The King’s Prize Doctoral Programme in Safe, Trusted and Responsible Artificial Intelligence (STaR‑AI) brings together leading researchers from across King’s College London to train the next generation of experts in responsible AI. The programme equips graduates to understand the technical challenges of building safe and trustworthy AI, to engage critically with its human and societal implications, and to work confidently across disciplines to ensure AI technologies have positive impact.

King’s longstanding strength in interdisciplinarity provides a distinctive environment for studying AI and its wider consequences. Building on the success of the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Safe and Trusted AI, STaR‑AI is supported by specialists in AI methods, human‑centred approaches, and legal and ethical frameworks from the Departments of Informatics and Digital Humanities, and the Dickson Poon School of Law. Students will gain both technical and non‑technical expertise relevant to responsible AI development across sectors, and will be well prepared for diverse careers, including in academia, research and development, and policy.

The programme welcomes applicants from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds. Multidisciplinary supervision teams support students working on diverse application areas. Some focus on advancing core technical methods, such as new verification techniques for certifying AI system safety. Others examine human, social and legal dimensions, including the impact of AI on work and labour. Several projects span the socio‑technical space, for example developing new approaches to human–AI collaboration.

STaR‑AI students are part of a collaborative research community and take part in regular cohort‑building and training activities.

Apply for October 2026 entry

We have four fully-funded studentships for home‑fee candidates available for entry in October 2026. Candidates can apply to one of a broad portfolio of PhD projects, or can apply with their own project proposal.

Only candidates eligible for home‑fee status can be considered.

Committed to providing an inclusive environment in which diverse students can thrive, we particularly encourage applications from women, people with disabilities, people from ethnic minorities, and people from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are currently all under-represented in the sector.

Application deadline for October 2026 entry: 2 March 2026

Candidates can apply to a project from our Project Brochure or can propose their own project. See “How to apply” for detailed instructions.