Joint Doctoral Program of the University of St Andrews and the University of Bonn

Stars are the building blocks of our Universe. They synthesise elements, shape the evolution of galaxies, and are the sites of planet formation. Yet the connection between stars and the galaxies within which they form is still unclear. In our Milky Way galaxy disentangling environmental variations in star formation is a challenging task due to clouds overlapping in our line-of-sight. A recent transformative advance has been, that with the current generation of radio and IR facilities like the “Atacama Large mm-Array” (ALMA) or the “James Webb Space Telescope” (JWST), star forming clouds can be studied in great detail across many nearby galaxies.

Similar, recent advances in numerical astrophysics allow to run detailed simulations on supercomputers, probing how the properties of molecular clouds vary with galaxy environment, such as galaxy morphology, gas turbulence, strength of stellar feedback, and magnetic field strength. The results from these numerical models can then be transformed into synthetic telescope observations and directly compared to observations.

The Universities of St Andrews and Bonn have world-leading expertise in both these areas, and this proposal is an opportunity to bridge both worlds with a collaborative PhD project. Frank Bigiel and his group are experts on obtaining, processing, and analysing astronomical radio and infrared observations, with a focus on studying gas and dust and the properties of star forming, molecular clouds across galaxies. Rowan Smith’s CLOUDFACTORY simulations were the first to both model a full galaxy and the formation of individual stellar systems in star-forming clouds using an innovative zoom-in technique. She is now producing the next generation of such simulations with improved initial conditions, specifically chosen to match those of real, observed nearby galaxies.

At St Andrews the student will first take the models produced by Dr Smith and perform radiative transfer simulations of different environments seen in the galaxies to create “mock observations”, like those that would be seen by ALMA or the JWST telescopes. They will then transfer to Bonn and process these further with Prof. Bigiel and his group. These mock data will be processed to mimic real observations (adding various sources of “noise”, spatial filtering, etc.) and fed through the same processing pipelines used for real observations. These data can then be analysed using the same tools (algorithms) employed for real observations. This addresses the key point of this project: to combine both approaches to answer what a real telescope would see from a galaxy and molecular clouds, where we know exactly the physical ground truth from the simulations.

Specifically, the student will:

- Investigate how the efficiency at which gas is converted to stars by gravity correlates with other observable properties.

- Determine if the observational probes (atomic and molecular spectral lines) used by observers to infer gas physics (density, pressure) matches the input from the simulations.

- Perform a statistical cross correlation analysis to find which observed quantities are most predictive of where stars form, and how they vary at different locations in galaxies.

The project will be managed jointly between the School of Physics and Astronomy at St Andrews and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Bonn. The student will be supervised by Dr Rowan Smith (St Andrews) and Prof. Frank Bigiel (Bonn).

Informal enquiries regarding this scholarship may be addressed to the co-supervisors: 

Dr Rowan Smith (rjs22@st-andrews.ac.uk)  

Prof. Frank Bigiel (bigiel@astro.uni-bonn.de)

Admission and scholarship criteria of both universities must be met.

For St Andrews, please refer to details of how to apply and of entry requirements here: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/apply/. 

Level of study

Postgraduate Research (Doctoral)

Domicile for fee status

No restrictions.

Schools

School of Physics and Astronomy (St Andrews) and Department of Physics and Astronomy (Bonn)

Application assessment

Academic merit

Mode of study

Full time

Geographical criteria

No restrictions.

Year of entry

2026-2027 academic year.

Students will enrol at both institutions from the outset. It is expected that the successful student will spend 50% of their time at each institution, with details to be agreed by the student and supervisory team. The student may start their degree at any point in the academic year 2026-2027 prior to a final entry date of 27 May 2027 subject to agreement with the supervisory team. 

Additional criteria

Applicants must not already (i) hold a doctoral degree; or (ii) be matriculated for a doctoral degree at either the University of St Andrews or the University of Bonn (or another institution).

Duration of award

Up to 3.5 years. The student will be expected to spend approximately half of the award term at the University of St Andrews and half at the University of Bonn. The successful candidate will be expected to have completed the doctorate degree by the end of the award term. The award term excludes the continuation period and any extension periods.

Value of award

The funding comprises a scholarship equivalent of a full-fees award and stipend for a period of up to 3.5 years. It is expected that the student will spend half of the scholarship term at the University of St Andrews and half at the University of Bonn:

• For the period spent at the University of St Andrews, the scholarships will comprise a full tuition fee award and an annual stipend paid at a rate set by the University of St Andrews. For 2025-2026, the stipend is £19,775 p.a., with an annual uplift published by the University each academic year.
• For the period spent at the University of Bonn, the scholarship will comprise a monthly maintenance grant of €1,800. The University of Bonn does not charge any tuition fees, but students must pay a so-called social contribution once per semester (currently €315 per semester).

Unless otherwise specified, the scholarships do not cover:

• Any continuation, extension, or resubmission period/fees.
• A research training grant or another equivalent award for research expenses.
• Support for travel, immigration, health insurance and related charges between the partner institutions.

Tuition or maintenance award

Tuition and maintenance.

Note that this application is for the scholarship only; successful applicants must also apply for a PhD place and be admitted to each institution through normal routes.

Expressions of interest should include the following documents:

• CV including information about publications.
• Transcripts of most relevant/recent degrees.
• Information about thesis components (thesis mark, word count, weight/length in comparison to the degree overall).
• Statement of suitability as a candidate for the project (max 500 words)

Following a successful application for the scholarship, candidates may be invited to submit an application to both universities for admission into the program and award of the scholarship.

Please indicate in your application that you wish to be considered for this Global doctoral scholarship (Smith and Bigiel).

Applications should be submitted to the co-supervisors via email to: Ms. Sabine Derdau (derdau@astro.uni-bonn.de) and Dr. Rowan Smith (rjs22@st-andrews.ac.uk).

Terms and conditions of scholarships for St Andrews can be found here: Awards general terms and conditions.

Please contact us should you have any questions regarding the scholarship: pgscholarships@st-andrews.ac.uk