The School of Informatics offers a range of postgraduate research programmes. We recommend you start by reflecting on the type of programme that would suit you best; this will depend on your journey so far, how long you wish to spend working on a research degree, your goals, and your expectations for a programme of study. Different types of Postgraduate Research degrees Our Institute-led Masters by Research (MScR) offer you the opportunity to acquire research skills during a single year (full-time) of independent study. University of Edinburgh MScR Our Institute-led Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programmes enable you to undertake an original research project under individual supervision. Your studies will take at least three years. To qualify for your doctorate, your thesis must be judged to represent an original contribution to knowledge. University of Edinburgh PhDsThese programmes are composed entirely of a period of independent supervised research, with no requirement to take any taught courses. You will discuss your specific training needs with your supervision team, and tailor your experience to fit your own individual profile. In the School of Informatics you would join a community of 500+ postgraduate research students, be affiliated with one of our six Research Institutes, and likely form closer working relationships with students from the same research group as yourself and your supervisors. If you apply for an Institute-led MScR or PhD, the first thing you should do is to browse the information about Research Institutes provided on this page, then contact potential supervisors and have thorough discussions well ahead of submitting an application to ensure your postgraduate research programme suits your needs. Our Centres for Doctoral Training (CDT) combine PhD study with taught courses and students graduate after four years of study with an award of PhD with Integrated Study. Informatics Centres for Doctoral TrainingStudents on a CDT programme are required to complete the equivalent credits of a taught MSc and a PhD in a period of 4 years. The CDTs are cohort-based programmes, and you would join a small cohort of ten to fifteen students with whom you will (hopefully!) form close working relationships over the duration of your programme. Each CDT is different and you should carefully read the information provided about each of them on their dedicated webpages to decide which is suitable for you. Institute-led MScR and PhD programmes MScR and PhD programmes draw on the expertise of our six Research Institutes. You will need to know which Institute you are applying to. We have given an overview of the main research areas associated with each Institute below. Explore the Institute websites at the links below for more specific suggested topics. Once you have decided which programme you wish to apply for, please make sure you read our guidance before submitting an application. Application guidance for postgraduate research degrees Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Its Applications (AIAI) Main research areas: Knowledge representation and reasoning Automated and interactive theorem proving Decision making in autonomous agents and multi-agent systems Human-computer interaction Facilitating collaboration in data-intensive research AI for privacy, fairness, and ethical reasoning AIAI Website AIAI PhD, MScR Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation (ANC) Main research areas: Cognitive or Computational Neuroscience Machine learning Bioinformatics ANC website Suggested topics ANC PhD, MScR Institute for Language, Cognition and Computation (ILCC) Main research areas: Computational approaches to language, communication, and cognition Natural language processing and computational linguistics Information extraction, retrieval and presentation Educational and assistive technology Visualisation Spoken language processing Human-computer interaction Social media analysis Knowledge graph ILCC websiteSuggested topicsCentre for Speech Technology Research (CSTR)ILCC PhD, MScR Institute for Computing Systems Architecture (ICSA) Main research areas: Compilers and architecture Parallel computing Wireless networking ICSA websiteSuggested topics ICSA PhD, MScR Institute of Perception, Action and Behaviour (IPAB) Main research areas: Computer Vision and Graphics Robotics IPAB websiteSuggested topicsIPAB PhD, MScR Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science (LFCS) Main research areas: Theory and foundations of computer science Formal models and methods for design, verification, and performance analysis Database theory and practice Algorithms and computational complexity theory Logic, semantics, and programming languages Cyber Security and Privacy, foundational and applied LFCS websiteSuggested topics in Security and PrivacyLFCS PhD, MScR Cyber Security, Privacy and Trust PhD Related links Postgraduate degree finderApplication processFinding a supervisorPostgraduate research funding This article was published on 2024-09-26
