The University of Reading supports nationally and internationally recognised research across the life sciences, environmental & physical sciences, economics, business & social sciences, and arts & humanities.

In addition to the research undertaken in individual disciplines, we have identified a number of interdisciplinary areas where we have particular research strengths and can make a significant impact on the major challenges facing the world today. Many of these areas have exciting PhD opportunities.

Visit the School and Department websites listed here to find out more about the research subject areas available to you.

A–Z of doctoral research areas

• Accounting
• Agriculture, Policy and Development
• Ancient History
• Applied Linguistics
• Archaeology 
• Architecture
• Art
• Atmosphere, Oceans and Climate
• Biological Sciences
• Biomedical Engineering
• Biomedical Sciences
• Built Environment (see Architecture; Construction Management and Energy and Environmental Engineering )
• Business
• Business Informatics, Systems and Accounting
• Chemistry
• Classics
• Climate
• Clinical Language Sciences
• Comparative and Intercultural Studies (available in the  Departments of English Language and Applied Linguistics , English Literature and Languages and Cultures)
• Computer Science
• Construction Management
• Consumer Behaviour and Food Marketing
• Curating (see Practice in Curating, below)
• Cybernetics
• Development Studies
• Early Modern Studies
• Ecology
• Economics
• Education
• Electronic Engineering
• Energy and Environmental Engineering
• English Language and Applied Linguistics
• English Literature
• Environmental Science
• Evolutionary Biology
• Film, Theatre and Television
• Finance
• Food and Nutritional Sciences
• Food, Nutrition and Health
• French Studies
• Geography and Environmental Science
• German Studies
• Graphic Communication
• Gut Immunity
• History
• Human Geography
• International Development
• International Relations
• Italian Studies
• Law
• Linguistics
• Management
• Marketing and Reputation 
• Mathematics and Statistics
• Medieval Studies
• Meteorology
• Microbiology
• Modern Languages
• Neuroscience
• Nutrition
• Pharmacy
• Pharmacy Practice
• Pharmaceutics
• Pharmaceutical Chemistry
• Philosophy
• Physiology and Pharmacology
• Politics and International Relations
• Practice in Curating (Art)
• Psychology
• Psycholinguistics
• Real Estate and Planning
• Renewable Energy
• Soil Science
• Space weather and solar-terrestrial physics
• Spanish and Latin American Studies
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Teaching
• Television
• Theatre
• Translation Studies
• Typography and Graphic Communication
• Weather and Climate
• Zoology