| Qualifications |
Duration |
Start dates |
Application period |
PhD
(MPhil also available) |
Full-time: 3–4 years
Part-time: 6–8 years |
February and October |
January to April |
Qualifications
PhD (MPhil also available) |
Duration
Full-time: 3–4 years
Part-time: 6–8 years |
Start dates
February and October |
Application period
January to April |
Stellar astrophysics is a major facet of Astronomy research at the OU. We use a variety of methods, including theoretical investigations employing sophisticated population synthesis codes and observations made across the electromagnetic spectrum with world-leading facilities including The European Southern Observatory&/postgraduate/research-degrees/topic/stellar-astrophysics/39;s Very Large Telescopes (VLT), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA). We use our proprietary time share on the 10-meter Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) and also deploy our own fully autonomous robotic telescopes in Tenerife, PIRATE and COAST.
We have strengths in both multi-wavelength observational programmes as well as in theoretical and computer modelling studies. A critical mass of postgraduate students currently pursues projects in this area, supported by five academic supervisors.
Entry requirements
Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your .
Potential research projects
We welcome enquiries from prospective students in the following areas:
- Studies of massive stars, including massive binaries
- Searches for the electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave sources
- Mining archival time-domain datasets: pulsating and eclipsing systems
- Multi-wavelength observations of interacting compact binary stars
- Evolution of compact binaries
- Synthetic stellar and binary populations
- Exoplanet host stars
Please also see further opportunities.
Current/recent research projects
- The life cycles of massive stars, including progenitors of gravitational wave sources
- The identification and classification of variability in SuperWASP stars
- SuperWASP variable stars with varying periods
- Neutron star mass determinations and evolution of high mass X-ray binaries
- Evolutionary history of post-common envelope binaries
- Binary stars as false positives in exoplanet transit searches
- Stellar activity and star-planet interactions in planet host stars
- Doppler tomography of star spots and implications for exoplanet searches
Potential supervisors
Fees and funding
| UK fee |
International fee |
| Full-time: 拢4,786 per year |
Full-time: 拢15,698 per year |
| Part-time: 拢2,393 per year |
Part-time: 拢7,849 per year |
Some of our research students are funded via the UKRI Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Doctoral Training Partnership; others are self-funded.
For detailed information about fees and funding, visit Fees and studentships.
To see current funded studentship vacancies across all research areas, see .
Links