Doctor of Philosophy in Physics - Astrophysics and Space Science

The School of Physics at UCD is a leading centre for research and teaching in physics, with a strong international reputation. The UCD School of Physics is consistently highly ranked in both national and international tables.

There are about 50 graduate research students in the school, most of whom are pursuing PhD programmes and many of whom are from outside Ireland. The academic staff make up a dynamic, international group researching across a wide range of disciplines within Physics.

UCD has a distinguished tradition in astrophysics, starting from pioneering work in the 1960's on the development of ground-based high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. Astrophysics continues to be a vibrant area in UCD, with approximately 20 staff, researchers and students. Researchers play key roles in international collaborations and consortia, and have published more than 200 refereed articles in the last 5 years, including 13 papers in Science, Nature and Nature Astronomy. Among the major accomplishments of UCD astrophysicists over the past five years are their involvement in the first ever detections of electromagnetic signals associated with neutrinos and gravitational waves. This work, carried out in international teams, has opened up a new window on the night sky, and ushered in the exciting era of multi-messenger astronomy.