The Department of Informatics invites applications for several 3.5-year studentships to start 1 October 2023 (an earlier start of 01 June 2023 is possible). Applications are considered in several years over the 2022/23 year.
The deadline for the current round of applications is 15 January 2023. A list of available PhD projects can be found via the link below.
This list is not exclusive and the potential applicants can alternatively identify and contact appropriate potential supervisors to outline their academic background and research interests or to propose their own PhD project ideas.
The Studentships are funded for 3.5 years and include a stipend at the standard UK research council rate (£17,668 per annum including London Allowance for 2022/23) and the cover of the full cost of Home (UK) tuition fees. Income tax is not payable on the stipend. Please see the eligibility criteria below for more information.
It is expected that PhD students will want to contribute to the department's teaching, for which payment will be made separately. The opportunity to contribute as a teaching assistant during the PhD programme can be an interesting and rewarding experience, which will help students develop skills relevant for their future roles. Training and mentoring in teaching and learning in higher education will be provided, and the successful applicants will be expected to attend the Faculty’s "Preparing to Teach" course should they undertake teaching duties.
Note that this PhD studentship scheme is separate from the studentships funded in the Department of Informatics by the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Safe and Trusted Artificial Intelligence (see below).
Eligibility
Applicants should have a first-class undergraduate degree or a distinction at MSc level in Computer Science or another discipline relevant for their PhD project (for example, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics or Physics). In exceptional cases other qualifications and experience may be considered and all applications will be assessed on their merit as appropriate to the individual case.
The eligibility criteria of most of the available studentships include the requirement that an applicant must be a UK resident for a period of three years immediately prior to the date of application for an award (but not wholly or mainly for the purpose of full-time education).
Two studentships are available to outstanding international candidates.
How to apply
Prior to application, applicant should contact the potential supervisor to discuss the applicant's suitability for the proposed project.
Applicants for PhD studies who wish to be considered for the Informatics studentships have to make two separate applications: first an application for entry to our PhD programmes (via the university Admissions Portal, see https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/research-courses), and then an application for a studentship.
Application for a studentship should be made in a form of a "Studentship Application Statement" sent to the Department PGR Administrators at pgr-informatics@kcl.ac.uk. This statement should include the applicant's name, the King's admissions number (of their PhD entry application), the potential supervisor(s) and a 3-4 page research statement outlining the proposed research project. The Studentship Application Statement should also indicate how the applicant’s skills, past achievements, qualifications, experience and personal qualities make them suited for the studentship and for the proposed project, and which of the five research hubs (see https://www.kcl.ac.uk/informatics/research/groups) their project may contribute to. (There is no form for the Studentship Application Statements.)
The 3-4 page research statement outlining the project which the applicant would like to undertake should incorporate:
(1.) initial ideas on the particular challenges the applicant would be interested in addressing and on the project's relation to one of the hubs;
(2.) a brief review of the relevant state of the art, identifying limitations or open questions;
(3.) initial ideas on what research the applicant might carry out towards addressing the challenges of the project, referring to existing research literature where appropriate.
In case of applying for one of the listed project proposals, the applicant should elaborate in the research statement on how they would approach this project. In all cases the applicants are strongly advised to discuss their research statement with a potential supervisor.
The applicants do not need to repeat in their Studentship Application Statements the details of their background as these will be included in their PhD entry applications. Likewise, the applicants should not attach to their Studentship Application Statements any certificates or transcripts, as these should be attached to their PhD entry applications.
Following the review of the submitted Studentship Application Statements and the full PhD entry applications, shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview for assessment of their research potential and the contributions they can make to the research activities of the departmental hubs and to teaching activities within the department.
Queries related to these studentships should be sent to pgr-informatics@kcl.ac.uk.
Informatics PhD projects 2023-24