PhD study

Research topics and supervisors

Our research areas and topics are broad and varied. Please see the About Us page for examples of research projects and associated supervisors.

We also welcome suggestions of topics from candidates. You should first identify a potential supervisor, then send some information about yourself and your desired area of research, and why you've chosen the particular person. To find a potential supervisor, try:

• The list of people associated with the Security and Privacy research programme in Informatics.
• The list of areas on the About Us page.
• Consult the active centres for doctoral training at the school (see below in the Funding section).
• Other researchers in the Informatics directory may supervise PhD topics that connect their area to Security, Privacy and Trust.
• If your topic overlaps with another discipline such as Engineering, Maths, Law, Politics, or Business, try people in the Cyber Security, Privacy and Trust Institute.

Please don't spam lots of people! A carefully written, relevant message is much more likely to get a response or be passed on.

Funding

Some funding is available for specific PhD projects. For topics without funding, strong candidates may be able to win scholarships. Early application is strongly encouraged as scholarship deadlines begin from December each year. Discuss plans with your potential supervisor; for details see the PG Fees and Funding page.

For topics that connect to our UKRI CDTs, you may wish to apply to one of them directly: Informatics CDT programmes as well as other CDT programmes (https://spads.ac.uk/).

Note that the CDTs have different application procedures and have a 4-year programme and funding, which includes a Masters year.

Application

PhD applications require an identified supervisor, CV, previous degree transcript(s), names of referees and a research proposal. The research proposal can be a statement of your own ideas, or an elaborated version of an idea from us.

A good research proposal demonstrates basic understanding of an area from a research point of view. It should suggest some avenues to investigate and a methodology to follow, and include some scholarly references which you have studied. We don't give more explicit instructions on writing the research proposal, since it is used as part of the assessment process; however, time permitting, your potential supervisor should be willing to review a draft before you submit and give you some feedback. The length of your research proposal is flexible, but we prefer longer proposals (6–8 pages or more) which give you space to set out your idea and plan, as well as give references.

See the University's guidance on writing a good research proposal.

Please note that PhD scholarships are competitive and admission is highly selective even for students with their own funding. As a guide, at a minimum you should have obtained a 2:1 class undergraduate degree or an MSc with distinction from a UK University, or an equivalent level from outside the UK.

For details of how to apply online please:

• read the Informatics research degree pages
• and then follow these instructions.

You will need to select a PhD degree programme to apply to. This is usually our dedicated PhD in Cyber Security, Privacy and Trust, but may be another degree programme to match funding source or research institute for your project. Please check with your nominated supervisor.