Research profile
Research activities within the civil engineering degree programmes at Brunel cover a wide-ranging and diverse field of topics. Academic staff involved in these programmes investigate the management of urban waste, bio-based building products, and natural fibre composites in construction. They also develop an understanding of the behaviour of structures under extreme conditions such as fire, impact and seismic loadings and find solutions to coastal engineering problems such as coastal wave dynamics and coastal resilience against natural hazards such as storm surges, tsunamis, earthquakes, landslides.
Find out about the exciting research we do in this area. Browse profiles of our experts, discover the research groups and their inspirational research activities you too could be part of. We’ve also made available extensive reading materials published by our academics and PhD students.
Browse the work of subject-relevant research groups
Find a supervisor
Our researchers create knowledge and advance understanding, and equip versatile doctoral researchers with the confidence to apply what they have learnt for the benefit of society. Find out more about working with the Supervisory Team.
You are welcome to approach your potential supervisor directly to discuss your research interests. Search for expert supervisors for your chosen field of research.
PhD topics
While we welcome applications from students with a clear direction for their research, we are providing you with some ideas for your chosen field of research:
- Additive manufacturing and sustainability, supervised by Eujin Pei
- AI (Artificial Intelligence) enabled autonomous robots for non-disruptive inspection of utility and sewage systems, supervised by Md Nazmul Huda
- Ambient Vibration-Based Calibration of Finite Element Models of Bridges, supervised by Michael Rustell
- Autonomous Drone Surveys and Convolutional Neural Networks for Bridge Maintenance: A Predictive Approach Using Finite Element Analysis, supervised by Michael Rustell
- Autonomous robots for non-disruptive inspection of utility and sewage systems, supervised by Md Nazmul Huda
- Bridging the Gap: Integrating Neural Radiance Fields and Micro-drones for Enhanced 3D Volumetric Finite Element Analysis, supervised by Michael Rustell
- Development of resilient hospitals through enhanced built environment design and research, supervised by Kangkang Tang
- Dynamics of seawater intrusion in heterogeneous coastal aquifers, supervised by Ashraf Ahmed Mohamed
- Intelligent, Interpretable and Adaptive Design of Steel Structures using Deep Learning and NLP, supervised by Michael Rustell and Tatiana Kalganova
- Large Language Models (LLM) for Automated Finite Element Analysis, supervised by Michael Rustell and Tatiana Kalganova
- Life cycle assessment and circular economy for built environment, supervised by Muhammad Shafique
- Machine learning for sustainable transportation systems, supervised by Muhammad Shafique
- Prediction of early-age cracking in structural concrete, supervised by Kangkang Tang
- Study of stray current induced corrosion in railway construction, supervised by Kangkang Tang
Research journey
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Find out about what progress might look like at each stage of study here: Research degree progress structure.
Research support
Careers and your future
You will receive tailored careers support during your PhD and for up to three years after you complete your research at Brunel. We encourage you to actively engage in career planning and managing your personal development right from the start of your research, even (or perhaps especially) if you don't yet have a career path in mind. Our careers provision includes online information and advice, one-to-one consultations and a range of events and workshops. The Professional Development Centre runs a varied programme of careers events throughout the academic year. These include industry insight sessions, recruitment fairs, employer pop-ups and skills workshops.
In addition, where available, you may be able to undertake some paid work as we recognise that teaching and learning support duties represent an important professional and career development opportunity.
UK entry requirements
The general University entrance requirement for registration for a research degree is normally a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree (1st or 2:1).
An interview will be required as part of the admissions process and will be conducted by at least two academic staff members remotely via MS Teams, Zoom, or face to face.
Applicants will be required to submit a personal statement and a research statement.
Please contact your proposed supervisor, where possible, to receive feedback and guidance on your research statement before submitting it. Learn how to prepare a research statement here.
EU and International entry requirements
English language requirements
- IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
- Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
- BrunELT: 63% (min 58% in all areas)
- TOEFL: 90 (min 20 in all)
You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.
Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.
Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.
Fees and funding
2024/5 entry
International
£23,615 full-time
£11,805 part-time
UK
£4,786 full-time
£2,393 part-time
Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase.
Some courses incur additional course related costs. You can also check our on-campus accommodation costs for more information on living expenses.
Brunel offers a number of funding options to research students that help cover the cost of their tuition fees, contribute to living expenses or both. Recently the UK Government made available the Doctoral Student Loans of up to £25,000 for UK and EU students and there is some funding available through the Research Councils. Many of our international students benefit from funding provided by their governments or employers. Brunel alumni enjoy tuition fee discounts of 15%.
