Synthetic Biology PhD

• Gene therapy: Some diseases and disorders happen because certain genes work incorrectly or no longer work at all. We are designing therapeutic interventions for human diseases and disorders by developing the technologies to correct defective genes. Our current projects within this area look at vector development for effective gene therapy, assessing and avoiding the risks of gene therapy (genotoxicity) and using the technologies of gene therapy to give new insights into cancer development.
• Microbial bioengineering: The most exploitable and engineerable organisms are bacteria, so we want to harness their capacity and diversity to create white technologies –those which cause no harm.

Programme Structure

Curriculum:

• Decision making for stratified medicine life cycle
• Deep Learning for Medical Imaging
• Deep learning methods in multi-omics data analysis for critical disease
• Deep learning-based autonomous diagnosis of gastrointestinal tract cancers
• Developing computational models to understand the evolution of bidirectional catalysts in biology

Admission requirements

Academic requirements

GPA: Upper Second Class

English requirements

• TOEFL iBT: 98 (or 5 on the new TOEFL iBT 1-6 score)
• PTE Academic: 64
• IELTS: 7

Other requirements

General 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).
• If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list.

Fees and funding

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in AUD and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International (Non-residents): 46,846 AUD / year (≈ 24,795 GBP / year)

Domestic (Citizens or residents): 9,896 AUD / year (≈ 5,238 GBP / year)

Additional Details

• Tuition for international: £12,395 part-time
• Tuition for UK: £2,619 part-time

Living costs

London, United Kingdom: 2,148-4,075 AUD / month

Funding

Scholarships

• Banco de Mexico FIDERH Scholarship — Brunel University of London — Deadline: Not specified
• Fulbright U.S. Student Program — U.S. government — Deadline: 07 Oct 2026
• ServiceScape Scholarship — ServiceScape — Deadline: 30 Nov 2026
• ACES Scholarships — ACES Education Fund — Deadline: 15 Nov 2026
• Erasmus+ - Grants for study mobility — OeAD, Austria's Agency for Education and Internationalisation — Deadline: Not specified
• Scholarships for PhD Students — Junhua Li — Deadline: Not specified
• Boustany Astronomy PhD Scholarship — Boustany Foundation — Deadline: 28 Feb 2027
• $1,500 Annual Video Contest Scholarship — IvyPanda — Deadline: 31 Oct 2026
• Voice Talent Online Scholarship — Voice Talent Online — Deadline: 01 Mar 2027
• Women Scholarship for International Students — Deadline: 28 Aug 2026
• The PhD Prep Fellowship — Admit Lab — Deadline: 01 Sep 2026
• Dream Chaser Scholarship — Salvado Law — Deadline: 13 Jan 2027
• Scholarship for students with disabilities — Anonymous Hope Fund — Deadline: 31 Dec 2026
• Commonwealth Shared Scholarship – University Bids — UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) — Deadline: Not specified
• Creative BioMart Scholarship Program — Creative BioMart — Deadline: 31 Oct 2026
• Grants of the Leopold Figl Foundation for students with residence in Lower Austria — Leopold Figl Foundation — Deadline: 31 Dec 2026
• The Annual IELTS from 6 to 9 Scholarship — IELTS from 6 to 9 — Deadline: Not specified
• Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship Programme — The Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship Programme — Deadline: 11 Jan 2027