About this DTC

The Nuclear FiRST Doctoral Training Centre

The DTC for Nuclear Fission Research, Science and Technology (FiRST) was established in January 2009, with a £6.3M investment from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), to provide a national training centre for doctoral scientists and engineers in nuclear fission science and technology. We are adopting a radically different approach to PhD study.

Nuclear FiRST aims to underpin UK Energy and Defence strategy by addressing a growing doctoral skills gap in nuclear fission science and engineering.

We offer an exciting and interdisciplinary approach to postgraduate research training. In year 1 you will undertakle MSc level modules and group research projects, followed by a three year Doctoral level thesis project in years 2, 3 and 4. This is supplemented by training in professional skills and project placements in industry or research institutes in the UK and overseas.

How the DTC differs from a traditional PhD

Because nuclear fission research crosses many normal academic disciplines, and because many undergraduate degrees no longer include much material relevant to it, we need to spend some time allowing you to learn about the broader aspects of nuclear fission research. For example, if you have a chemistry degree, it is important that you learn relevant aspects of other topics, such as materials science, engineering and environmental science. We spend a good deal of the first year giving you this experience, as well as explaining the historical and political context of nuclear research. You also get the chance to sample a couple of different research areas in mini-projects during the first year of the programme.

Our DTC PhD takes four years because we want to give you the opportunity to learn about many other aspects of nuclear fission research, and because we give you the chance to develop your own PhD project. This takes time, which is why we have a four year programme. However, the preparatory year also gives you a head start, so you should be able to make progress rapidly with your PhD, and it should be possible to complete a DTC PhD within the four year period. We have therefore allowed a full four years' funding for each student.

We also have funding to cover the relatively high running and travel costs of our DTC studentships, including support for secondments to overseas laboratories and presenting your results at international conferences.