Civil engineering research degrees

An overview of our postgraduate research in civil engineering and entry requirements for PhDs and other research degrees.

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Research within the Civil Engineering is undertaken within two thematic groups, namely Environment and Infrastructure, within which smaller specialised research sub-groups operate.

An important overlap between the Environment and Infrastructure themes lies in the area of sustainability and sustainable economic development, where emphasis is placed on preservation of natural resources through the recycling of waste materials, perceived infrastructure threats posed by climate changes and the development of the urban environment in terms of the whole life cycle from inception to eventual demolition or re-use.

For more information about Research in Civil Engineering at Dundee, please follow the links below to visit individual sub-group research webpages:

Environment Research

  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Geotechnical Engineering

Infrastructure Research

  • Concrete and Construction
  • Construction and Project Management
  • Structural Engineering

To learn more, please visit our Engineering research pages.

Propose your own PhD topic

If you want to propose your PhD topic, you can use the contact details below to contact a staff member to discuss your proposal.

How to write your best postgraduate research proposal

Entry requirements

You should have an honours degree at 2.1 or above, and/or a Masters degree in a relevant discipline.

English language requirements

IELTS (overall) Reading Listening Speaking Writing
6.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 6.0

We also accept other English language qualifications

You do not need to prove your knowledge of English if you are a national of certain countries.

Don't meet the English language requirements?

English language programmes

Prepare for university study and benefit from extra English tuition with an English language programme.

Engineering and Physics PhD tuition fees

  • Civil engineering
  • Mechanical engineering and mechatronics
  • Physics
Academic year of entry Scottish/Rest of UK fee status International fee status
2023/24 £4,712
per year of study		 £25,305
per year of study
2024/25 £4,786
per year of study		 £26,570
per year of study

Science and Engineering Masters by Research tuition fees

Academic year of entry Scottish/Rest of UK fee status International fee status
2023/24 £4,712 
per year of study		 £25,305
per year of study
2024/25 £4,786 
per year of study		 £26,570 
per year of study

Tuition fee per year of study (subject to a 3% annual increase for Scottish/Rest of UK students and a 5% annual increase for International students).

Part time study, where available, is charged on a pro-rata basis.

Scottish/Rest of UK fee status annual increase

Each year, UKRI sets a recommended fee and stipend level for Scottish/Rest of UK students, which we use as the basis for fees charged to this group.

UKRI usually increases its fee and stipend levels in line with inflation, based on the Treasury GDP deflator. 

Therefore, the Scottish/Rest of UK fees detailed in this table for 2025/26 (and beyond) can only be estimated according to the typical increase. 

The fee charged to you may differ, though only slightly, from the figure given.

Apply for a research degree

You can apply for a PhD or other postgraduate research degree using our Direct Application System.

We have three start dates per academic year.

PhD Civil Engineering

MSc by Research Civil Engineering

MPhil by Research Civil Engineering

Science & Engineering (non-graduating) (research)

The University of Dundee welcomes applications from disabled students.

Enquiries