Postgraduate

PhD studentships available for 2024 entry

About the Programme

The School of Computer Science at the University of St Andrews is offering a number of PhD studentships for 3.5 years of study in our doctoral programme. Funding is available to cover tuition fees for UK, EU and international students, as well as living expenses (a stipend of £18,622 per annum, or the standard UKRI stipend if it is higher). We offer two types of studentship:

  • a fully-funded studentship consisting of tuition and stipend
  • tuition-only studentships, funded through the University’s ‘handsel’ scheme for tuition waivers

The School of Computer Science is a centre of excellence for computer science teaching and research, with staff and students from Scotland and all parts of the world. It is a member of the Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA).

Eligibility Criteria

We are looking for highly motivated research students willing to be part of a diverse and supportive research community. Applicants must hold a good BSc or MSc in Computer Science, or a related area appropriate for their proposed topic of study.

We especially encourage female applicants and underrepresented minorities to apply. The University of St Andrews is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for all, which is further demonstrated through its working on the Gender and Race Equality Charters and being awarded the Athena SWAN award for women in science, HR Excellence in Research Award and the LGBT Charter.

Application deadline

1st February 2024.

How to apply

Any PhD application received through the University PGR application system by the deadline will be automatically considered for these studentships. There is no need for a separate application. Note, however, that if you are applying for a CSC Scholarship then you cannot be considered for these School studentships due to conflicting application dates.

We strongly advise applicants to contact potential supervisors to discuss their research proposal before applying. Historically, applications with no named supervisor have been much less likely to result in an offer.

The School’s main research groups are Artificial Intelligence, Computer Systems, Human-Computer Interaction, and Programming Languages. You can find further details at https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/computer-science/research/groups/. A list of existing faculty and areas of research can be found at https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/computer-science/prospective/pgr/supervisors/. All supervisors listed on this page may be contacted directly to discuss possible projects. You can define your own project or discuss a project currently on offer. Some highlighted potential areas or projects offered by supervisors include:

  • Tool support for the representation of ethical concerns in software artefacts (Dr Dharini Balasubramaniam)
  • Automated Configuration of Constraint Solvers via Machine Learning
    (Dr Nguyen Dang)
  • ILNP ubiquitous communications (Prof Saleem Bhatti)

Full details on how to apply can be found at https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/computer-science/prospective/pgr/how-to-apply/

Application enquiries can be directed to pg-admin-cs@st-andrews.ac.uk.

International PhD Studentships in Next Generation Distributed Systems

The School of Computer Science at the University of St Andrews hosts the Edge Computing Hub. The Hub conducts world-class research for addressing systems-oriented challenges in edge computing and at its intersection with machine learning. Multiple studentships are available for exceptional PhD applicants to join our team and shape the activities of the Hub.

Eligibility Criteria

Applications from aspiring leaders of any nationality who have or shortly expect to obtain a first-class undergraduate (including integrated Masters) degree or MSc distinction (or international equivalent) in computer science or engineering are encouraged. Enthusiasm for research in distributed systems or at its interface with machine learning, an ability to think and work independently, excellent programming and analytical skills, and strong verbal and written communication skills are essential.

Applications must include

  • A CV that includes information on education and employment to date, projects developed or contributed to (any links to software repositories), technical and non-technical skills, any publications/presentations, and any other relevant items.
  • A Research Proposal of no longer than two sides of an A4 paper that includes a potential title, objectives, methodology, expected output (software/publication plans), your experience in the proposed area, and ways you will contribute to the Edge Computing Hub. A generic proposal will be considered ineligible.
  • Two signed academic references.
  • Academic transcripts and degree certificates.

How to apply

The above documents and applications must be submitted via the University of St Andrew’s Postgraduate Research Application Portal

Also, refer to the information on English language requirements.

Contact

Informal enquiries can be made to Dr Blesson Varghese ().

More about the supervisor can be found at https://www.blessonv.com.

PhD student wins award for best thesis in data protection

Dr Janis Wong had a productive week, firstly attending her graduation in St Andrews. The Bedellus placed a PhD hood on Janis’ head in the Younger Hall for her thesis on Co-creating data protection solutions through a commons.

Janis and Tristan at graduation.

Janis and Tristan at graduation.

Following graduation, Janis flew straight to Strasbourg for the 44th Plenary meeting of the Committee of Convention 108, where she received the Council of Europe’s Stefano Rodotà award for the best PhD thesis in data protection.

Janis was supervised by Professor Kirstie Ball in the School of Management and Dr Tristan Henderson in the School of Computer Science, who are both very proud of their graduating student. Well done Janis!

Janis Wong receiving her award for best PhD thesis.

Janis Wong receiving her award for best PhD thesis.

The Stefano Rodotà award for best PhD thesis in data protection.

The Stefano Rodotà award for best PhD thesis in data protection.

World-Leading PhD Scholarship in Health Informatics

A fully-funded PhD scholarship is available to support an exceptional student wishing to undertake doctoral research in health informatics, in particular looking at analysing and predicting disease trajectories of multimorbidity. This prestigious PhD scholarship is awarded by St Leonard’s Postgraduate College at the University of St Andrews and will be supervised by Dr Areti Manataki, Dr Katherine Keenan, Prof Colin McCowan and Dr Michail Papathomas. Applications must be received by 12 June 2023.

Further information, including how to apply, can be found at: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding/scholarships/scholarships-catalogue/postgraduate-scholarships/world-leading-scholarship-04-computer-science-medicine-geography/

School of Computer Science competition winner

Congratulations to Mirza Hossain, a MSc student from the School of Computer Science, who won the ‘technology’ category of our bi-annual ideas competition What’s the big idea?. Mirza was awarded £100 for telling his idea for a new technology specifically targeted at AI researchers. Mirza has also secured a space on the upcoming Steps to Start Up and FastStart Design Thinking Sprint programmes in May.

These programmes are part of the Entrepreneurship Centre’s Summer series which are open to all staff, students, and non-University members.

More information and registration here.

The competitions will re-open again in the new academic year and students and staff can apply here.