and they are unable to supervise, it's passed to another supervisor for consideration. If they can supervise you, they will confirm and nominate a potential second supervisor.

As soon as a second supervisor is confirmed, an offer will be sent to you through Pegasus, our online application system.

When you accept our offer of study, you'll receive a full offer in writing via the email address you provide.

Postgraduate research at the Strathclyde Doctoral School

The Strathclyde Doctoral School provides a vibrant and comprehensive student-centred research and training environment in order to grow and support current and future research talent.

The School encompasses our four faculties and is committed to enriching the student experience, intensifying research outputs and opportunities, and ensuring training is at the highest level. As a postgraduate researcher, you'll automatically become a member of the Strathclyde Doctoral School.

Find out more about the Doctoral School

Apply

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Apply

Entry requirements

A first-class or upper second-class Honours degree in biomedical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, physical or life sciences.

If you have previous biomedical engineering or research experience you may register for MPhil degree. If you're studying for an MPhil or PhD you'll normally attend some of the classes in the instructional MSc in Biomedical Engineering. You'll also undertake a research or development project and submit a thesis.

If you're in industry, the health service or other suitable employment you may register for part-time MPhil or PhD study. Projects for part-time study are subject to the approval of the Head of Department.

The application

During the application you'll be asked for the following:

your full contact details
transcripts and certificates of all degrees
proof of English language proficiency if English isn't your first language
two references, one of which must be academic
funding or scholarship information
research proposal of 250 to 1,000 words in length, detailing the subject area and topic to be investigated

By filling these details out as fully as possible, you'll avoid any delay to your application being processed by the University.

Accepting an offer

Once you've accepted our offer, we'll need you to fulfil any academic, administrative or financial conditions that we ask.

Biomedical Engineering

MPhil

full-time

Start date: Oct 2025 - Sep 2026

Apply now

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Contact us

Biomedical Engineering

Telephone: +44 (0)141 548 3108

Email: contact-bioeng@strath.ac.uk

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