Opportunities
Postdoctoral Fellowships
We are always looking for talented and enthusiastic postdoctoral co-workers to join us, and are happy to support fellowship applications from suitably qualified candidates. If you are interested in applying for postdoctoral funding, please consider your eligibility for appropriate schemes carefully, and then contact Euan well in advance of any deadline for assistance in preparing your application. Please send your CV and a covering letter including a brief summary of your previous research experience and your motivation for pursuing research in our group.
Ph.D. Studentships
Applications open for St Andrews–Bonn Global Doctoral Scholarship
We have an exciting opportunity for a fully funded bilateral PhD scholarship. The succesful candidate will work on a collaborative project in the areas of systems chemistry and colloidal nanomaterials, in laboratories at both the Universities of St Andrews (UK) and Bonn (Germany).
The project will be managed jointly between the School of Chemistry at St Andrews and the Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry at Bonn. The student will be supervised by Dr Euan Kay and Professor Douglas Philp in St Andrews and Dr Larissa von Krbek and Professor Arne Lützen in Bonn.
Further details and how to apply
Ph.D. Opportunities in the Kay group – general information
Research in our group lies at the interface of supramolecular chemistry and nanomaterials. All our Ph.D. projects will give you a strong interdisciplinary training in molecular synthesis, nanomaterials synthesis and the methods of supramolecular and physical–organic chemistry. Students will gain hands-on experience with a wide variety of techniques, including NMR, UV-Vis, and IR spectroscopies, mass spectrometry, electron microscopy (TEM and SEM), dynamic light scattering and thermogravimetric methods.
Many of our Ph.D. projects involve collaborations with other groups in St Andrews and elsewhere. Recent and current collaborations include
Prof. Russell Morris (St Andrews)
Funded Ph.D. studentships are available from the School of Chemistry on a competitive basis. You can apply at any time. However, awards are normally made in late spring or early summer for studentships starting in autumn. If you are interested in applying for a scholarship, you are encouraged to contact Euan as early as possible, including your CV (with qualifications and grades achieved so-far) and a short cover letter detailing your motivation to study with us.
Click to find out more about School of Chemistry studentships and making a formal application.
Candidates from China are also encouraged to apply to the University of St Andrews – China Scholarship Council scheme. Candidates interested in any of these opportunities should contact Euan well in advance of the scheme deadlines to discuss their application.
At times, we also have scholarships from other funding sources. These will be advertised here when available.
If you have your own source of funding and are interesting in joining us to study, please also get in touch with Euan in the first instance, including details of the funding you have secured. There are opportunities for self-funded PhD students to make use of the St Andrews Handsel Scheme to fund the difference between home and international fees.
Summer Placements and Internships
We are very happy to welcome undergraduate students (from St Andrews or further afield) into the group for short placements – whether over the summer or at other times of year. Often these positions are unfunded, but please get in touch with Euan in the first instance to discuss possibilities.
St Andrews MChem and BSc Honours Projects
Prospective project students are welcome to discuss potential projects at any time. You will find the summaries of the specific projects we are offering each year on the CH4442/CH5441 module website, however there is often scope for modifying projects to suit specific interests so please contact Euan to make an appointment and/or have a chat with other students or post-docs in our group about the work we do.