PhD Programme at XJTLU

The PhD programme at XJTLU will equip you with a range of professional skills to help you undertake world-changing research and maximise your future employability. We offer a wide range of funding opportunities and a supportive academic environment where you’ll get tailored training and development.

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) 

XJTLU is an international joint-venture university founded by Xi’an Jiaotong University in China and the University of Liverpool in the UK. As a Sino-foreign cooperative university, it captures the essence of both parent universities and is the largest of its kind approved by China’s Ministry of Education.

Research Impact

Since 2006, 5398 publications from XJTLU have been indexed in WoS (Web of Science) Core. The average Category Normalized Citation Impact (CNCI) for all publications from XJTLU for 2018-2022 are 1.35. XJTLU’s CNCI was higher than global’s and China’s CNCIs in each of the past 5 years.

Under the Essential Science Indicators (ESI) schema, XJTLU has been most productive in the fields of Engineering, Computer Science and Economics& Business in 2018-2022. Computer Science and Environment/Ecology have contributed the most ESI Highly Cited Papers. As of June  2023, there are 4 fields for XJTLU entering the Top 1% worldwide in the ESI rankings, namely Engineering, Computer Science, Social Sciences, and Environment/Ecology .

PhD Programme at XJTLU

The PhD programme at XJTLU will equip you with a range of professional skills to help you undertake world-changing research and maximise your future employability. We offer a wide range of funding opportunities and a supportive academic environment where you’ll get tailored training and development.

It normally takes three to four years to complete a full-time doctoral programme. Upon successful completion of PhD programme at XJTLU, you will be awarded a doctoral degree from the University of Liverpool.

To explore more information regarding doctoral studies at XJTLU, please visit our doctoral admission page.

Minimum Entry Requirement

Applicants holding a UK first or 2:1 class Bachelor's degree with Honours or Pass with Merit Master's degree meet the minimum academic requirement of our PhD programme. Applicants must also meet the English language requirement for the relevant research area.

Each doctoral programme has specific academic qualification and English language  proficiency level required to enter the programme. Please visit the doctoral entry requirement page to find out the entry requirement for each programme.

How to Apply

You may find the required materials for PhD application in How to Apply page. After preparing all the application documents, you are welcome to start your PhD application. PhD applications are accepted all year round. There will be four entry points each year, and the application deadlines are outlined below for each entry.

Entry Point/ Programme Start Date/ Application deadline/ 

September entry

1 September

30 June

December entry

1 December

30 September

March entry

1 March

15 December of the previous year

June entry

1 June

31 March 

For general queries on the application, please contact DoctoralStudies@xjtlu.edu.cn.

Funding Opportunities

XJTLU offers a range of scholarships to highly motivated and dedicated full-time doctoral candidates to pursue research leading to a doctoral degree. Qualified applicants may receive financial support including:

• A full scholarship: consists of a tuition fee waiver for three years (RMB 297,000 total value) and a monthly stipend of RMB 5,000 for three years (RMB 180,000 total value).
• A fees-only scholarship: consists of a tuition fee waiver for three years (RMB 297,000 total value)
• A partial tuition-fee scholarship: consists of up to 50% tuition fee reduction for three years (RMB 148,500 total value). 

1. Apply For A Scholarship for An Existing Funded PhD Project (Dropdown list under each school)

You can apply for an existing PhD project which has received funds from the University or external funding bodies. These projects have an established research topic and a formed supervisory team. You can check the below list of funded PhD project for information about specific projects available or contact potential supervisors to discuss funding opportunities.

Please note the reference number with* refers to PhD project collaborated with industry.

School of Advanced Technology

PROGRAMME/ REFERENCE NUMBER/ TITLE OF PHD PROJECT/ SUPERVISOR

• Computer Science and Software Engineering PhD
  • FOSA2212017
  • Anomaly detection for pathology diagnosis by using EEG
  • Jun Qi

• Electrical and Electronics Engineering PhD
  • PGRSLG230601
  • Development of High Voltage GaN Bidirectional Switch Based on GaN Monolithic Integration
  • Huiqing Wen

• Electrical and Electronics Engineering PhD
  • PGRSLG230602
  • Development of a multi-port zero carbon building energy router based on GaN power integration
  • Huiqing Wen

• Electrical and Electronics Engineering PhD
  • PGRSLG230603
  • High-voltage and low leakage current AlGaN/GaN Fin-HEMTs
  • Huiqing Wen

• Electrical and Electronics Engineering PhD
  • PGRSLG230604
  • Development of High-Power-Density Power Module Based on GaN Monolithic Integration
  • Huiqing Wen

• Computer Science and Software Engineering PhD
  • FOSA2212015
  • Investigation of Eclipse Attacks against Permissionless Blockchain P2P Networking
  • Wenjun Fan

• Computer Science and Software Engineering PhD
  • FOSLG221101
  • Conditionally Auditable Web3
  • Jie Zhang

• Computer Science and Software Engineering PhD
  • FOS2206JAL01
  • MEMES miniature speaker
  • Ping Zhang

• Computer Science and Software Engineering PhD
  • FOSA2112005
  • Collaborative and Immersive Visualization Environments for Data Exploration
  • Lingyun Yu

• Computer Science and Software Engineering PhD
  • FOSA2206014
  • Experiential Learning in Virtual Museums
  • Yue Li

• Computer Science and Software Engineering PhD
  • FOS2209JAE01
  • Research on Architecture and Algorithm of Intrusion Detection System toward Intelligent Connected Vehicles
  • WENJUN FAN

Computer Science and Software Engineering PhD

• • FOSA2206017
  • Deep learning transform for drift detection in noisy data stream
  • Nanlin Jin

• Computer Science and Software Engineering PhD
  • FOS2208JM03
  • The hydrogen embrittlement mechanism of Aluminum Alloys
  • Min Chen

• Electrical and Electronic Engineering PhD
  • FOSA2206012
  • Machine Learning-Enhanced Predictive Controls of Power Electronic Converters
  • Chee Shen Lim

• Electrical and Electronic Engineering PhD
  • FOS2111JF01*
  • Study on Treatment of onychomycosis with soluble microneedles loaded with Terbinafine nanogels
  • 特比奈芬可溶性微针治疗甲真菌病的研究
  • Jie Sun

• Electrical and Electronic Engineering PhD
  • FOS2109JM02*
  • Microstructural evolution and its relationship to properties of spray formed high performance aluminum alloys during thermomechanical process
  • 高性能铝合金均匀化和时效热处理过程中微结构演化及其与性能关系
  • Jie Sun

• Electrical and Electronic Engineering PhD
  • FOS2210JB01
  • Materials and devices for room-temperature infrared photodetection 室温红外光电探测材料与器件
  • Ye Wu

• Electrical and Electronic Engineering PhD
  • FOS2111JD01
  • High Performance Analog and RF IC Design Technology Research
  • Miao Cui

• Electrical and Electronics Engineering PhD
  • FOSA2212007
  • Study on Cyber-Physical Attacks in Power Grids by Artificial Intelligence and Complex Networks
  • Fei Xue

• Electrical and Electronics Engineering PhD
  • FOSA2212013
  • Simultaneous Wireless Information and Power Transfer for WPAN Applications
  • Zhenzhen Jiang

• Computer Science and Software Engineering PhD
  • FOSA2212016
  • Data-driven approach to information-based Traffic flow modelling
  • Dongyao Jia

• Electrical and Electronics Engineering PhD
  • FOS2210JJ02
  • Man-machine collision detection algorithm
  • Yuqing Chen

• Electrical and Electronics Engineering PhD
  • FOSA2212020
  • Machine learning assisted modeling framework for DTCO
  • Ye Wu

• Electrical and Electronics Engineering PhD
  • FOSA2212018
  • The research on the impact of socio-economic development to power network expansion for developing countries
  • Lurui Fang

Design School

PROGRAMME/ REFERENCE NUMBER/ TITLE OF PHD PROJECT/ SUPERVISOR

• Civil Engineering PhD
  • PGRS2012007
  • Study on the effect of partially multi-layered vegetation on open-channel flows
  • 多层植被对明槽水流的影响
  • Xiaonan Tang

• Civil Engineering PhD
  • FOS2201JN01*
  • Lightweight design and development of graphene / aluminum composites for new energy vehicles based on carbon neutralization
  • Charles Kwet Shin Loo Chin Moy

• Civil Engineering PhD
  • PGRS2106033
  • A lattice-Boltzmann study on the effect of porous media morphology on immiscible displacements
  • Konstantinos Papadikis

• Civil Engineering PhD
  • FOS2210JJ03
  • Information fusion algorithms of 3D vision and laser radar
  • 三维视觉与激光雷达的信息融合算法
  • Lei Fan

• Urban Planning and Design PhD
  • FOSLG210402
  • Sustainable planning and implementation of eco-oriented enclave projects through knowledge transfer and management
  • 飞地项目的可持续发展与知识管理
  • Yunqing Xu

• Urban Planning and Design PhD
  • PGRS2206054
  • Non-optimum temperature-related mortality burden in Suzhou, China: its spatial pattern, associated risk factors and potential effect modifiers
  • Jinglu Song

• Architecture PhD
  • PGRS2212053
  • Computational design and optimization of internal porous scaffold and skeleton morphology for designing and making extra-light 3D-concrete printed precast facade components
  • Iasef Md Rian

• Architecture PhD
  • PGRS2212008
  • Holographic Construction Methods for Circular Design
  • Mia Tedjosaputro

• Architecture PhD
  • PGRS2212015
  • The contemporary and cross-cultural interpretation of Jiangnan heritage: A case study of new architecture in Suzhou and Hangzhou
  • Jiawen Han

• Urban Planning and Design PhD
  • PGRS2212052
  • A Study of Land Property Rights and Rural Revitalisation in China
  • Xuefeng Wang

• Civil Engineering PhD
  • PGRS2212056
  • Research on local scour mechanism of bridge piers under extreme flood peaks
  • Wei Zhang

• Civil Engineering PhD
  •  PGRS2112018
  • Strengthening of masonry walls subjected to horizontal loads strengthened with pre-stressed Textile Reinforced Mortrars (TRMs)
  • Theofanis Krevaikas

• Civil Engineering PhD
  • FOS2305JM01*
  • Data-driven intelligent design methodology of flexible roll forming process 数据驱动的柔性辊压工艺智能化设计方法
  • Tianhong Gu

• Civil Engineering PhD
  • FOS2305JJ01*
  • Information Fusion Navigation Algorithm based on Lidar-Vision Integration
  • Lei Fan 

School of Humanities and Social Sciences

PROGRAMME/ REFERENCE NUMBER/ TITLE OF PHD PROJECT/ SUPERVISOR

• English, Culture and Communication PhD
  • PGRSSP220301
  • New Directions in Literary Biography
  • Thomas Duggett 

International Business School Suzhou

PROGRAMME/ REFERENCE NUMBER/ TITLE OF PHD PROJECT/ SUPERVISOR

• Business PhD
  • FOSLG221103
  • Inventory control and order management policies for assemble-to-order systems under the co-production effect
  • Jianxin Fang

• Business PhD
  • FOSLG221001
  • Option Pricing Based Machine Learning Models
  • 基于期权定价理论构造机器学习模型的研究
  • Jia Zhai

• Business PhD
  • FOSLG221104
  • The impact of competition of social status on games with strategic complementarities in social networks: theoretical and experimental studies 
  • Mofei Jia

School of Mathematics and Physics

PROGRAMME/ REFERENCE NUMBER/ TITLE OF PHD PROJECT/ SUPERVISOR

• Mathematical Sciences PhD
  • FOS2210JM01
  • Integrated Computational Materials Engineering Methodology Development for Liquid Cooling Plate of Power Battery: Stamping and Materials Properties Distribution
  • 动力电池液冷板集成计算材料工程方法开发：冲压成形工艺与材料性能分布
  • Chen Xuan

• Mathematical Sciences PhD
  • FOS2211JM01
  • AI-based Materials Design and Development of Advanced Metals and Alloys 先进金属材料的人工智能设计与制造
  • Chen Xuan

• Mathematical Sciences PhD
  • FOSA2112016
  • Heterogeneous Photo Electrically Responsive Liquid Crystal Polymers and Their Smart Actuators/Robots
  • Chen Xuan

• Mathematical Sciences PhD
  • PGRS2112033
  • The Functional Degree and the Dispersion of Multivariate Functions
  • Uwe Schauz

• Mathematical Sciences PhD
  • PGRS2206050
  • Extreme Value Analysis of Certain Risk Models
  • Long Bai

• Mathematical Sciences PhD
  • PGRS2112032
  • Mathematical Modeling of Liquid Droplet and Thin Film in a Vertical Gas Channel
  • Xinyao Yang

• Mathematical Sciences PhD
  • FOSLG221204
  • Interplay of Heavy-tailedness and Tail dependence in extreme systemic risks: from static to dynamic evaluation
  • Jiajun Liu

• Mathematical Sciences PhD
  • FOSLG221205
  • Optimal dividend and capital injection with practice constraints and risk management restrictions
  • Ran Xu

• Mathematical Sciences PhD
  • FOS2210JJ01
  • Stability Control of Hydraulic Foot-legged Robot in Complex Environment 复杂环境下液压足式机器人稳定性控制
  • Chen Xuan

• Mathematical Sciences PhD
  • FOSA2212001
  • Reinforcement learning with application in optimal dividend problems with Parisian implementation delay
  • Ran Xu

• Mathematical Sciences PhD
  • PGRS2212033
  • Multiple Partonic Interactions at the LHC: enabling the discovery of new physics
  • Arthur Moraes 

School of Science

PROGRAMME/ REFERENCE NUMBER/ TITLE OF PHD PROJECT/ SUPERVISOR

• Biological Sciences PhD
  • PGRS2206022
  • Energy harvesting and photovoltaic conversion properties of hybrid light-harvesting system
  • Xia Huang

• Biological Sciences PhD
  • FOSA2206021
  • Multi-omics study of host perturbations by DWV infection
  • Tatsuhiko Kadowaki

• Biological Sciences PhD
  • FOS2112JG01*
  • Chromosome substitution strains from Chinese wild mice
  • 野生鼠染色体置换项目研发
  • Minyan Wang

• Biological Sciences PhD
  • PGRS2112028
  • Gene regulation using a CRISPR/Cas9-based histone variant deposition
  • Jeong Park

• Biological Sciences PhD
  • PGRS2112030
  • Generating a disease model for Alzheimer’s Disease in non-human primates
  • Chunmei Yue

• Biological Sciences PhD
  • FOS2112JT02*
  • Development of a multi-gene detection model for Chinese Luminal-type early breast cancer and its clinical translational study on the predictive value of breast cancer recurrence risk
  • 华人 Luminal 型早期乳腺癌多基因检测模型开发及对乳腺癌复发风险预测价值的临床转化研究
  • Jia Meng

• Chemistry PhD
  • PGRS2206051
  • Three-dimensional anti-oxidative MXene composites for long-term stable performance of capacitive deionization
  • Meng Ding

• Chemistry PhD
  • FOS2207JO01
  • Lead-free Perovskite Solar Cells
  • Yi Lin

• Chemistry PhD
  • FOS2211JM02
  • Database Construction and AI Design of 3D Bio-printed Organoids on Chip 生物3D打印类器官芯片的数据库构建和人工智能设计
  • Xuan Xue

• Chemistry PhD
  • FOSA2206023
  • A new synthetic approach for the efficient synthesis of aza-annulated organic semiconductor materials
  • Yi Lin

• Chemistry PhD
  • FOS2209JR01
  • Study on the tunable cell structure of polymer foam via supercritical fluid micro-foaming 超临界流体微发泡聚合物泡沫形态与结构调控研究
  • Lifeng Ding

• Chemistry PhD
  • FOSA2206022
  • Machine Learning-assisted Novel Chemoresistive Gas Sensor Array for the Identification and Early Diagnostics of Colorectal Cancer by Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from Stool Samples
  • Qiuchen Dong

• Chemistry PhD
  • PGRS2212007
  • The development of novel protective polymeric materials against fomite transmission of respiratory viruses and the mechanism study
  • Xuan Xue

• Environmental Science PhD
  • PGRS2206057
  • Ripple formation under different atmospheric conditions
  • Bailiang Li

• Environmental Science PhD
  • PGRS2206030
  • The influence of species interaction on the ecological niche of selected microalgae
  • Bastian Steudel

• Environmental Science PhD
  • FOSA2212022
  • How to respond to future elevated atmospheric [CO2] on selenium in plants: A comparative study among a selenium hyperaccumulator and staple crops?
  • Linxi Yuan

• Biological Sciences PhD
  • FOSA2212023
  • Investigation on the prevalence of monkey B virus in the monkey colonies in China and their relative neurovirulence in the target cells
  • Rong Rong

• Biological Sciences PhD
  • PGRS2212054
  • Modelling Alzheimer’s Disease in patient iPSC-derived brain organoids upon AβO administration
  • Chunmei Yue

XJTLU Wisdom Lake Academy of Pharmacy

PROGRAMME/ REFERENCE NUMBER/ TITLE OF PHD PROJECT/ SUPERVISOR

• Chemistry PhD
  • FOS2011JC02
  • Controllable preparation and optical properties of one-dimensional nano-optical materials
  • 一维纳米光学材料的可控制备和光学性质研究
  • Kim King-Tong Lau

• Biological Science PhD
• FOSA2212029
• Investigation of Appropriate Models and Design Strategies for TB household contact studies
• Tenglong Li 

School of AI and Advanced Computing

PROGRAMME/ REFERENCE NUMBER/ TITLE OF PHD PROJECT/ SUPERVISOR

• Computer Science and Software Engineering PhD
  • FOSLG230505
  • Research of domain adaptive computer-aided quantitative analysis for digital pathological images 
  • Jingxin Liu 

School of Chips

PROGRAMME/ REFERENCE NUMBER/ TITLE OF PHD PROJECT/ SUPERVISOR

• Electrical and Electronics Engineering PhD
  • FOS2205JL01
  • Investigation of Stimulated Emission Depletion Microscopy/受激发射损耗STED超分辨显微镜的研究
  • Yinchao Zhao

• Electrical and Electronics Engineering PhD
  • FOS2205JL02
  • Brain-inspired optical computing 类脑光计算
  • Yinchao Zhao 

School of Robotics

PROGRAMME/ REFERENCE NUMBER/ TITLE OF PHD PROJECT/ SUPERVISOR

• Electrical and Electronics Engineering PhD
  • FOSA2206005
  • A Study on Vertical Structure-based Flexible Artificial Synaptic Transistors 
  • Eng Hwa Ya 

School of Intelligent Manufacturing Ecosystem

PROGRAMME/ REFERENCE NUMBER/ TITLE OF PHD PROJECT/ SUPERVISOR

• Electrical and Electronics Engineering PhD
  • FOSLG230503
  • Multi-Physics Optimization of Control Valve Structure – An Integrated approach with Approximation Assisted Models
  • Long Huang

• Electrical and Electronics Engineering PhD
  • FOSLG230504
  • Intelligent Flow Control for Liquid-Gas Two-Phase Flow Distribution 
  • Long Huang 

2. APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP WITH YOUR OWN PROJECT

If the above funded projects don’t match your research interest, you can also bring your own research project to apply for a scholarship. This scholarship is available to potential doctoral candidates whose principal supervisor is from following schools:

• Academy of Film and Creative Technology
• Academy of Future Education
• Design School
• International Business School Suzhou
• School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang) 

Please note there will be two application rounds for student applying for scholarship with own project in each academic year:

• First round– applications submitted by 17:00 CST (UTC+8), 15 October will be reviewed in the first round and the successful scholarship recipients will be announced in December.
• Second round– applications submitted by 17:00 CST (UTC+8), 15 April will be reviewed in the second round and the successful scholarship recipients will be announced in July.

The scholarship deadlines are strictly adhered to and late submission will not be accepted.

Life in Suzhou

Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University is located in Suzhou, a charming city in eastern China that can be conveniently connected to Shanghai by a high-speed train in less than 30 minutes.

As a beautiful and ancient city, Suzhou combines a 2,500-year-old history with a drive to become one of the most modern cities in China, which has a population of 13 million and a GDP of more than 2 trillion RMB – far larger than those of many entire countries!

Suzhou is one of the top 10 most attractive cities in China to foreign talents. The city has a permanent foreign population of almost 30,000, half of which are in the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) area, where XJTLU is located. Please visit the Life in Suzhou page to explore food, shopping, sports and activities in Suzhou.

Advert information