Astronomy at Durham
Durham Astronomy Research Cluster
Durham University is one of the UK's leading centres for astronomical research with world-class groups working in a wide range of fields covering the observational, theoretical and instrumentation aspects of astronomy. The University is consistently ranked among the UK's top universities for Physics and Astronomy in the Complete University Guide subject league table.
Faculty positions: ICC & CEA
The Department of Physics is recruiting two Assistant or Associate Professors in astronomy, one in each of our theory and observational groups. Both are open-ended posts (Grade 8/9, £47,389–£67,468) closing 28 September 2026.
- ICC — Computational Astrophysics or Cosmology. Building the next generation of world-leading simulations: new numerical methods, subgrid models, and applications to multimessenger astronomy. Details & how to apply
- CEA — Observational Astronomy. Exploiting large survey datasets, with particular interest in radio and sub-mm interferometry and Durham's role in the SKAO. Details & how to apply
See also our Join Us pages.
Career Development Fellowship
- The Royal Society runs a fellowship to support the career development of under-represented groups in STEM.
- Career Development Fellowship website
Note: Please check the website for current deadlines.
Durham astronomers are among the world's most highly cited researchers — Professors Carlos Frenk, Adrian Jenkins, Tom Theuns, the late Richard Bower and David Alexander all feature on Clarivate's Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list.
Join Our Research Community
There are over 30 academic staff across the combined astronomy groups, with over 70 postdocs, postgraduate students and support and technical staff involved in astronomy research. The Durham Astronomy Research Cluster hosts the following groups:
Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy
Visit WebsiteInstitute for Computational Cosmology
Visit WebsiteCentre for Advanced Instrumentation
Visit WebsiteIn November 2016, the astronomy groups moved into the brand new Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics building, designed by Studio Daniel Libeskind.