phd in computer science in uk

Study Postgraduate

Phd in computer science (2024 entry).

Course code

30 September 2024

3-4 years full-time; Up to 7 years part-time

Qualification

Computer Science

University of Warwick

Find out more about our PhD in Computer Science.

The PhD in Computer Science offers exciting opportunities to do cutting-edge research in an internationally renowned environment. The results of the 2021 REF rank Warwick Computer Science 4th out of 90 UK Computer Science departments. This cements our position as one of the top Computer Science departments in the UK, a position we have held for some time under different assessment methodologies.

Course overview

The PhD program is suitable for skilled and highly-motivated students to do research at the frontiers of Computer Science in a broad range of theoretical and applied topics. The program is meant to train students for high-profile jobs in both Academia and Industry.

General entry requirements

Minimum requirements.

2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) and preferably an MSc in a related subject.

English language requirements

You can find out more about our English language requirements Link opens in a new window . This course requires the following:

• IELTS overall score of 6.5, minimum component scores not below 6.0.

International qualifications

We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

For more information, please visit the international entry requirements page Link opens in a new window .

Additional requirements

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Our research

Research themes.

The current research themes include:

• Artificial Intelligence and Human-Centred Computing
• Applied Computing
• Data Science, Systems and Security
• Theory and Foundations

Full details on our current research is available on the Computer Science website. Link opens in a new window

Find a supervisor

Before you make a formal application, your proposal is emailed to a potential supervisor for their consideration. You may not be considered for a research degree if you do not have (and we could not identify) an academic willing to supervise your research.

Explore the research interests of our academic staff. Link opens in a new window

You can also see our general University guidance about finding a supervisor. Link opens in a new window

Tuition fees

Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course at the start of the academic year, or at the start of your course, if later. Academic fees cover the cost of tuition, examinations and registration and some student amenities.

Find your research course fees

Fee Status Guidance

We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Students will be classified as Home or Overseas fee status. Your fee status determines tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available. If you receive an offer, your fee status will be clearly stated alongside the tuition fee information.

Do you need your fee classification to be reviewed?

If you believe that your fee status has been classified incorrectly, you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire. Please follow the instructions in your offer information and provide the documents needed to reassess your status.

Find out more about how universities assess fee status

Additional course costs

As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to cover the cost of field trips or costs associated with travel abroad.

For departmental specific costs, please see the Modules tab on the course web page for the list of core and optional core modules with hyperlinks to our  Module Catalogue  (please visit the Department’s website if the Module Catalogue hyperlinks are not provided).

Associated costs can be found on the Study tab for each module listed in the Module Catalogue (please note most of the module content applies to 2022/23 year of study). Information about module department specific costs should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below:

• Core text books
• Printer credits
• Dissertation binding
• Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships and financial support

Find out about the different funding routes available, including; postgraduate loans, scholarships, fee awards and academic department bursaries.

Computer Science Funding Opportunities

Find out more about the various funding opportunities that are available in our department.

Living costs

Find out more about the cost of living as a postgraduate student at the University of Warwick.

Computer Science at Warwick

What are computers capable of? How do we use them to solve major world problems? What are their limitations?

Computer Science at Warwick offers you a community of excellence across the breadth of computer science. Join like-minded thinkers and friends who relish the challenges of shaping future technology.

You will study the theoretical foundation in established areas of the discipline. You will then apply your learning to industrially relevant problems, developing technical and transferable skills which will position you excellently for your future career.

Find out more about us on our website.

Our Postgraduate Taught courses

• Computer Science (MSc)
• Data Analytics (MSc)

Our Postgraduate Research courses

• Computer Science (MSc by Research)
• Computer Science (PhD)

How to apply

The application process for courses that start in September and October 2024 will open on 2 October 2023.

For research courses that start in September and October 2024 the application deadline for students who require a visa to study in the UK is 2 August 2024. This should allow sufficient time to complete the admissions process and to obtain a visa to study in the UK.

How to apply for a postgraduate research course  

After you’ve applied

Find out how we process your application.

Applicant Portal

Track your application and update your details.

Admissions statement

See Warwick’s postgraduate admissions policy.

Join a live chat

Ask questions and engage with Warwick.

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Postgraduate fairs.

Throughout the year we attend exhibitions and fairs online and in-person around the UK. These events give you the chance to explore our range of postgraduate courses, and find out what it’s like studying at Warwick. You’ll also be able to speak directly with our student recruitment team, who will be able to help answer your questions.

Join a live chat with our staff and students, who are here to answer your questions and help you learn more about postgraduate life at Warwick. You can join our general drop-in sessions or talk to your prospective department and student services.

Departmental events

Some academic departments hold events for specific postgraduate programmes, these are fantastic opportunities to learn more about Warwick and your chosen department and course.

See our online departmental events

Warwick Talk and Tours

A Warwick talk and tour lasts around two hours and consists of an overview presentation from one of our Recruitment Officers covering the key features, facilities and activities that make Warwick a leading institution. The talk is followed by a campus tour which is the perfect way to view campus, with a current student guiding you around the key areas on campus.

Connect with us

Learn more about Postgraduate study at the University of Warwick.

We may have revised the information on this page since publication. See the edits we have made and content history .

Why Warwick

Discover why Warwick is one of the best universities in the UK and renowned globally.

9th in the UK (The Guardian University Guide 2024) Link opens in a new window

69th in the world Link opens in a new window (QS World University Rankings 2025) Link opens in a new window

6th most targeted university by the UK's top 100 graduate employers Link opens in a new window

(The Graduate Market in 2024, High Fliers Research Ltd. Link opens in a new window )

About the information on this page

This information is applicable for 2024 entry. Given the interval between the publication of courses and enrolment, some of the information may change. It is important to check our website before you apply. Please read our terms and conditions to find out more.

Department of Computer Science

University | A to Z | Departments

Computer Science

• Postgraduate study
• Research Degrees

PhD in Computer Science

You will be based in the Department of Computer Science overlooking the lake on Campus East .

You will benefit from modern offices and collaboration spaces, and well-equipped research labs with a specialist in-department team to support your requirements throughout your studies. 

We will provide you with a laptop connected to the University network, and you will have 24/7 access to your desk and workspace. Distance learning students are allocated a work desk for the duration of their stay while they are in York.

For on-campus researchers, most of your training and supervision meetings will take place on campus at the University of York, though your research may take you further afield.

PhD by distance learning

We offer the opportunity to study for a PhD by distance learning. This is available to students based in the UK and abroad, studying full-time or part-time. Our PhD by distance learning offers the same high quality of supervisory support (primarily online), and demands the same level of academic rigour as a campus-based PhD.

You will undertake your research and thesis production remotely, joining us on campus only occasionally. You will be expected to visit York at your own expense at the following stages of your study:

• Two weeks at the start of enrolment for induction, to meet your supervisor and your research group, and to meet other PhD students;
• Two one-week visits each year at important stages ('milestones') of your study (the number of visits is reduced accordingly if you are a part-time student);
• You will normally attend your PhD viva in person.

When you are not in York, you will continue to benefit from regular supervision meetings using online communication platforms, such as Zoom. Read more about how we support distance learners .

Are you an international applicant? It is important for you to note that it is your responsibility to meet any requirements for legal entry into the UK at the time of each of your visits. While the University and Department can provide supporting letters, the University cannot make any guarantees regarding entry visas or legal residence.  Read more about applying for a visa.

Entry requirements

Undergraduate and masters degrees.

The PhD in Computer Science is intended for students who already have a good first degree in Computer Science or a related field.

For entry to the PhD programme, we require at least a 2:1 undergraduate degree, or a qualification equivalent to a UK Masters degree with a minimum average grade of 60%.

We are willing to consider your application if you do not fit this profile, providing you are able to demonstrate that you have the required amount of Computer Science knowledge and experience to succeed on the programme.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language you must provide evidence of your ability.

Find out more about English Language requirements for research degrees

How to apply

Find a potential supervisor.

You should find a potential supervisor in our Department whose area of research overlaps with yours. We encourage you to contact them to discuss your research proposal before you apply. Please identify the name of your potential supervisor in your application.

On our Research web pages, you can explore our research groups which reflect the core research strengths and expertise within the Department of Computer Science. On the web page for each research group, you'll find more information about the aims and objectives of the group and the names of group members. You can use this information to identify the groups where research interests match your own.

If you have any questions or need further information, please contact [email protected] .

Submit your application

We require you to submit the following documents:

• Research proposal
• Academic transcript(s )
• Your curriculum vitae (CV)
• Personal statement
• Details of two academic referees

Your research proposal needs to outline the nature of your proposed study and give some indication of how you will conduct your research. The purpose of this exercise is to ensure that you and your potential supervisor(s) have matching research interests.

Your proposal can build on your chosen supervisor's area of work and may be prepared with the help of your chosen supervisor. It should be about 500 to 1,000 words in length, in English and in your own words. Read more about writing a research proposal .

You can apply and send all your documentation electronically through our online system. You don’t need to complete your application all at once: you can start it, save it and finish it later.

After you have applied, you can track the status of your application and view any official correspondence online. If you have applied for an advertised scholarship, decisions on funded places may take a little longer.

Applicant interviews

If we are impressed by your full application, personal statement and references, we will invite you to interview.

The interview panel will be made up of your potential supervisor(s) and another independent academic. During your interview, it is important that you demonstrate an understanding of your chosen topic and its supporting theories.

For students based outside the UK, interviews are held online via Zoom. Applicants based in the UK are offered the opportunity to attend their interview in York. If you choose to attend in person, your visit will include a tour of the Department and its facilities.

Related links Explore our PhD opportunities Research groups in the Department of Computer Science About our research degrees Applying for a research degree Funding for research degrees Information for International students Accommodation Life at York

Department of Computer Science Deramore Lane , University of York , Heslington , York , YO10 5GH , UK Tel: work 01904 325501

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Computer Science (4 Year Programme) MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

The PhD programme in UCL Computer Science is a 4-year programme, in which you will work within research groups on important and challenging problems in the development of computer science. We have research groups that cover many of the leading-edge topics in computer science , and you will be supervised by academics at the very forefront of their field.

UK tuition fees (2024/25)

Overseas tuition fees (2024/25), programme starts, applications accepted.

• Entry requirements

A UK Master's degree in a relevant discipline with Merit, or a minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Work experience may also be taken into account.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 1

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

If you are intending to apply for a time-limited visa to complete your UCL studies (e.g., Student visa, Skilled worker visa, PBS dependant visa etc.) you may be required to obtain ATAS clearance . This will be confirmed to you if you obtain an offer of a place. Please note that ATAS processing times can take up to six months, so we recommend you consider these timelines when submitting your application to UCL.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website .

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

On this PhD programme, you will work within research groups on challenging computer science projects.

Our research groups cover leading-edge topics , and our academics are at the forefront of their field.

The research groups, the department , and the college, provide numerous opportunities to learn more about your field and the skills required to develop your research and future careers.

Who this course is for

This programme is best suited for people wishing to embark on an academic career, as well as those interested in finding work in industry. You will be assigned a first and second supervisor, who will guide you in the development of your research project and your abilities as a researcher. The research groups, the department, and the college, provide numerous opportunities for you to learn more about your field (e.g. seminars, conferences, and journal clubs) and the skills required for you to develop your research and future careers (e.g. training courses). Many of our students have had their research results published and recognised at leading international conferences during their time on the PhD programme.

What this course will give you

UCL is ranked 9th globally in the latest QS World University Rankings (2024), giving you an exciting opportunity to study at one of the world's best universities.

UCL Computer Science is recognised as a world leader in teaching and research. The department was ranked first in England and second in the UK for research power in Computer Science and Informatics in the most recent Research Excellence Framework ( REF2021 ). You will learn from leading experts with an outstanding reputation in the field. 

Code written at UCL is used across all 3G mobile networks for instant messaging and videoconferencing; medical image computing has led to faster prostate cancer diagnosis and has developed tools to help neurosurgeons avoid damaging essential communication pathways during brain surgery; and our human-centred approach to computer security has transformed the UK government's delivery of online security.

This MPhil/PhD in Computer Science is a research degree programme that will not only challenge and stimulate you, but also has the potential to lead to a varied and interesting career and introduce you to valuable contacts in academia and the industry.

The foundation of your career

Your employability will be greatly enhanced by working alongside world-leading researchers in cutting-edge research areas such as virtual environments, networked systems, human-computer interaction and financial computing. UCL's approach is multi-disciplinary and UCL Computer Science shares ideas and resources from across all departments of Faculty of Engineering Sciences and beyond. Our alumni have a successful record of finding work, or have founded their own successful start-up companies, because they have an excellent understanding of the current questions which face industry and have the skills and the experience to market innovative solutions.

Employability

UCL Computer Science graduates secure careers in a variety of organisations, including global IT consultancies, City banks and specialist companies in manufacturing industries.

The department takes pride in helping students in their career choices and offers placements and internships with numerous start-up technology companies, including those on Silicon Roundabout, world-leading companies such as Google, Skype and Facebook, and multi national finance companies, including Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan.

Our graduates secure roles such as applications developers, information systems managers, IT consultants, multimedia programmers, software engineers and systems analysts in companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, Bloomberg, PwC and IBM.

UCL Computer Science is located in the heart of London and subsequently has strong links with industry. You will have regular opportunities to undertake internships at world-leading research organisations. We frequently welcome industry executives to observe your project presentations, and we host networking events with technology entrepreneurs.

You will also benefit from a location close to the City of London and Canary Wharf to work on projects with leading global financial companies. London is also home to numerous technology communities, for example the Graduate Developer Community, who meet regularly and provide mentors for students interested in finding developer roles when they graduate.

Teaching and learning

You are assigned a first and second supervisor who you will meet regularly. You are also assigned a research group who normally meet regularly for research seminars and related activities in the department.

You will participate in three vivas during the course of your study. These are useful feedback opportunities and allow you to demonstrate your understanding of the literature, your progress in your research and eventually, your final thesis and research. For each viva, you will be expected to produce a detailed report of your work to date and to attend a 'verbal exam' with supervisors and/or external academics/experts.

During your research degree, you will have regular meetings with your primary supervisor, in addition to contact with your secondary supervisor and participation in group meetings. Full-time study should comprise of 40 hours per week .

Research areas and structure

• Bioinformatics: protein structure; genome analysis; transmembrane protein modelling; de novo protein design methods; exploiting grid technology; mathematical modelling of biological processes
• Financial computing: software engineering; computational statistics and machine learning; mathematical modelling
• Human centred systems: usability of security and multimedia systems; making sense of information; human error and cognitive resilience
• Information security: human and organisational aspects of security; privacy-enhancing technologies; cryptography and cryptocurrencies; cybersecurity in public policy and international relations; systems security and cybercrime
• Intelligent systems: knowledge representation and reasoning; machine learning
• Media futures: digital rights management; information retrieval; computational social science; recommender systems
• Networks: internet architecture; protocols; mobile networked systems; applications and evolution; high-speed networking
• Programming Principles, Verification and Logic’: logic and the semantics of programs; automated tools for verification and program analysis; produce mathematically rigorous concepts and techniques that aid in the construction and analysis of computer systems; applied logic outreach in AI, security, biology, economics
• Software systems engineering: requirements engineering; software architecture; middleware technologies; distributed systems; software tools and environments; mobile computing
• Virtual environments: presence, virtual characters; interaction; rendering; mixed reality
• Vision and imaging science: face recognition; medical image analysis; statistical modelling of colour information; inverse problems and building mathematical models for augmented reality; diffusion tensor imaging

Research environment

UCL Computer Science is one of the leading university centres for computer science research in Europe. The department is very well-connected with research groups across the university, and is involved in many exciting multi-disciplinary research projects.

Furthermore, research groups in the department are heavily involved in collaborative research and development projects with other universities and with companies in the UK and internationally. UCL provides significant support for technology transfer, and in particular for technology start-ups, and the department has an increasingly successful record of spin-out companies including a number of spin-outs that have been acquired by Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc.

Month 0 Registration - initially MPhil registration.

Month 0-6 - General reading, directed by the supervisor, in the area of interest. This should bring you up to the sharp end of the area and allow you to appreciate what the research problems are.

Months 6-9 - More detailed reading, aimed at becoming expert enough to tackle a thesis project. A small focused project is in order here to pin the reading on. A report on the year's activities should begin to be prepared.

Month 9 - FORMAL 1ST-YEAR VIVA (10-12 for Part-time) This is the first major examination, and must take place no more than 9 months from the start date. A feedback activity. Given a read of your report, the supervisor, 2nd supervisor and an 'assessor' review the work done with the aim of providing you with proper feedback on your work. This is also a good opportunity to get feedback for the Transfer Viva and is often used as a “mock transfer”.

Months 12-18 - FORMAL TRANSFER VIVA (15-21 for Part-time) Also known as the “Upgrade Viva” - this is where you would upgrade your expected qualification from MPhil to PhD. A substantial project report is expected demonstrating the ability to conduct research, with initial research results, and a plan for completion of the work and writing of the thesis. The outcome of the viva will determine whether you are allowed to transfer registration from MPhil to PhD.

Months 24-36 - Thesis project work being tidied up and turned into a unified piece of work. Thesis writing being planned and chapters being drafted. You are now eligible for Completing Research Status

Month 36 - MOCK VIVA (48-60 for Part-time) A draft thesis and mock viva. This is to be attended by the supervisor, second supervisor and assessor and any others thought relevant. Thesis submission forms (aka Entry forms) completed and submitted.

Months 36-42 - Complete the writing of the thesis.

Month 42 - (60-72 for Part-time) Submit thesis.

See full-time summary

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk . Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing team .

Fees and funding

Fees for this course.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees .

Additional costs

As each research project is unique in nature, the AFE (Additional Fee Element) is calculated on a student-by-student basis and is determined by your academic supervisor. Please contact your supervisor for further details.

A student conference and travel fund is available to students within the department to help with costs associated with attending and presenting at conferences. Applications are considered on a case-by-case basis.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs .

Funding your studies

UCL offers various funding opportunities for postgraduate students. Please see UCL's Scholarships website for more information.

The department offers funding for overseas and UK students. Please see the Computer Science website for more information.

Home students will have the opportunity to apply for EPSRC DTP Studentships where available.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website .

CSC-UCL Joint Research Scholarship

Value: Fees, maintenance and travel (Duration of programme) Criteria Based on academic merit Eligibility: EU, Overseas

Deadlines and start dates are usually dictated by funding arrangements so check with the department or academic unit to see if you need to consider these in your application preparation. All applicants are asked to identify and contact potential supervisors before making an application. For more information see our How to apply page.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2024-2025

Got questions get in touch.

Computer Science

[email protected]

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PhD in Computer Science

Postgraduate Study

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Primary tabs

• Overview (active tab)
• Requirements
• How To Apply

The PhD is the primary research degree that can be taken in the Department of Computer Science and Technology. The Cambridge PhD is a three to four-year full-time (five to seven-year part-time) programme of individual research on a topic agreed by the student and the Department, under the guidance of a staff member as the student's supervisor. 

All research students are admitted to read for the PhD degree on a probationary basis and will be registered for the Certificate of Postgraduate Study (CPGS) in the first instance. During this year students may do some additional coursework and will write a research report that is likely to form the foundation of the eventual PhD thesis. The CPGS will involve four components:

Research skills training

Practical work

Research report of no more than 10,000 words

Attendance at a research workshops and research seminars

At the end of the third term and on completion of the CPGS, students whose performance indicates that they would be able to complete a PhD in a reasonable time will be upgraded to PhD status. A student who is not upgraded to PhD status, and who has completed three terms of study, will normally be awarded the CPGS alone. They will not submit a thesis for the PhD degree.

There is an expectation that all research students will contribute to teaching in the department for which some training will be provided. Research students will submit a log - or tally-sheet - of teaching activities annually at the end of June. 

Students are expected to complete the substance of their research by the end of their third year, submitting their thesis then or within a few months.

Applicants wishing to apply to undertake a PhD on a part-time basis should refer to the Department's admissions advice for potential part-time students.

The Postgraduate Virtual Open Day usually takes place at the end of October. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions to admissions staff and academics, explore the Colleges virtually, and to find out more about courses, the application process and funding opportunities. Visit the  Postgraduate Open Day  page for more details.

See further the  Postgraduate Admissions Events  pages for other events relating to Postgraduate study, including study fairs, visits and international events.

Key Information

3-4 years full-time, 4-7 years part-time, study mode : research, doctor of philosophy, department of computer science and technology, course - related enquiries, application - related enquiries, course on department website, dates and deadlines:, lent 2024 (closed).

Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.

Michaelmas 2024 (Closed)

Funding deadlines.

These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas 2024, Lent 2025 and Easter 2025.

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• Advanced Computer Science MPhil
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PhD/MPhil Computer Science

Postgraduate research degree

Your Computer Science PhD/MPhil programme will focus on a specialist area that aligns with the interests of our staff. Work in a vibrant and dynamic community of researchers, with expert training.

Research centres and groups

• Adaptive Computer Systems and Machine Learning
• Artificial Intelligence
• Data Visualization and GIS
• Human-Computer Interaction Design
• Software Reliability

Key information

Computer Science Postgraduate research degrees PhD/MPhil course Overview

We welcome applications for the Computer Science PhD/MPhil programme if your primary research interest is one of the following areas:

• Computer Science
• Geographical Information Science and Data Visualization
• Human Computer Interaction Design
• Software Systems Engineering
• Creativity Science
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

You will become a focused researcher committed to developing skills and undertaking rigorous research. Also become part of a pioneering community of academics.

We provide you with extensive support through a structured programme of supervision and training.

We offer the following types of award:

• PhD by Major Thesis
• PhD by Prospective Publication
• PhD by Prior Publication

We also welcome enquiries from candidates who wish to spend one year at City, University of London as part of a PhD Sandwich programme.

Degree Pathway

This takes place towards the end of the first year of registration for full-time candidates. Review for part-time candidates will be towards the end of the second year.

The PhD programme concludes with the candidate submitting their research in the form of a PhD thesis. Then attending a viva voce examination with two examiners, at least one of whom will be external to City.

For full details about the City PhD programme structure, please see the Guide for Research Students .

Requirements

Entry requirements.

Applicants should have a record of high academic achievement. The minimum requirement is a good undergraduate degree (first or upper second class honours) in a relevant subject from a UK university, or a recognised equivalent from an overseas institution.

In exceptional cases, we will consider applications from individuals whose undergraduate degree is in a less relevant discipline but who hold a relevant Masters degree with at least a merit level pass. We will also consider applications from individuals with extensive professional experience in the area of their proposed research.

English requirements

Proof of English language proficiency is required for applicants whose first language is not English. We require a minimum IELTS overall score of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each of the four components.

Please note that the UK Border Agency currently requires us to confirm that you are at level B2 or above in all components of English before issuing visa documents.

For more information see our English language proficiency requirements at City.

Visa requirements

If you are not from the European Economic Area / Switzerland and you are coming to study in the UK, you may need to apply for a visa or entry clearance to come to the UK to study.

The way that you apply may vary depending on the length of your course. There are different rules for:

• Students on courses of more than six months
• Students on courses of less than six months
• Students on a pre-sessional English language course.

For more information see our main Visa page .

Some applicants may require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) certificate before joining a course. ATAS is a certificate issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), which gives you security clearance to study certain postgraduate programmes at City, University of London.

Non-EEA students who choose to study certain subjects at MSc or MEng or PhD level in the UK have to apply for and receive clearance under the ATAS scheme regardless of if they are required to apply for a Student visa or not.

For more information see Applying for an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate .

Fees and funding

Full-time Home/UK: £6,360 per year

Part-time Home/UK: £3,180 per year

Full-time International: £19,100 per year

Part-time International: £9,550 per year

The writing-up fee for all candidates is £500 per year (max 1 year). External candidate study of this course costs £2,120 (UK) or £6,630 (Overseas/EU) for full time study and £1,060 (UK) or £3,315 (Overseas/EU for part-time study

Fees for doctoral candidates are charged annually and cover registration, supervision and examination. Fees are subject to review each year and are likely to increase by approximately 3% annually.

Fees are subject to review each year and may vary during your period of registration. Where applicable, fees for City's programmes will be subject to inflationary increases in each academic year of study commencing in September . Our policy for these increases is set out in our terms and conditions of study .

Support for PhD study

Prospective students are encouraged to explore doctoral Grants and funding opportunities such as:

• PhD Studentship in Industrial Artificial Intelligence
• School of Science & Technology Doctoral Studentships
• Research Council studentship awards , if available.

Our bursaries are non-repayable sums of money granted by the University, usually based on need.

Our loans are repayable sums of money granted by the University or other body.

Our scholarships are when the University pays towards your Study fees. You may also be eligible for further funding.

Postgraduate Doctoral Loans

The Government has introduced a new Postgraduate Doctoral Loans scheme which can provide a loan of up to £25,000.

This will be over three years to support study for a doctoral degree.

A Postgraduate Doctoral Loan can help with course fees and living costs while you study. It can be used alongside any other forms of support you may be able to receive.

For more information, please see our Postgraduate Doctoral Loans page .

We welcome applicants funded through a wide range of schemes including:

• The Science Without Borders scheme for Brazilian citizens
• The Indonesia-UK DIKTI Scholarship Programme, for faculty members at Indonesian Universities to study for a doctorate in the UK.
• The EU Erasmus Mundus programme .

Additional expenses

Some of our degrees may involve additional expenses which are not covered by your tuition fees. Find out more about additional expenses .

Academic support

City has a well-established structure and processes to support your research .

Supervision

All research students are appointed a supervisory team consisting of at least two supervisors. One of these will be designated as the first point of contact with responsibility for ensuring that effective supervision is provided.

The supervisory team will discuss training requirements with the candidate when study is commenced. We may recommend that a candidate takes a number of taught modules. This way they will benefit from the specialist Masters courses in the Department of Computer Science.

Development

Research students are provided with a desk, PC and bookshelves in a shared office space and have access to shared printing facilities. Specialist facilities, such as the City Interaction Lab , are also available where relevant to the research topic.

All research students are strongly encouraged to contribute to our research environment and to attend regular research seminars and meetings.

The City Doctoral College can provide more information about graduate degrees.

How to apply

We accept applications on an ongoing basis for entry in October, January and April. Please see the requirements section above for eligibility criteria.

If you are applying for a specific scholarship or studentship, please make this clear within your application. Your scholarship/studentship will then be considered alongside your application. Please note, individual scholarships and studentships may have specific application deadlines.

It is essential that you contact a member of staff in the department you are interested in. You can then discuss your ideas for research (research proposal).

Unfortunately, we will not be able to consider your application without this pre-requisite.

Details of relevant academic staff can be found here .

You are advised to submit your application at least 12 weeks before your proposed start date. This will allow for us to consider and process your application.

Once you have identified a supervisor who will accept to guide through your research, please submit an application online.

Supporting documents

To apply online, an applicant will need to submit the following supporting documents:

• Research proposal. The Research Proposal should be a maximum of 3 sides A4. See guidance on writing your research proposal.
• Copies of degree certificates and transcripts – original will be requested before an offer is made.
• Official work e-mail addresses (not private ones) for two referees (one of which must be an academic).
• Proof of English language proficiency (if applicable).
• Evidence of sponsorship (if applicable).

See guidance on writing your research proposal

Select one of the available starting dates to start your application.

Human-Computer Interaction

• 1 st Oct 2024
• 1 st Feb 2025
• 1 st Apr 2024
• 1 st Jul 2024

For further application enquiries please contact our PGR enquiries team .

PhD projects from the Department of Computer Science

Aggregated quality assurance for systems.

The AQUAS project, funded by the European ECSEL Joint Undertaking will investigate the challenges arising from the product lifecycle.

Research centre: Centre for Software Reliability

Academics: Dr Peter Popov , Professor Lorenzo Strigini and Professor Robin Bloomfield

Status: Completed project

View case study site

DIDERO-PC (DIverse DatabasE ReplicatiOn-Performance Comparison)

This project is about experimental evaluation of diverse database replication protocols.

Academics: Dr Peter Popov , Dr Kizito Salako and Dr Vladimir Stankovic

Communicating and evaluating cyber risk and dependencies

This research focuses on the importance of dependencies and interdependencies in a security context.

SESAMO - Security and Safety Modelling

SESAMO is a 3-year project starting on the 1st of May 2012, with the goal of integrating security and safety assessment together into methods and tools for model-driven development of embedded systems

Academics: Professor Lorenzo Strigini , Dr Peter Popov and Professor Robin Bloomfield

Find a supervisor

See our full list of academic staff and potential supervisors in Department of Computer Science.

Dr Ilir Gashi

• Department of Computer Science

Professor Eduardo Alonso

Professor of Artificial Intelligence & Computer Science Research Director

Dr Ernesto Priego

Senior Lecturer

Dr Cristina Gacek

Useful links.

• Doctoral College
• School of Science & Technology
• Student wellbeing
• Terms and conditions

Contact details

Research enquiries.

+44 (0)20 7040 8116

[email protected]

PhD in computer science

Find a PhD in computer science, where innovation meets proven excellence. Make your own world-leading discoveries and apply now.

Our computer science PhD programme promotes collaborative research and innovation. We focus on projects that push the boundaries of what is possible in science and technology. 

You might want to study for a PhD to:

• become an expert in a research field
• gain advanced research skills
• open up more career opportunities

Our PhD students have the opportunity to engage in research that spans cutting-edge topics. You will become a part of a supportive and dynamic research community.

Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021

PhD opportunities in computer science

We have a range of computing PhD projects currently seeking doctoral candidates.

PhD project

Funding type: Unfunded   Application deadline: 30 June 2024

Funding type: Funded   Application deadline: 30 June 2024

Propose your own computing PhD topic

We champion innovative thinking and original research proposals in computer science. Our research domains include:

• Argument technology addresses theoretical and practical aspects of argumentation within artificial intelligence with applications to various significant societal challenges.
• Computing theory & methodologies addresses the foundational, methodological, and architectural aspects of modern computing systems.
• Human-centred computing focuses on augmentative & alternative communication and user experience (UX) 
• Medical image analysis & computer vision  develops and applies visual data analysis and machine learning for biomedical, space exploration, and vision applications. 

If you wish to propose a topic of your own, please connect with an academic staff member before applying. We support applications that align with our research areas. We will not consider applications that lack academic support.

• How to write your best postgraduate research proposal

Entry requirements

You should have an honours degree at 2.1 or above, and/or a Masters degree in a relevant discipline.

English language requirements

We also accept other English language qualifications

You do not need to prove your knowledge of English if  you are a national of certain countries .

Don't meet the English language requirements?

English language programmes.

Prepare for university study and benefit from extra English tuition with an  English language programme .

Computer Science PhD tuition fees

Tuition fee per year of study (subject to a 3% annual increase for Scottish/Rest of UK students and a 5% annual increase for International students).

Part time study, where available, is charged on a pro-rata basis.

Scottish/Rest of UK fee status annual increase

Each year, UKRI sets a recommended fee and stipend level for Scottish/Rest of UK students, which we use as the basis for fees charged to this group.

UKRI usually increases its fee and stipend levels in line with inflation, based on the Treasury GDP deflator. 

Therefore, the Scottish/Rest of UK fees detailed in this table for 2025/26 (and beyond) can only be estimated according to the typical increase. 

The fee charged to you may differ, though only slightly, from the figure given.

Please contact one of us to discuss our PhD in Computer Science opportunities before you apply.

Computing PhD Lead

[email protected]

Head of Computing (Discipline)

[email protected]

Apply for a PhD in computer science

You can apply for a PhD degree in computer science using our Direct Application System.

Before applying, you must speak to one of our academics listed above.

We have three start dates per academic year.

PhD Computing

• Apply to start in September 2024
• Apply to start in January 2025
• Apply to start in May 2025

PhD Computing (part time)

Disabled students.

We welcome applications from disabled students.

• Information for applicants declaring a disability

If you are visiting our campus from another university, you must apply to us so that you can get access to our facilities.

Computing (non-graduating) (research)

Science & engineering (non-graduating) (research).

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Computer Science

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Key information.

Duration: 4 years full time or 5 years part time

Institution code: R72

Campus: Egham

UK fees * : £4,786

International/EU fees ** : £26,300

Computer Science at Royal Holloway is one of the world's leading centres of research in advanced areas of theoretical and applied computer science.

We are renowned in particular for our research excellence in Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Distributed Computing. Our research expertise is shaping the future of those key areas for society and the economy.

In the latest Research Excellence Frameworks (REF, 2021), we ranked 17th in the UK computer science departments for the quality of our research (THE, REF institutions ranked by subject, 2022).

Collaborative research is carried out in many different fields with companies and organisations, from finance to the analysis of movie scripts, from computational simulations of epidemics to foundational aspects of probability and logic.

We welcome applications for Postgraduate Research studies from across the world, and the department has earned a Bronze Athena SWAN award for best practice in equal opportunities and our inclusive environment.

In addition to the information below, check our separate page on the topics in which we supervise.

Research facilities and environment

Research students in Computer Science join a lively research community and become fully involved in the research activities of the department, sharing their successes. Many of our research students present papers at international conferences, with financial support from the department. 

A Postgraduate Colloquium is held annually: all second and third-year research students give 15-minute talks to present the results of their research achieved during the year to members of staff from different research groups, fellow research students, and external guests; first-year students give a poster presentation.

Regular departmental research seminars include talks by professionals in a variety of application areas, and there is a separate student-organised 'cakes talk' series which allows students to develop their presentational skills. We have a weekly social event to which all students, research assistants and staff are invited. Royal Holloway provides dedicated social space for graduate students, facilitating inter-departmental links. 

Major research topics include Algorithms and Complexity, Bioinformatics and Medical Applications, Machine Learning, Planning, Cyber-Physical Systems, Distributed Computing, and Type Theory and Applications.

Especially for topics that involve data analytics, the department has a dedicated state-of-the-art computing cluster HP DL380 comprising 32 processors, 32 Terabytes of disk storage, GPU and RDMA networking. The cluster is currently running the full-fledged Hortonworks Hadoop distribution (HDP) as well as the PostgreSQL and MongoDB servers.

You will have 24/7 access to dedicated on-site facilities and equipment.

Students who are admitted to this programme are initially registered on a MPhil programme. Before the end of their second year of studies they will have an upgrade meeting; if successful, they then become registered on the PhD Computer Science programme.

To be awarded a PhD Computer Science degree, students must submit their thesis, and pass their viva examination with one internal and one external examiner.

Entry requirements

A good first degree or masters in a cognate discipline to computer science, and relevant to the proposed research project. We are also prepared to consider candidates with extensive practical or industrial experience that would be relevant to the project. As a guideline, English proficiency equivalent to IELTS 6.5 is expected.

English language requirements

All teaching at Royal Holloway is in English. You will therefore need to have good enough written and spoken English to cope with your studies right from the start.

The scores we require

• IELTS: 6.5 overall. Writing 7.0. No other subscore lower than 5.5.
• Pearson Test of English: 61 overall. Writing 69. No other subscore lower than 51.
• Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE): ISE III.
• Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) grade C.
• TOEFL ib: 88 overall, with Reading 18 Listening 17 Speaking 20 Writing 26.

Country-specific requirements

For more information about country-specific entry requirements for your country please see  here .

Our graduates have an excellent track record of finding employment.  PhD graduates from this department are now in senior positions in both academia and industry, including senior research managers at both Facebook and Amazon.

During term-time, we have weekly talks by external speakers from industry: these occasions are useful for graduate students to make external contacts and to learn of opportunities. In addition to the support provided by The Careers and Employability Service, the department has a coordinator to advise on career development and job opportunities.

Fees & funding

Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £4,786

EU and international students tuition fee per year**: £26,300

Other essential costs***: There are no single associated costs greater than £50 per item on this course

…How do I pay for it? Find out more about   funding options,   including loans, grants,   scholarships   and bursaries. 

* and ** These tuition fees apply to students enrolled on a full-time basis in the academic year 2024/25.

* Please note that for research courses, we adopt the minimum fee level recommended by the UK Research Councils for the Home   tuition fee. Each year, the fee level is adjusted in line with inflation (currently, the measure used is the Treasury GDP deflator). Fees displayed here are therefore subject to change and are usually confirmed in the spring of the year of entry.   For more information on the Research Council Indicative Fee please see the   UKRI website.

** This figure is the fee for EU and international students starting a degree in the academic year 2024/25.   

Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase all postgraduate tuition fees annually, based on the UK’s Retail Price Index (RPI). Please therefore be aware that tuition fees can rise during your degree (if longer than one year’s duration), and that this also means that the overall cost of studying the course part-time will be slightly higher than studying it full-time in one year. For further information, please see our  terms and conditions .

***   These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree at Royal Holloway during the 2024/25 academic year and are included as a guide. Costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing, have not been included. 

Explore Royal Holloway

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Get help paying for your studies at Royal Holloway through a range of scholarships and bursaries.

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There are lots of exciting ways to get involved at Royal Holloway. Discover new interests and enjoy existing ones.

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Find out why Royal Holloway is in the top 25% of UK universities for research rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’.

Challenge-led research themes

Royal Holloway is a research intensive university and our academics collaborate across disciplines to achieve excellence.

Discover world-class research at Royal Holloway.

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Find about our decision-making processes and the people who lead and manage Royal Holloway today.

Imperial College London Imperial College London

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PhD applications

We are one of the largest computer science departments in the UK and a world leader in academic research, offering an exciting research environment for prospective postgraduate students.

The Department is actively involved in a number of Centres for Doctoral Training, such as the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in AI for Healthcare ( AI4Health) , and the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Safe and Trusted Artificial Intelligence ( STAI ). Every year between 50-70 successful applicants are accepted for the PhD programme in the Department. We have a wide variety of scholarships for PhD students, including funding from research councils, research projects, industry, and teaching scholarships. More than 80% of our PhD students receive funding.

Applicants are expected to have a First Class or Distinction Masters level degree, or equivalent, in a relevant scientific or technical discipline, such as computer science or mathematics. Candidates who have only a Bachelors degree will not normally be considered, but they can apply to first do an MSc Degree  in the Department.

Applications for 2024 entry will open in October 2023 and afterwards can be made at any time during the year. Applicants for the main departmental PhD degree should apply to the Computing Research degree. There is at present no application fee.

However, we would particularly advise all overseas candidates in the need of funding to apply by the December deadline. Depending on the number of scholarship offers that we will issue, there may still be some funding available for applications received afterwards.

Note that if you are accepted by a supervisor, but do not receive a funding offer by the notification deadline, then it is likely that you have not been awarded funding. Unless otherwise communicated to you, your funding request will then remain under consideration for the following funding rounds. If your funding application is successful later during the year, you will receive a notification. You can refer to the  FAQ if you need to check the status of your application in due course.

We have a wide range of funds and we do our best to find the most appropriate for each candidate. To give you an idea of what funds are available please see the scholarships page . 

Please note that we will normally consider your application only after you have formally applied and your application has been received by the Department. Therefore we recommend that you submit an application prior to contacting academics about research topics.

Details on the application process are available in the application guidelines page . After preparing your application, you can submit it using the College online application system, which you can access by going to the:

Applications are formally processed by the Department only when the full paperwork has been received and processed by the College Registry. So we strongly advise you to read:

• Postgraduate prospectus
• Application guidance notes
• Postgraduate research admissions policy

We believe in the importance of diversity in both our department and the research fields we work in. We aim to create and foster a collaborative environment within the department where everyone feels welcome. We encourage applicants of all backgrounds and ages to apply, in particular women, disabled, BAME and LGBTQIA+ candidates. Imperial College London is  committed  to equality, diversity and inclusion.

The Department has an equal opportunities policy and encourages applications from people with disabilities. You are invited to declare your disability to our PhD Admissions Tutor in order to discuss early on suitable arrangements for your PhD studies. Please also see the College's arrangements for people with disabilities .

Alternatively, use our A–Z index

Attend an open day

Discover more about postgraduate research

PhD Computer Science / Programme details

Year of entry: 2024

• View full page

Programme description

Please enable JavaScript to watch this video.

The PhD is a three-year (or six year, if taken part-time) degree resulting in a substantial thesis.

The Department of Computer Science is one of the largest in the UK covering a huge spectrum of Computer Science topics. We currently have research groups ranging from Advanced Processor Technologies to Text Mining.

Our core Computer Science research is augmented by interdisciplinary research taking place at the interface with discipline areas including mathematics, physics, medicine and biology.

A detailed overview of the Department's research groups and core and interdisciplinary research themes is available in the 'research' area of our website and you can identify a possible project from our list of available projects .

Additional programme information

Equality, diversity and inclusion is fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester, and is at the heart of all of our activities.

We know that diversity strengthens our research community, leading to enhanced research creativity, productivity and quality, and societal and economic impact.

We actively encourage applicants from diverse career paths and backgrounds and from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation and transgender status.

We also support applications from those returning from a career break or other roles.

We consider offering flexible study arrangements (including part-time: 50%, 60% or 80%, depending on the project/funder), carer support funds for conferences, and peer support networks for parents and carers.

All appointments are made on merit.  The University of Manchester and our external partners are fully committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Coursework and assessment

Programme unit list.

The programme unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this programme of study.

Scholarships and bursaries

In the Department of Computer Science we offer a range of scholarships, studentships and awards to support UK and overseas postgraduate researchers.

Funding is also available at university and faculty level and can be viewed on our funding page . Alternatively, you can use our funding database to find scholarships, studentships and awards you may be eligible for.

We'd recommend you discuss potential sources of funding with your supervisor before applying. They can advise what funding may be available to you, and ensure you meet nomination and application deadlines.

Disability support

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Computer Science PhD

• Full-time: Up to 4 years
• Part-time: Up to 8 years
• Start date: Multiple start dates
• UK fees: £5,100
• International fees: £28,600

Research overview

Join our research team to work on projects that have an impact in the real world. From optimisation for airports to machine learning for energy suppliers, we do computer science from theory to application. 

The school's research topics include:

• artificial intelligence
• computational optimisation
• computer vision
• cyber security
• data science
• functional programming
• human-computer interaction
• machine learning

Find out more on our  research webpages . 

Project case study

Rodrigo Pinheiro  did his PhD at Nottingham. The title of his thesis was " A Computational Study and Heuristic Algorithms for the Home Healthcare Scheduling and Routing Problem " supervised by Prof Dario Landa Silva .

During his PhD, Rodrigo became the associate in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project between the University and  Webroster Ltd . The project was on optimisation for workforce scheduling and routing in home care.

Rodrigo then joined Webroster, first as Optimisation Specialist then Head of Data Science. Now, he is Head of Data Science at a new company developed to focus on the optimisation engine from the KTP and his PhD.

Course content

In the first year, you will focus on learning what research is already published and identifying gaps in knowledge. You will start to formulate your own research questions.

In year two, you'll start to answer the questions you created in year one. 

In the final year, you'll finish your research and prepare for writing your thesis. 

You will complete a written thesis of up to 100,000 words, with expert support and advice from your academic supervisor(s). You will also take a verbal examination called a viva voce where you explain your project in-depth to an examination panel.

Entry requirements

All candidates are considered on an individual basis and we accept a broad range of qualifications. The entrance requirements below apply to 2024 entry.

Meeting our English language requirements

If you need support to meet the required level, you may be able to attend a presessional English course. Presessional courses teach you academic skills in addition to English language. Our  Centre for English Language Education is accredited by the British Council for the teaching of English in the UK.

If you successfully complete your presessional course to the required level, you can then progress to your degree course. This means that you won't need to retake IELTS or equivalent.

For on-campus presessional English courses, you must take IELTS for UKVI to meet visa regulations. For online presessional courses, see our CELE webpages for guidance.

Visa restrictions

International students must have valid UK immigration permissions for any courses or study period where teaching takes place in the UK. Student route visas can be issued for eligible students studying full-time courses. The University of Nottingham does not sponsor a student visa for students studying part-time courses. The Standard Visitor visa route is not appropriate in all cases. Please contact the university’s Visa and Immigration team if you need advice about your visa options.

We recognise that applicants have a variety of experiences and follow different pathways to postgraduate study.

We treat all applicants with alternative qualifications on an individual basis. We may also consider relevant work experience.

If you are unsure whether your qualifications or work experience are relevant, contact us .

Please find a potential supervisor before applying. We're open for applicants to  contact academic staff  members about PhD projects. 

Please prepare and agree on a research proposal for the application and discuss the research area you're interested in. In the application, please indicate the supervisor's name.

Watch Prof Dario Landa-Silva's video on how to apply.

Points to cover when discussing your interest in applying for a PhD

• Motivation for doing a PhD
• Your academic record and research experience
• Sources of funding
• Research topic

Our step-by-step guide contains everything you need to know about applying for postgraduate research.

Additional information for international students

If you are a student from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you may be asked to complete a fee status questionnaire and your answers will be assessed using guidance issued by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) .

These fees are for full-time study. If you are studying part-time, you will be charged a proportion of this fee each year (subject to inflation).

Additional costs

All students will need at least one device to approve security access requests via Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). We also recommend students have a suitable laptop to work both on and off-campus. For more information, please check the equipment advice .

The school offers free printing and each student will be given their own workspace including a laptop computer.

There are some extra costs that you need to be aware of:

• £25 deposit for a building key
• £160 thesis pending fee (current price at time of publication but it can increase each year)
• Late submission fee for each month or part of the month that passes between the expected submission date and the date that the thesis is actually submitted

UK applicants

We offer a number of projects each year which are funded by:

• the school and university
• industry partners
• centres of doctoral training (CDTs)
• doctoral training partnerships (DTPs)

Some of the funded projects the school offers are posted on the  studentship jobs website .

These are the current CDTs at Nottingham that have projects related to computer science:

• EPSRC Atoms to Products (A2P) Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Chemistry
• Faculty of Science Doctoral Training Centre in Artificial Intelligence
• Horizon – My Life in Data  

There are many ways to fund your research degree, from scholarships to government loans.

Check our guide to find out more about funding your postgraduate degree.

You'll meet with your supervisor at least 10 times per year. Most of our students have 15-20 meetings per year. 

Our research groups hold regular seminars which PhD students can attend.

We do our best to support students to attend conferences when they have papers to present.     

Hear more about what life is like in the school from current PhD students.  

In the 2019 Postgraduate Research Experience Survey , the School of Computer Science was ranked highly in:

• progress and assessment
• responsibilities
• research skills 

Researcher training and development

The Researcher Academy is the network for researchers, and staff who support them. We work together to promote a healthy research culture, to cultivate researcher excellence, and develop creative partnerships that enable researchers to flourish.

Postgraduate researchers at Nottingham have access to our online Members’ area, which includes a wealth of resources, access to training courses and award-winning postgraduate placements.

Student support

You will have access to a range of support services , including:

• academic and disability support
• childcare services
• counselling service
• faith support
• financial support
• mental health and wellbeing support
• visa and immigration advice
• welfare support

Students' Union

Our Students' Union represents all students. You can join the Postgraduate Students’ Network or contact the dedicated Postgraduate Officer .

There are also a range of support networks, including groups for:

• international students
• black and minority ethnic students
• students who identify as women
• students with disabilities
• LGBT+ students

SU Advice provides free, independent and confidential advice on issues such as accommodation, financial and academic difficulties.

Where you will learn

School of computer science pgr.

You'll get your own desk and computer equipment in a office usually shared with other PhD students from your research group. 

We have 24-hour computer labs with PCs, Macs and Linux workstations. Other facilities include GPU, a mixed reality lab, a cyber security lab and a robotics lab.

Jubilee Campus

Jubilee Campus has eco-friendly buildings, alongside green spaces, wildlife and a lake. 

This campus is home to our business, education and computer science schools, as well as a sports centre and student accommodation.

You can walk to  University Park Campus  in around 20 minutes or catch a free hopper bus. Nottingham city centre is 20 minutes away by public bus.

Whether you are considering a career in academia, industry or haven't yet decided, we’re here to support you every step of the way.

Expert staff will work with you to explore PhD career options and apply for vacancies, develop your interview skills and meet employers. You can book a one-to-one appointment, take an online course or attend a workshop.

International students who complete an eligible degree programme in the UK on a student visa can apply to stay and work in the UK after their course under the Graduate immigration route . Eligible courses at the University of Nottingham include bachelors, masters and research degrees, and PGCE courses.

Many PhD graduates choose to continue an academic career. You may start with a postdoctoral position or a teaching fellowship. 

However, there is a need for PhD graduates in industry too. Graduates typically work in:

• manufacturing

Your expertise would be used to build specialised computing techniques. 

100% of postgraduates from the School of Computer Science secured graduate level employment or further study within 15 months of graduation. The average annual salary for these graduates was £36,160.*

*HESA Graduate Outcomes 2019/20 data published in 2022 . The Graduate Outcomes % is derived using The Guardian University Guide methodology. The average annual salary is based on data from graduates who completed a full-time postgraduate degree with home fee status and are working full-time within the UK.

Related courses

Human computer interaction msc, electronic communications and computer engineering msc, financial and computational mathematics msc, physics phd/mres, computer science or computer science (artificial intelligence) msc, computer science or computer science (artificial intelligence) (2-year) msc, research excellence framework.

The University of Nottingham is ranked 7th in the UK for research power, according to analysis by Times Higher Education. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a national assessment of the quality of research in UK higher education institutions.

• We're ranked in the top 10 for research power out of all computer science departments in the UK
• All of our school research impact activities were classified as being world-leading or internationally excellent
• We're ranked 2nd in computer science in the UK for our research environment
• 90%* of our research is classed as 'world-leading' (4*) or 'internationally excellent' (3*)
• 100%* of our research is recognised internationally
• 51% of our research is assessed as 'world-leading' (4*) for its impact**

*According to analysis by Times Higher Education ** According to our own analysis.

This content was last updated on 27 July 2023 . Every effort has been made to ensure that this information is accurate, but changes are likely to occur between the date of publishing and course start date. It is therefore very important to check this website for any updates before you apply.

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PhD in Computer Science

• Undergraduate admissions
• MPhil in Advanced Computer Science

Potential applicants should refer to the the Postgraduate Admissions Course Directory for information about the program and application requirements.

Those who are applying for one of the department's PhD studentships and RA'ships , you should use the deadline published on the individual job listing.

For those applicants who have not secured external scholarships and who wish to be considered for the various University and Cambridge Trusts' funding competitions, applications for the academic year commencing October 2025, and January 2026, open on 3 September 2024. Applicants are encouraged to apply early. The deadline for submission of complete applications is 23:59 (GMT) on  3 December 2024 . Applicants who have secured external funding may apply up to 15 May 2025.

Please note that applications submitted between 4 December 2024 and 15 May 2025 will be considered only if there is a named potential supervisor who has invited the application, if the application is complete, and if funding is readily available. Note that incomplete applications received after this date will only be considered for January 2026 admission but cannot be considered for the funding competitions (for which the deadline is 3 December 2024).

Applicants should refer to the Postgraduate Admissions page for links to the application portal , deadlines, guidance and information.

Please note the following:

• Applications for funding support from the University and Cambridge Trusts must be submitted early: see University funding deadlines .
• Research students are normally admitted to the probationary Certificate of Postgraduate Studies in Computer Science (see CPGS) in the first instance.
• Applicants will also need to include a brief research abstract within the section of the application form which asks for a research topic and to indicate a potential supervisor's name .
• Applicants should discuss their proposed research with a potential supervisor before submitting the application for admission. See Research proposal for further details about the research proposal, and Research themes for links to potential supervisors within areas of your research interests. Please confirm that you have discussed the project with the proposed supervisor, and that they have confirmed they will be content to review an application from you. You should include a statement to this effect within the research abstract section of the application form.
• Applications are considered as they are received.

Please note that your application can only be considered by the department once it has been submitted. Your application can only be submitted if it is complete. You will be able to upload all your supporting material including a research proposal and the same time as submitting the application form. It is therefore very important to have all your supporting material, including agreement from your referees to provide you with references, your transcripts and research project proposal, ready before you start the application.

Applicants wishing to be considered for funding competitions should check their eligibility on the University-wide Sources of Funding web page.

The application portal acts as a scholarship funding application as well as an application for admission. In most cases, no further funding application form is required. There are some exceptions, however: we recommend checking the Student Funding webpage which provides information about other grants for students applying to Cambridge and their closing dates.

The current costs of a PhD are available from the Student Registry's Postgraduate Course Costs and Fee Status page . You will need sufficient funding to cover the University Tuition Fee, and at least the minimum maintenance for three years.

Once again, if you wish to apply for one of the department's PhD studentships and RA'ships , you should use the deadline published on the individual job listing.

Home students

The Department makes awards to UK students both from funds supplied, for example the EPSRC Doctoral Training Grant, and from its own funds such as the Premium Studentship  and the Hopper Studentship . In the year starting October 2023, the Department will help to fund up to three research students from its Doctoral Training Grant. These funds are limited. The Applications Panel considers all successful applicants for funding awards within its gift and submits the names of highly ranked home and international students to the Cambridge Trusts.

The Department may also have positions associated with industrial collaborations and particular research projects. Such studentships are advertised on the University's Jobs web page.

Very highly ranked international students will be considered for nomination to the Gates Cambridge Trust and Cambridge International Scholarship Scheme ( CISS ) competitions.

Please note earlier applications deadline for Gates Cambridge US scholarships for US students who are resident in the US: 11 October 2023 .

The Department will contact applicants directly about its internal awards such as the Premium Studentship .

It is worth noting that full funding must be secured before starting a course at Cambridge. Most of the scholarships will not accept applications from students who are already in residence. We strongly discourage students asserting they can self-fund a PhD in the hope that something else will turn up once you are in Cambridge.

Admission conditions

The Faculty's Degree Committee makes recommendations to offer places to successful applicants via the University's central Postgraduate Admissions Office, the only body with the authority to make an offer of a place as a postgraduate student. Offers from Postgraduate Admissions are usually conditional . A deadline will be set by which date all conditions must be met and, once met, the offer is confirmed by the Postgraduate Admissions Office.

Standard conditions include securing sufficient funding for three years to meet the financial conditions of the University including tuition fees and maintenance, and College membership. Additionally, applicants may be asked to achieve a certain grade in their current studies; to take or retake an English Language proficiency test ; and any other conditions the Postgraduate Admissions Office might apply.

Successful applicants who have applied online may be required to send original documents to the University's Postgraduate Admissions Office for validation. We strongly recommend the use of a reputable courier and that you obtain a tracking number .

CDT in Decision Making in Complex Systems

The AI CDT in Decision Making for Complex Systems is a programme offered in conjunction with the University of Manchester that aims to enable students to develop new fundamental AI capabilities in the context of a diversity of complex systems. Rather than working in isolation, as is usual in AI,  the students will learn to develop these in a collaborative manner tied to a specific application domain. The CDT is focused on three areas, Uncertainty in complex systems, Decision-making with humans in the loop and Decision-making for ML systems. Model interpretability and explainability will be transversal to the three topics. Decision making with AI needs  to be interpretable and explainable to facilitate interrogation of decision processes such that trust can be built by the human, and it is essential for understanding and meeting ethical and legal implications.

Like all research students admitted to read for the PhD degree, those admitted to the AI CDT in Decision Making for Complex Systems are admitted on a probationary basis. They will have successfully completed a certificate of postgraduate studies at the University of Manchester before being registered on a probationary NOTAF basis at the University of Cambridge. During this year students may do some additional coursework and will write a research report that is likely to form the foundation of the eventual PhD thesis. Applications for admission in Michaelmas 2025 open in September 2024.

Please contact the department's Postgraduate Education Manager with any questions not answered above.

Email: Postgraduate Education Manager

Include "PhD application query" in the subject.

Department of Computer Science and Technology William Gates Building 15 JJ Thomson Avenue Cambridge CB3 0FD

Tel: +44 1223 334656 (NB may not be accessible during remote working)

Postgraduate Admissions Office Academic Division Student Services Centre Bene't Street, New Museums Site Cambridge, CB2 3PT, U.K.

WWW: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/

Department of Computer Science and Technology University of Cambridge William Gates Building 15 JJ Thomson Avenue Cambridge CB3 0FD

Information provided by [email protected]

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PhD in Computer Science

The University of Birmingham offers supervision for the degree of Ph.D. in Computer Science in many research areas of computer science.

Our research is ranked 3rd across all UK universities  according to the latest UK-wide Research Excellence Framework. Education is ranked 7th in the UK for computer science, according to 2023 tables. While pursuing excellence in research and education, we also aim to optimise our positive impact on society—examples include collaborations with industry partners and charities, commercialisation activities and an extensive wider participation programme. To support its aims, the School offers a vibrant, open and intellectually stimulating research environment. 

We are looking for highly motivated and well-qualified graduates to join us to work towards a doctorate. 

Applying for PhD

Your first step is to decide what research direction you want to pursue and to identify one or more potential supervisors among our faculty members. To help you find the right research direction and guide you through our application process, we offer the following two approaches to apply for our PhD programme.

Explore our advertised PhD opportunities . We offer a number of well-defined research ideas, which are regularly advertised on this page.

Propose your own research interests . We offer the opportunity to indicate your research direction and motivate your interest to work with our faculty members. 

You can apply for one of our advertised projects or propose your own research interests. Whichever option you choose, our PhD program will give you the opportunity to pursue original research under the guidance of our faculty members. To be accepted onto our PhD programme, you must be enthusiastic about continuing to study computer science and must demonstrate engagement with one of our research themes . You must identify one or more potential supervisors  and demonstrate your interest in their research domain. You are welcomed to contact potential supervisors informally before applying. 

Email:  [email protected]

Twitter:  Follow us  @uobcompsci

PhD opportunities

Further information.

The University has many resources available to assist you in applying to study with us, for more information please the university's research support page .

• Postgraduate Research

Computer Science PhD / MPhil

• Part time available: yes

Studying in:

• Computer Science
• School of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Computer Science
• Faculty of Science and Engineering

Pursue your postgraduate programme at the University of Liverpool and you'll be part of a Computer Science school that's internationally renowned for its advanced research and teaching.

Why study with us?

There is a real sense of community, and the supervisors and staff are always willing to offer advice and motivation. There is a good balance between the practical training that is required to develop research skills and the independence to conduct your research. Paul Gainer - Computer Science PhD student

of research environment rated as 'world leading' or 'internationally excellent' in the latest Research Excellence Framework (2021).

refurbishment of Grade II listed building.

in the UK for world-leading research output in the latest Research Excellence Framework (2021)

Established in 1983, our department has grown into a vibrant environment. In 2014 we became one of the top 10 computer science departments in the UK after 97% of our research was rated as world leading and internationally excellent by the Research Excellence Framework.

Computer Science at the University of Liverpool is research-driven and internationally renowned for its cutting-edge work. The 2014 Research Excellence Framework rated 97% of our research as being world-leading or internationally excellent, the highest proportion of any Computer Science department in the UK.

With our close industry partnerships and Russell Group status we enjoy strong funding and have recently invested £5m in our facilities. It is the perfect setting for world class experts to do ground-breaking research.

To best support our research we have flexible platforms that reflect our core interests and strengths. These platforms inspire innovative cross-disciplinary collaborations, with specialists throughout the University and across the world.

Research plays an important role in the life of the Department, and members of the Department are well known internationally for their ongoing contributions to the theory and practice of Computing. This has consistently been recognised in research assessment exercises over a number of years.

Research interests

The scientists in the Algorithms Section focus on the theory and applications of algorithms and also on understanding and coping with complexity. Scientists in our section also design and implement experimental software in order to test, apply and evaluate advanced algorithmic techniques. Our era has been characterised as “the era of Algorithms”. Our scientists investigate several aspects of this important field, including algorithmic optimisation, algorithms for networks and distributed computing, algorithmic game theory and algorithmic economics, and also computability and complexity of problems. The section is organised thematically in three corresponding research groups:

• Algorithms, Complexity Theory and Optimisation
• Economics and Computation
• Networks and Distributed Computing.

Research in the Algorithms Section mainly builds on Computer Science. However there exists a growing interdisciplinary flavor where algorithmic thought is inspired by problems in economics, mathematics, chemistry, statistical physics, engineering and biology/medicine. The Algorithms Section has several externally funded research projects (UK and EU funding) and also engages in applied industry-driven algorithmic research and design of associated software (e.g. auctions, network data analytics, traffic analysis, social media algorithmic applications and analysis, new materials construction, biological systems, banking). Details can be found on the group pages.

The Algorithms Section is a leader in algorithms and complexity in the UK and also one of the leading teams world-wide. The scientists of the section publish in a variety of very competitive conferences on algorithms and theory of computing. The section has a strong presence on the editorial boards, and organisation and program committees of major events in algorithms and complexity.

The Algorithms Section is involved in a state of the art Software Lab, in cooperation with the EEE&CS School initiative NeST ( Network Sciences and Technologies ).  The lab is equipped with several servers, several software platforms, a network of tiny devices (arduinos) and several high-speed connections. The lab aims to apply algorithms to create modern and efficient software and has already produced some software products in cooperation with local industry.

Agent Applications, Research and Technology

Scientific staff in the AI Section focuses on the theory and practice of building intelligent systems across core areas of artificial intelligence, including knowledge representation, data mining and machine learning, argumentation, robotics and autonomous systems, and verification. The section is organised thematically in four corresponding research groups:

• Argumentation and Representation of Knowledge
• Data Mining and Machine Learning
• Robotics and Autonomous Systems
• Verification.

Research in the AI section mainly builds on computer science but also has an interdisciplinary flavour by taking inspiration from fields such as economics, biology, mathematics, and engineering. The AI section has several externally funded research projects (UK and EU funding), and also engages in applied industry-driven research projects (e.g. law, robotics, pharmaceutical companies). The details of these projects can be found on the individual group pages. The AI section plays an internationally leading role by publishing at leading AI conferences, and has a strong presence on the editorial boards, and organisation and program committees of major events in AI.

The AI section is involved in a state-of-the-art robotics laboratory named smARTLab ( swarms, multi-agent and robot technologies, and learning Lab ).   smARTLab has two large experimentation facilities for research and development of ground robots and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Research themes

The current research platforms are grouped into two main sections, each containing a number of more specialised areas.  These are:

Algorithms Section

Artificial Intelligence Section

Research groups

Algorithms section

• Algorithms and Networks .

Artificial Intelligence section

Study options and fees

The fees below are for the academic year 2024/25

The fees stated in the table above exclude potential research support fees also known as ‘bench fees’. You will be notified of any fee which may apply in your offer letter.

* Please note that if you are undertaking a PhD within the Faculty of Science and Engineering the fee you pay, Band A or Band B, will reflect the nature of your research project. Some research projects incur a higher fee than others e.g. if you are required to undertake laboratory work. You will be informed of the fee for your programme in your offer letter.

^ Self-funded, full-time international students studying a PhD programme classified as Band A will receive a £2,000 reduction in their fees for the first year only.

Entry requirements

To be eligible, applicants should possess at least a 2:1 class Honours degree (or its equivalent) in Computer Science or in a related subject. Applications should indicate proposed research topics.

English language requirements

How to apply

Research degree applications can be made online.  You'll also need to ensure that you have funding to cover all fees.

Applications are  open all year round .

More about applying for research degrees

Apply online

Before you apply, we recommend that you identify a supervisor and develop a research proposal

Find a supervisor

• Professor Sven Schewe

Need help finding a supervisor? Contact us

• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: +44 (0)151 794 4532

Related studentships: self-funded and funded PhD projects

Related doctoral training partnerships.

Doctoral Training Partnerships support future researchers with funding and a rewarding learning environment where you can collaborate with leading researchers.

• EPSRC CDT in Distributed Algorithms
• ERDF Low Carbon Eco-Innovatory (LCEI)
• STFC Liverpool Big Data Science (LIVDAT) CDT
• CESRC Data Analytics and Society
• University of Liverpool Doctoral Network in Technologies for Healthy Ageing

Find a scholarship

We offer a range of scholarships to help you meet the costs of studying a research degree.

See scholarships

Find a course

• A-Z of courses /
• Studentship vacancies

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PhD Computer Science

Our Computer Science PhD programme offers advanced training and research opportunities in various areas of computer science. It offers rigorous training, opportunities for collaboration, and the chance to make meaningful contributions to advancing technology and knowledge.

Key course information

October 2024 - full-time, october 2024 - part-time, january 2025 - full-time, january 2025 - part-time, april 2025 - full-time, april 2025 - part-time, july 2025 - full-time, july 2025 - part-time, why choose this programme.

Our PhD research programme provides you with the opportunity to study a wide range of computer science topics. These include technologies and systems for securing online businesses and our lives, technologies inspired by nature for solving complicated real-world problems in areas such as transport and health, and real-world applications of advanced technologies in cyber security and machine learning. Our expert supervisors, highly rated research activities and excellent facilities mean you’ll be a specialist in your field by the time you complete your PhD.

Surrey Centre for Cyber Security (SCCS), led by the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering , is one of only 19 Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Research recognised by the UK government. It is particularly strong in interdisciplinary research with subject areas including electrical and electronic engineering, biomedical sciences , psychology , business , sociology  and law . We also have strong ties with global research institutes, such as the University of Oxford, Microsoft Research Cambridge, KU Leuven (Belgium), McMaster University (Canada) and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) for joint PhD projects.

Many PhD projects are undertaken in collaboration with industrial partners. We strive to excel in our research, with many members of staff publicly recognised as experts in their respective fields.

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 ranks Surrey 7th in the UK for research outputs in computer science, with 100 per cent of those outputs recognised as either world-leading (57.1 per cent) or internationally excellent. 100 per cent of our computer science postgraduate research students go on to employment or further study (Graduate Outcomes 2023, HESA ).

Studentships

Data-driven ai approaches to improving reproducibility and discovery in ‘omics biomarker research.

UKRI standard stipend - £18,622 for 2024-25.Tuition fee covered, research training supports up to £1,000 per year. Only candidates who pay UK/home rate fees are eligible for the studentship/scholarship. International students are welcome to apply but they will need to either self-fund or secure funding from other sources.

Programme details Open

What you will study.

Our PhD in Computer Science will give you the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for a career in academia, research and development work in industry, and a wide variety of professional opportunities elsewhere.

It normally takes around three to four years to complete a full-time PhD. You’ll be assigned at least two supervisors, a principal and a secondary, who’ll guide you through your studies. You’ll learn how to conduct literature reviews, how to develop your research ideas and verify them with experiments, and how to collaborate and perform interdisciplinary research.

Exactly what your studies will look like will depend on your choice of topic: most of our PhD students conduct their research on computers in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, but some need access to special hardware in a lab setting. We’ll make sure you’ve got everything you need to conduct your research.

We offer a diverse programme of academic and social activities, including monthly tea parties between PhD students and staff, and bespoke workshops and social events.

Your final assessment will be based on the presentation of your research in a written thesis, which will be discussed in a viva examination with at least two examiners. You have the option of preparing your thesis as a monograph (one large volume in chapter form) or in publication format (including chapters written for publication), subject to the approval of your supervisors.

Stag Hill is the University's main campus and where the majority of our courses are taught. 

Research areas Open

Research themes, distributed and network systems themes.

• Complex network analysis, including controllability and criticality
• Concurrency control
• Development of control policies
• Distributed coordination
• Distributed trust
• Edge networks and cloud computing
• Fault-tolerance
• Formal verification
• Information processing in networks
• Resource management
• Social computing and computational social science
• Web tracking and privacy
• Social networks and online harm
• Resilient architectures and organisations
• Resilient and trustworthy data replication
• System reconfigurability, recovery and resistance
• Algorithms for consensus, fault-tolerance and reliability.

Nature-inspired computing and engineering themes

• Computational intelligence
• Optimisation algorithms
• Machine learning, including deep learning
• Computer vision/pattern recognition
• Reinforcement learning (rule-based, deep)
• Reconfigurability, recovery and resistance in learning
• Machine learning and biologically inspired approaches to cyber-resiliency
• Adversariality, resilience and robustness
• Resilient frameworks for hate speech detection
• Post-compromise analytics
• Morphogenetic engineering
• Neural information processing
• Developmental and cognitive neuroscience
• Time series analysis
• Security and resilience of digital ecosystems
• Signal processing
• Bayesian inference
• Medical image processing
• Systems biology
• Control theory
• Prediction and learning in complex networks
• Data mining
• Natural language processing
• Knowledge extraction.

Secure systems themes

• Hardware security
• Security analysis of critical infrastructure systems
• Quantum-resilient authentication and encryption schemes
• Technologies for trusted components, devices and sensors
• Post-compromise security
• Resilience and security across the cloud-edge-fog-things continuum
• Connected and autonomous vehicles and transport systems
• Cyber crime
• Game theory for security
• Mathematical models and frameworks for resilience
• Intrusion detection
• Digital forensics
• Human factors
• Data loss prevention
• Concurrent and distributed systems
• Applied cryptography
• Security protocols
• Internet of things security and privacy
• Security visualisation
• Trusted computing
• Privacy-enhancing technologies
• User authentication
• Secure communications
• Network and mobile security and privacy.

Research centres and groups

• Nature Inspired Computing and Engineering Research Group
• Surrey Centre for Cyber Security

Academic staff Open

See a full list of all our  academic staff  within the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering.

Support and facilities Open

Research support.

The professional development of postgraduate researchers is supported by the Doctoral College , which provides training in essential skills through its Researcher Development Programme of workshops, mentoring and coaching. A dedicated postgraduate careers and employability team will help you prepare for a successful career after the completion of your PhD.

We have a range of highly capable computing resources to support your research, including our own high-performance computing clusters, and a modern seminar room with teleconferencing and video recording facilities.

We have GPU facilities for parallel programming and deep learning and an applied laboratory with new machines, and an array of internet of things equipment.

There’s a virtual network to support cyber security research, and a 200-seat computing facility for students where each seat offers access to a dedicated Raspberry Pi and TPM.

Entry requirements Open

Country-specific qualifications, international students in the united kingdom.

Applicants are expected to hold a first or upper second-class (2:1) UK degree in a relevant discipline (or equivalent overseas qualification), or a lower-second (2:2) UK degree plus a good UK masters degree - distinction normally required (or equivalent overseas qualification).

English language requirements

IELTS Academic: 6.5 or above (or equivalent) with 6.0 in each individual category.

These are the English language qualifications and levels that we can accept. 

If you do not currently meet the level required for your programme, we offer intensive pre-sessional English language courses , designed to take you to the level of English ability and skill required for your studies here.

Selection process

Selection is based on applicants:

• Meeting the expected entry requirements
• Being shortlisted through the application screening process
• Completing a successful interview
• Providing suitable references.

Fees and funding Open

Fees per year.

Explore  UKCISA’s website for more information if you are unsure whether you are a UK or overseas student. View the  list of fees for all postgraduate research courses.

• Annual fees will increase by 4% for each year of study, rounded up to the nearest £100 (subject to legal requirements).
• Any start date other than September will attract a pro-rata fee for that year of entry (75 per cent for January, 50 per cent for April and 25 per cent for July).

Additional costs

There are additional costs that you can expect to incur when studying at Surrey.

A Postgraduate Doctoral Loan can help with course fees and living costs while you study a postgraduate doctoral course.

Browse our frequently updated list of funded studentships open for applications.

Application process

Applicants are advised to contact potential supervisors before they submit an application via the website. Please refer to section two of our  application guidance .

After registration

Students are initially registered for a PhD with probationary status and, subject to satisfactory progress, subsequently confirmed as having PhD status.

Apply online

To apply online first select the course you'd like to apply for then log in.

Select your course

Choose the course option you wish to apply for.

Create an account and sign into our application portal.

Computer Science PhD

Full-time, October 2024

Part-time, October 2024

Full-time, January 2025

Part-time, January 2025

Full-time, April 2025

Part-time, April 2025

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Surrey’s postgraduate research code of practice sets out the University's policy and procedural framework relating to research degrees. The code defines a set of standard procedures and specific responsibilities covering the academic supervision, administration and assessment of research degrees for all faculties within the University.

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Computer Science Integrated PhD

Our Computer Science Integrated PhD combines taught master's computer science modules with research.

You are currently viewing course information for entry year:

Start date(s):

• September 2024

This Integrated PhD in Computer Science provides an opportunity to make a unique contribution to computer science research. You'll work within a research group, guided by experts and supported by a team of advisers.

Our Computer Science Integrated PhD (IPhD) allows you to match your studies with your interests. You can choose from a wide range of modules and select your own focus for your final project.

Our computer science research

Based in the School of Computing , our research reflects our strengths, capabilities and critical mass. Research supervision is available under our seven research areas.

The  AMBER  group aims to equip systems and software engineering practitioners with effective methods and tools for developing the most demanding computer systems. We do this by means of models with well-founded semantics.

Open Lab  is the leading academic research centre for human-computer interaction (HCI) and ubiquitous computing (Ubicomp) research outside of the USA. It conducts research across a wide range of fundamental topics in HCI and Ubicomp, including:

• interaction design methods, techniques and technologies
• mobile, social and wearable computing
• computational behaviour analysis

ICOS  carries out research at the interface of computing science and complex biological systems. We seek to create the next generation of algorithms that provide innovative solutions to problems arising in natural or synthetic systems. We use our interdisciplinary expertise in machine intelligence, complex systems and computational biology.

The  Scalable Systems  group creates the enabling technology we need to deliver tomorrow's large-scale services. This includes work on:

• scalable cloud computing
• big data analytics
• distributed algorithms
• stochastic modelling
• performance analysis
• video game technologies
• green computing

The  Secure and Resilient Systems  group investigates fundamental concepts, development techniques, models, architectures and mechanisms that directly contribute to creating dependable and secure information systems, networks and infrastructures. We aim to target real-world challenges to the dependability and security of the next generation:

• information systems
• cyber-physical systems
• critical infrastructures

The  Educational Practice in Computing  group focusses on encouraging, fostering and pursuing innovation in teaching computing science. Through this group, your research will focus on pedagogy. You'll apply your research to maximise the impact of innovative teaching practices, programmes and curricula in the School. Examples of innovation work within the group include:

• teacher training and the national Computing at School initiative
• outreach activities including visits to schools and hosting visits by schools
• participation in national fora for teaching innovation

The NUSE group provides quality of life improvements in the digital age. They address challenges in systems engineering for real-world applications. This includes autonomous transportation, green energy, online safety, big data analysis and digital health.

Their core research strengths include:

• cloud/edge computing and big data management
• Internet-of-things (IoT) and cyber resilience
• edge intelligence
• knowledge representation and reasoning
• health data management
• real-time simulations
• video game engineering

Research excellence

The excellence of our research has been recognised through awards of large research grants. Three recent examples are:

• Centre for Doctoral Training in Cloud Computing for Big Data . Funded by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
• Centre for Doctoral Training in Digital Civics. Funded by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
• A £10m project to look at novel treatment for epilepsy. Funded by the Wellcome Trust and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Research Grant

Important information

We've highlighted important information about your course. Please take note of any deadlines.

Please rest assured we make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the programmes, services and facilities described. However, it may be necessary to make changes due to significant disruption, for example in response to Covid-19.

View our  Academic experience page , which gives information about your Newcastle University study experience for the academic year 2023-24.

See our  terms and conditions and student complaints information , which gives details of circumstances that may lead to changes to programmes, modules or University services.

Related courses

Qualifications explained.

Find out about the different qualification options for this course.

(only use this component if course has more than one qualification option)

Each IPhD contains a significant and tailored taught component, assessed annually, and culminates with a research project written up as a thesis.

The taught component is the main difference between the IPhD and a standard PhD programme.

Find out about different types of postgraduate qualifications

What you'll learn

The IPhD combines taught master's level modules with research. As an IPhD student, you'll initially study alongside students on one of our computer science master's.

You can choose from one of the following:

• Advanced Computer Science MSc
• Bioinformatics MSc
• Cloud Computing MSc
• Computer Game Engineering MSc
• Cyber Security MSc
• Data Science MSc
• Data Science and AI MSc
• Data Science (with specialisation in Statistics) MSc
• Data Science with Visualisation MSc
• Human-Computer Interaction MSc

Additionally, you'll take the 30-credit short project module Project and Dissertation for MCOMP . The project topic should match the specialisation.

You will study modules on this course. A module is a unit of a course with its own approved aims and outcomes and assessment methods.

Module information is intended to provide an example of what you will study.

Our teaching is informed by research. Course content changes periodically to reflect developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback.

Full details of the modules on offer will be published through the Programme Regulations and Specifications ahead of each academic year. This usually happens in May.

To find out more please see our terms and conditions .

Optional modules availability

Some courses have optional modules. Student demand for optional modules may affect availability.

How you'll learn

As this is an integrated PhD you'll complete taught modules and receive support from our doctoral training centres, Faculty Training Programme and Research Student Support Team.

Your first research year will be spent identifying a hypothesis and developing an approach to answer it.

You'll also take short courses on research skills, innovation, personal and career development. The study skills you gain will help you manage your research project. You'll receive training in:

• presentations
• interviewing
• technical skills
• teaching skills

Once your supervisor has approved your research topic you can conduct your research.

Depending on your modules, you'll be assessed through a combination of:

• Computer assessment
• Design or creative project
• Dissertation
• Professional skills assessments
• Oral examination
• Oral presentation
• Practical lab report
• Problem-solving exercises
• Reflective log
• Written exercise

Your assessment includes:

• a written thesis
• an oral examination called a viva

At your viva you'll discuss your research with two examiners. This includes a leading researcher from outside Newcastle University.

All our staff will work to support you in your studies, from admissions to graduation and your career beyond.

To get the most out of your study experience, we'll encourage you to take part in a variety of activities. This includes taking part in seminars delivered by distinguished external speakers.

Our mission is to help you:

• stay healthy, positive and feeling well
• overcome any challenges you may face during your degree – academic or personal
• get the most out of your postgraduate research experience
• carry out admin and activities essential to progressing through your degree
• understand postgraduate research processes, standards and rules

We can offer you tailored wellbeing support, courses and activities.

You can also access a broad range of workshops covering:

• research and professional skills
• careers support
• health and safety
• public engagement
• academic development

Our teaching staff have international reputations, including some with extensive experience as practitioners.

Your development

Faculty of science, agriculture and engineering (sage) researcher development programme .

Each faculty offers a researcher development programme for its postgraduate research students. We have designed your programme to help you:

• perform better as a researcher
• boost your career prospects
• broaden your impact

Through workshops and activities, it will build your transferable skills and increase your confidence.

You’ll cover:

• techniques for effective research
• methods for better collaborative working
• essential professional standards and requirements

Your programme is flexible. You can adapt it to meet your changing needs as you progress through your doctorate.

Find out more about the SAgE researcher development programme

Your future

Members of our industry advisory group help to ensure that the programme is relevant to the needs of business and industry today. There are opportunities to choose a project for your final dissertation that has some industry involvement associated with it.

Our Careers Service

Our award-winning Careers Service is one of the largest and best in the country, and we have strong links with employers. We provide an extensive range of opportunities to all students through our ncl+ initiative.

Visit our Careers Service website

Quality and ranking

All professional accreditations are reviewed regularly by their professional body

From 1 January 2021 there is an update to the way professional qualifications are recognised by countries outside of the UK

Check the government’s website for more information .

The School of Computing is based in the £58 million Urban Sciences Building, a flagship development located on the £350 million Newcastle Helix regeneration site in the heart of Newcastle. It brings together:

• the public sector
• communities
• business and industry

Fees and funding

Tuition fees for 2024 entry (per year), home fees for research degree students.

For 2024-25 entry, we have aligned our standard Home research fees with those set by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) . The standard fee was confirmed in Spring 2024 by UKRI.

If your studies last longer than one year, your tuition fee may increase in line with inflation.

Depending on your residency history, if you’re a student from the EU, other EEA or a Swiss national, with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you’ll normally pay the ‘Home’ tuition fee rate and may be eligible for Student Finance England support.

EU students without settled or pre-settled status will normally be charged fees at the ‘International’ rate and will not be eligible for Student Finance England support.

If you are unsure of your fee status, check out the latest guidance here .

Scholarships

We support our EU and international students by providing a generous range of Vice-Chancellor's automatic and merit-based scholarships. See  our   searchable postgraduate funding page  for more information.  

What you're paying for

Tuition fees include the costs of:

• matriculation
• registration
• tuition (or supervision)
• library access
• examination
• re-examination

Find out more about:

• living costs
• tuition fees

If you are an international student or a student from the EU, EEA or Switzerland and you need a visa to study in the UK, you may have to pay a deposit.

You can check this in the How to apply section .

If you're applying for funding, always check the funding application deadline. This deadline may be earlier than the application deadline for your course.

For some funding schemes, you need to have received an offer of a place on a course before you can apply for the funding.

Search for funding

Find funding available for your course

Entry requirements

The entrance requirements below apply to 2024 entry.

Qualifications from outside the UK

English language requirements, admissions policy.

This policy applies to all undergraduate and postgraduate admissions at Newcastle University. It is intended to provide information about our admissions policies and procedures to applicants and potential applicants, to their advisors and family members, and to staff of the University.

Download our admissions policy (PDF: 201KB) Other policies related to admissions

Credit transfer and Recognition of Prior Learning

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) can allow you to convert existing relevant university-level knowledge, skills and experience into credits towards a qualification. Find out more about the RPL policy which may apply to this course

• How to apply

Using the application portal

The application portal has instructions to guide you through your application. It will tell you what documents you need and how to upload them.

You can choose to start your application, save your details and come back to complete it later.

If you’re ready, you can select Apply Online and you’ll be taken directly to the application portal.

Alternatively you can find out more about applying on our applications and offers pages .

Open days and events

You'll have a number of opportunities to meet us throughout the year including:

• campus tours
• on-campus open days
• virtual open days

Find out about how you can visit Newcastle in person and virtually

Overseas events

We regularly travel overseas to meet with students interested in studying at Newcastle University.

Visit our events calendar for the latest events

• Get in touch

Questions about this course?

If you have specific questions about this course you can contact:

Admissions Secretary School of Computing Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 2736 Email: [email protected]

For more general enquiries you could also complete our online enquiry form.

Fill in our enquiry form

Our Ncl chatbot might be able to give you an answer straight away. If not, it’ll direct you to someone who can help.

You'll find our Ncl chatbot in the bottom right of this page.

Keep updated

We regularly send email updates and extra information about the University.

Receive regular updates by email

Chat to a student

Chat online with current students with our Unibuddy platform.

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• How You'll Learn
• Your Development
• Your Future
• Quality and Ranking
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• Entry Requirements
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• Search Students, Staff and Alumni
• Course finder

International

Mphil/phd computer science, course information.

3 years full-time or 4-6 years part-time

Course overview

Our MPhil/PhD programme in computer science offers you the opportunity to participate fully in the highly interdisciplinary research environment of our department and of the College as a whole.

We currently offer MPhil/PhD supervision in many areas of computing, including:

• computational creativity
• computer vision and audition
• interactions between art, media and technology
• adaptive hypermedia systems
• artificial intelligence

We aim for all our students to produce innovative ideas and to develop those ideas into fully-fledged research results and software and hardware systems, working within the creative atmosphere of our department.

• We welcome outstanding applications to study and perform research in any aspect of computer science, and strongly encourage you to contact members of staff  with overlapping research interests to discuss your research proposal in the first instance; if you are unsure who to talk to, please contact the Postgraduate Tutor listed below with a description of your interests
• We provide you with office space and computer equipment along with access to computer labs and other facilities, in addition to resources and facilities made available by the College and support provided by the Research Office
• The department and the College provide training in research methods and in technical skills; we have a number of regular research meetings and seminars, from formal lectures to more informal workshops and discussion groups, and you are encouraged to present your work to the department at least once a year. There are also opportunities for you to participate in the teaching activities of the department
• Assessment will be by written thesis (up to 100,000 words) and viva voce
• Find out more about  research degrees at Goldsmiths . 

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Akshi Kumar .

Entry requirements

You should normally have (or expect to be awarded) a taught Masters in a relevant subject area. 

You might also be considered for some programmes if you aren’t a graduate or your degree is in an unrelated field, but have relevant experience and can show that you have the ability to work at postgraduate level.

International qualifications

We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the qualifications we accept from around the world.

If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification ) of 7.0 with a 7.0 in writing and no element lower than 6.5 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for postgraduate-level study .

Fees, funding & scholarships

Annual tuition fees.

These are the fees for students starting their programme in the 2024/2025 academic year.

• Home - full-time: £TBC
• Home - part-time: £TBC
• International - full-time: £TBC

If your fees are not listed here, please check our postgraduate fees guidance or contact the Fees Office , who can also advise you about how to pay your fees.

It’s not currently possible for international students to study part-time under a student visa. If you think you might be eligible to study part-time while being on another visa type, please contact our Admissions Team for more information.

If you are looking to pay your fees please see our guide to making a payment .

Additional costs

In addition to your tuition fees, you'll be responsible for any additional costs associated with your course, such as buying stationery and paying for photocopying. You can find out more about what you need to budget for on our study costs page .

There may also be specific additional costs associated with your programme. This can include things like paying for field trips or specialist materials for your assignments.

Funding opportunities

Find out more about postgraduate fees and explore funding opportunities . If you're applying for funding, you may be subject to an application deadline.

Find out about our involvement in the Centre for Doctoral Training in Intelligent Games and Game Intelligence , which will see us offering PhD studentships over the next few years.

How to apply

You apply directly to Goldsmiths using our online application system. 

Before submitting your application you'll need to have: 

• Details of  your education history , including the dates of all exams/assessments
• The  email address of your referee  who we can request a reference from, or alternatively an electronic copy of your academic reference
• Contact details of a second referee
• A  personal statement – this can either be uploaded as a Word Document or PDF, or completed online

           Please see our guidance on writing a postgraduate statement

• If available, an electronic copy of your educational transcript (this is particularly important if you have studied outside of the UK, but isn’t mandatory)
• Details of your  research proposal

You'll be able to save your progress at any point and return to your application by logging in using your username/email and password.

Before you apply for a research programme, we advise you to get in touch with the programme contact, listed above. It may also be possible to arrange an advisory meeting.

Before you start at Goldsmiths, the actual topic of your research has to be agreed with your proposed supervisor, who will be a member of staff active in your general field of research. The choice of topic may be influenced by the current research in the department or the requirements of an external funding body. 

If you wish to study on a part-time basis, you should also indicate how many hours a week you intend to devote to research, whether this will be at evenings or weekends, and for how many hours each day.

Research proposals

Along with your application and academic reference, you should also upload a research proposal at the point of application. 

This should be in the form of a statement of the proposed area of research and should include: 

• delineation of the research topic
• why it has been chosen
• an initial hypothesis (if applicable)
• a brief list of major secondary sources

When to apply  

We accept applications from October for students wanting to start the following September. 

We encourage you to complete your application as early as possible, even if you haven't finished your current programme of study. It's very common to be offered a place conditional on you achieving a particular qualification.  

If you're applying for external funding from one of the Research Councils, make sure you submit your application by the deadline they've specified. 

Selection process 

Admission to many programmes is by interview, unless you live outside the UK. Occasionally we'll make candidates an offer of a place on the basis of their application and qualifications alone.

Find out more about applying .

Find out more about staff in the department and their research interests .

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King's College London

Computer science research phd, key information.

The Department of Informatics has an extensive research profile, with major externally funded projects, a strong publication profile and significant research activity.

Our research is organised around our research groups, and you can find details of the range of current research projects and interests on the Department's research pages .

If you are interested in joining us to undertake PhD research, you should identify topics and academic staff in your area of interest. If you cannot find your chosen topic or area on our individual research section or subgroup pages, contact a relevant member of academic staff for further information and then follow the application procedure.

Current number of academic staff: 79

Current number of research staff: 37

Head of department: Professor Luc Moreau

Course intake: Approximately 25-30 per year

Research income

Currently, the Department attracts approximately £4m in research funding annually.

Recent publications

All academics in the Department publish regularly, with well over 100 publications per year.

Partner organisations

We have strong links with industry, government and other academic institutions. Our research has been supported by several companies from the aerospace, automotive, financial, IT and telecommunications sectors.

Recent events

We host several workshops and conferences and other regular research meetings. Please check our website for forthcoming events.

• How to apply
• Fees or Funding

For funding opportunities please explore these pages:

• List of funding opportunities
• External funding opportunities for International students
• King’s-China Scholarship Council PhD Scholarship programme (K-CSC)

UK Tuition Fees 2023/24

Full time tuition fees: £6,540 per year

Part time tuition fees: £3,270 per year

International Tuition Fees 2023/24

Full time tuition fees: £28,260 per year

Part time tuition fees: £14,130 per year

UK Tuition Fees 2024/25

Full time tuition fees: £6,936 per year

Part time tuition fees: £3,468 per year

International Tuition Fees 2024/25

Full time tuition fees: £30,240 per year

Part time tuition fees: £15,120 per year

These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King's terms and conditions.

• Study environment

We are a department with many internationally recognised researchers and visiting academics, large groups of PhD students, research assistants, national and international projects, collaborations with other departments as well as links with industry. We offer an exciting environment and excellent opportunities for research.

Our PhD students have access to good library facilities, designated PhD offices within the Department where PhD students can dock an assigned laptop for use throughout their studies, Regular group seminars are organised providing PhD students chance to showcase their research and receive feedback from academic staff and peers, and college-based training in transferable and research skills.

The Department is located on the Strand Campus, in the heart of central London, close to the cultural activities of the West End and the South Bank, to the major departments of state at Whitehall, and to the leading financial institutions of the City, and within easy reach of major transport links. Our facilities are within easy reach of the British Computer Society and the Institute of Engineering & Technology (and the IET Library), with access to a formidable collection of scientific journals and other technical material.

The Department moved to the historic Bush House in the summer of 2017, featuring state-of-the-art teaching and office spaces. Although the Department is fairly large in size, there is a friendly and inclusive culture, with regular social and celebratory events to bring staff and students together. Our staff and students come from all over the world, which provides a rich environment for teaching and research. Diversity is positively encouraged - find out more about the work we’re doing to ensure an inclusive and supportive working environment.

The scope of our research is defined by the interests of our research groups.

Postgraduate training

Faculty and College induction courses are scheduled at the beginning of your degree to prepare you for life as a PhD student. All students are required to complete 10 days of training each year. There is a centrally provided programme of related and transferable skills training coordinated by the Centre for Doctoral Studies .

Research students are also encouraged to submit papers to conferences, and we try to provide financial support for them to travel to present their papers.

Our research students are also encouraged to teach alongside their studies to help prepare them for a potential future career in academia.

• Entry requirements
• Research groups

Algorithms and Data Analysis

The group develops algorithmic solutions and concrete implementations for various applications.

Cybersecurity

The group studies design, modelling, analysis, verification and testing of networks and systems.

Distributed Artificial Intelligence

The group explores the use of AI in social and economic contexts where an intelligent entity may be interacting with other entities.

Human Centred Computing Research

The group is concerned with the design, development and evaluation of human computer systems.

Reasoning and Planning

The group focuses on the fundamental AI challenge of creating, representing and reasoning.

Software Systems

The group studies design, modelling and engineering of software systems.

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DPhil in Computer Science

• Entry requirements
• Funding and Costs

College preference

• How to Apply

About the course

The DPhil in Computer Science is an advanced research degree, awarded for a significant (new) contribution to the existing body of knowledge in the field of computer science. The degree will introduce you to cutting edge research, while you study in a beautiful, historic setting that is both student- and family-friendly.

You will work with world-class experts in their field. Supervision is available in areas corresponding to the department’s research themes . Cross-disciplinary work corresponding to more than one theme, or involving researchers from other departments or from industry, is also possible.

The course combines individual supervision with a selection of lecture courses, transferable skills training and opportunities to participate in cutting-edge research activities. During your study at Oxford, the department hopes to share with you some of the excitement about the topics the department investigates, and of the understanding the department has gained from research into basic theory and by industrial collaboration.

The development of computer science at Oxford has been heavily supported by research grant funding from the government, EU and science foundations, as well as donations and sponsorship from the department's industrial partners. The department is committed to offering you the best supervision and to providing a stimulating research environment.

The DPhil normally takes three to four years of full-time study to complete. You are expected to continue working outside of the University terms with an annual holiday of approximately eight weeks.

Supervision

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Department of Computer Science and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Department of Computer Science. In such circumstances a joint supervisor from within the department is also appointed.

Typically a student might expect to meet with their supervisor on a fortnightly basis, at least until they reach the stage of writing up their thesis. In addition to this, many research groups have weekly meetings where members discuss their research or perhaps present other published work. In the case of students who require specific help to adjust to an academic programme or to a new range of skills, the supervisor will work with them to ensure that they have additional support.

All students will be initially admitted to the status of Probationer Research Student (PRS). Within a maximum of six terms as a PRS student (and normally by the fourth term) you will be expected to apply for transfer of status from Probationer Research Student to DPhil status.

A successful transfer of status from PRS to DPhil status will require satisfactory completion of any compulsory training courses (e.g. research integrity, teaching training) and submission of written work. Students who are successful at transfer will also be expected to apply for and gain confirmation of DPhil status within nine terms of admission, to show that your work continues to be on track. You will be expected to teach at least two sets of classes before confirmation of status.

Both milestones normally involve an interview with two assessors (other than your supervisor) and therefore provide important experience for the final oral examination whilst also ensuring you are making satisfactory progress and that your work is of DPhil quality.

You will be expected to submit a substantial original thesis which should not exceed 250 pages after at most four years from the date of admission. To be successfully awarded a DPhil in Computer Science you will need to defend your thesis orally (viva voce) in front of two appointed examiners.

Graduate destinations

Graduates of the DPhil in Computer Science are highly regarded by a wide range of employers, including universities and industry. Many also go on to build their own start-ups.  

Changes to this course and your supervision

The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made in circumstances of a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency. In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.

Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.

For further information please see our page on changes to courses and the provisions of the student contract regarding changes to courses.

Entry requirements for entry in 2024-25

Proven and potential academic excellence.

The requirements described below are specific to this course and apply only in the year of entry that is shown. You can use our interactive tool to help you  evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive .

Please be aware that any studentships that are linked to this course may have different or additional requirements and you should read any studentship information carefully before applying. 

Degree-level qualifications

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:

• a first-class or a strong upper second-class four-year undergraduate degree with honours in a relevant subject, or  
• a first-class or a strong upper second-class three-year undergraduate degree with honours  and  a master's degree with merit or distinction in a relevant subject.

For the qualifications above, relevant subjects include computer science, and depending on the area of proposed research, subjects such as mathematics, engineering or physics.

A four-year sandwich degree with one year spent in industry is not an acceptable equivalent.

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.5 out of 4.0.

If your degree is not from the UK or another country specified above, visit our International Qualifications page for guidance on the qualifications and grades that would usually be considered to meet the University’s minimum entry requirements.

GRE General Test scores

No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.

Other qualifications, evidence of excellence and relevant experience 

• You are not required to submit publications with your application, but if you have publications then please give details in your CV/résumé. 
• It would be expected that graduate applicants would be familiar with the recent published work of their proposed supervisor.

English language proficiency

This course requires proficiency in English at the University's  standard level . If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement. The minimum scores required to meet the University's standard level are detailed in the table below.

*Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English or Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) † Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)

Your test must have been taken no more than two years before the start date of your course. Our Application Guide provides further information about the English language test requirement .

Declaring extenuating circumstances

If your ability to meet the entry requirements has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (eg you were awarded an unclassified/ungraded degree) or any other exceptional personal circumstance (eg other illness or bereavement), please refer to the guidance on extenuating circumstances in the Application Guide for information about how to declare this so that your application can be considered appropriately.

You will need to register three referees who can give an informed view of your academic ability and suitability for the course. The  How to apply  section of this page provides details of the types of reference that are required in support of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.

Supporting documents

You will be required to supply supporting documents with your application. The  How to apply  section of this page provides details of the supporting documents that are required as part of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.

Performance at interview

Interviews are normally held as part of the admissions process.  

Candidates are considered against the academic ability criteria and also the research proposal or statement. If you meet the academic criteria and there is a supervisor interested in your research then you will be invited for interview. If invited you can expect to be interviewed by at least two people and for the interview to last around 30 minutes. The interview could take place face-to-face or remotely.

Interviews will usually be held in January and February for applicants who apply by the December deadline and by late March for those who apply at the March deadline.

How your application is assessed

Your application will be assessed purely on your proven and potential academic excellence and other entry requirements described under that heading.

References  and  supporting documents  submitted as part of your application, and your performance at interview (if interviews are held) will be considered as part of the assessment process. Whether or not you have secured funding will not be taken into consideration when your application is assessed.

An overview of the shortlisting and selection process is provided below. Our ' After you apply ' pages provide  more information about how applications are assessed . 

Shortlisting and selection

Students are considered for shortlisting and selected for admission without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief (including lack of belief), sex, sexual orientation, as well as other relevant circumstances including parental or caring responsibilities or social background. However, please note the following:

• socio-economic information may be taken into account in the selection of applicants and award of scholarships for courses that are part of  the University’s pilot selection procedure  and for  scholarships aimed at under-represented groups ;
• country of ordinary residence may be taken into account in the awarding of certain scholarships; and
• protected characteristics may be taken into account during shortlisting for interview or the award of scholarships where the University has approved a positive action case under the Equality Act 2010.

Processing your data for shortlisting and selection

Information about  processing special category data for the purposes of positive action  and  using your data to assess your eligibility for funding , can be found in our Postgraduate Applicant Privacy Policy.

Admissions panels and assessors

All recommendations to admit a student involve the judgement of at least two members of the academic staff with relevant experience and expertise, and must also be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies or Admissions Committee (or equivalent within the department).

Admissions panels or committees will always include at least one member of academic staff who has undertaken appropriate training.

Other factors governing whether places can be offered

The following factors will also govern whether candidates can be offered places:

• the ability of the University to provide the appropriate supervision for your studies, as outlined under the 'Supervision' heading in the  About  section of this page;
• the ability of the University to provide appropriate support for your studies (eg through the provision of facilities, resources, teaching and/or research opportunities); and
• minimum and maximum limits to the numbers of students who may be admitted to the University's taught and research programmes.

Offer conditions for successful applications

If you receive an offer of a place at Oxford, your offer will outline any conditions that you need to satisfy and any actions you need to take, together with any associated deadlines. These may include academic conditions, such as achieving a specific final grade in your current degree course. These conditions will usually depend on your individual academic circumstances and may vary between applicants. Our ' After you apply ' pages provide more information about offers and conditions . 

In addition to any academic conditions which are set, you will also be required to meet the following requirements:

Financial Declaration

If you are offered a place, you will be required to complete a  Financial Declaration  in order to meet your financial condition of admission.

Disclosure of criminal convictions

In accordance with the University’s obligations towards students and staff, we will ask you to declare any  relevant, unspent criminal convictions  before you can take up a place at Oxford.

Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS)

Some postgraduate research students in science, engineering and technology subjects will need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate prior to applying for a  Student visa (under the Student Route) . For some courses, the requirement to apply for an ATAS certificate may depend on your research area.

The department will contact you with possible options for IT provision for your DPhil. Oxford University IT Services runs introductory courses throughout the year. They will also help you to explore facilities available at the University of Oxford which, although possibly not required for your research, may be of interest to you. As a DPhil student, you will have access to a desk in an office or hot desk space that is shared with other DPhil students.

The Department of Computer Science Library contains books, monographic series, journals, technical reports and past theses covering the main research interests of the department. You are also able to access other relevant libraries elsewhere in the University such as the Radcliffe Science Library, the Whitehead Library (at the Mathematical Institute for numerical analysts and formal mathematicians) and the Engineering Science Library (especially for those interested in robotics and machine vision).

The Department of Computer Science houses lecture theatres and seminar rooms in which most of the lectures in computer science take place. The department has kitchens on each floor and a central common room where you can meet informally.

The Computer Science Graduate Society (COGS) is an organisation within the Department of Computer Science that provides organised events and outings for the graduate students and research assistants within the lab. The Oxford Women in Computer Science Society (OxWoCS) aims to support and promote women in computer science. The society organises events throughout the year, including weekly coffee meetings, talks by distinguished female speakers, and industry sponsored events.

Computer Science

The Department of Computer Science is at the heart of computing and related interdisciplinary activity at Oxford. 

The department is home to a community of world class researchers and is consistently ranked in the  Times Higher Education University Rankings  amongst the very best computer science departments in the world, for both teaching and research. 

The Department of Computer Science is committed to attracting the world’s most talented students and working with them to continue the success of the field of computer science. As a student here, you will join a vibrant community working in research areas including:

• algorithms and complexity theory
• artificial intelligence and machine learning
• automated verification
• computational biology and health informatics
• data, knowledge and action
• human centred computing
• programming languages 
• software engineering.

The department’s strength comes from its firm grounding in core computer science disciplines, a high degree of mathematical sophistication among its researchers, and its committed engagement with applications and interdisciplinary work.

You will have the opportunity to meet other students and staff working across these research areas by attending seminars, workshops and lectures, and through social events organised by the Computer Science Graduate Society and the Oxford Women in Computer Science Society.

The department is home to undergraduates, full-time and part-time master's students, and has a strong doctoral programme.

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The University expects to be able to offer over 1,000 full or partial graduate scholarships across the collegiate University in 2024-25. You will be automatically considered for the majority of Oxford scholarships , if you fulfil the eligibility criteria and submit your graduate application by the relevant December or January deadline. Most scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and/or potential. 

For further details about searching for funding as a graduate student visit our dedicated Funding pages, which contain information about how to apply for Oxford scholarships requiring an additional application, details of external funding, loan schemes and other funding sources.

Please ensure that you visit individual college websites for details of any college-specific funding opportunities using the links provided on our college pages or below:

Please note that not all the colleges listed above may accept students on this course. For details of those which do, please refer to the College preference section of this page.

Information about funding opportunities for this course can also be found on the department's website.

Annual fees for entry in 2024-25

Further details about fee status eligibility can be found on the fee status webpage.

Information about course fees

Course fees are payable each year, for the duration of your fee liability (your fee liability is the length of time for which you are required to pay course fees). For courses lasting longer than one year, please be aware that fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on changes to fees and charges .

Course fees cover your teaching as well as other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies. Unless specified in the additional information section below, course fees do not cover your accommodation, residential costs or other living costs. They also don’t cover any additional costs and charges that are outlined in the additional information below.

Continuation charges

Following the period of fee liability , you may also be required to pay a University continuation charge and a college continuation charge. The University and college continuation charges are shown on the Continuation charges page.

Where can I find further information about fees?

The Fees and Funding  section of this website provides further information about course fees , including information about fee status and eligibility  and your length of fee liability .

Additional information

There are no compulsory elements of this course that entail additional costs beyond fees (or, after fee liability ends, continuation charges) and living costs. However, please note that, depending on your choice of research topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips. You will need to meet these additional costs, although you may be able to apply for small grants from your department and/or college to help you cover some of these expenses.

Living costs

In addition to your course fees, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course.

For the 2024-25 academic year, the range of likely living costs for full-time study is between c. £1,345 and £1,955 for each month spent in Oxford. Full information, including a breakdown of likely living costs in Oxford for items such as food, accommodation and study costs, is available on our living costs page. The current economic climate and high national rate of inflation make it very hard to estimate potential changes to the cost of living over the next few years. When planning your finances for any future years of study in Oxford beyond 2024-25, it is suggested that you allow for potential increases in living expenses of around 5% each year – although this rate may vary depending on the national economic situation. UK inflationary increases will be kept under review and this page updated.

Students enrolled on this course will belong to both a department/faculty and a college. Please note that ‘college’ and ‘colleges’ refers to all 43 of the University’s colleges, including those designated as societies and permanent private halls (PPHs). 

If you apply for a place on this course you will have the option to express a preference for one of the colleges listed below, or you can ask us to find a college for you. Before deciding, we suggest that you read our brief  introduction to the college system at Oxford  and our  advice about expressing a college preference . For some courses, the department may have provided some additional advice below to help you decide.

The following colleges accept students on the DPhil in Computer Science:

• Balliol College
• Christ Church
• Exeter College
• Green Templeton College
• Hertford College
• Jesus College
• Keble College
• Kellogg College
• Lady Margaret Hall
• Linacre College
• Magdalen College
• Mansfield College
• Merton College
• New College
• Oriel College
• Pembroke College
• Reuben College
• St Anne's College
• St Catherine's College
• St Cross College
• St Edmund Hall
• St Hilda's College
• St Hugh's College
• St John's College
• Somerville College
• Trinity College
• University College
• Wolfson College
• Worcester College
• Wycliffe Hall

Before you apply

Our  guide to getting started  provides general advice on how to prepare for and start your application. You can use our interactive tool to help you  evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive .

If it's important for you to have your application considered under a particular deadline – eg under a December or January deadline in order to be considered for Oxford scholarships – we recommend that you aim to complete and submit your application at least two weeks in advance . Check the deadlines on this page and the  information about deadlines and when to apply  in our Application Guide.

Application fee waivers

An application fee of £75 is payable per course application. Application fee waivers are available for the following applicants who meet the eligibility criteria:

• applicants from low-income countries;
• refugees and displaced persons; 
• UK applicants from low-income backgrounds; and 
• applicants who applied for our Graduate Access Programmes in the past two years and met the eligibility criteria.

You are encouraged to  check whether you're eligible for an application fee waiver  before you apply.

Readmission for current Oxford graduate taught students

If you're currently studying for an Oxford graduate taught course and apply to this course with no break in your studies, you may be eligible to apply to this course as a readmission applicant. The application fee will be waived for an eligible application of this type. Check whether you're eligible to apply for readmission .

Application fee waivers for eligible associated courses

If you apply to this course and up to two eligible associated courses from our predefined list during the same cycle, you can request an application fee waiver so that you only need to pay one application fee.

The list of eligible associated courses may be updated as new courses are opened. Please check the list regularly, especially if you are applying to a course that has recently opened to accept applications.

Do I need to contact anyone before I apply?

Before you apply, a good starting point is to look at the  research  currently being done in the department and the  profiles  of academic staff . Academic staff profiles contain information on their research interests and will help you identify potential supervisors. 

You can contact potential supervisors directly but remember they are very busy and may not reply immediately. You should be brief and include some information about your background, your research interests and any relevant experience. You might like to introduce yourself by explaining why their work interests you enough to motivate you to apply to study with them and which of their publications interest you.

Completing your application

You should refer to the information below when completing the application form, paying attention to the specific requirements for the supporting documents . 

If any document does not meet the specification, including the stipulated word count, your application may be considered incomplete and not assessed by the academic department. Expand each section to show further details.

Proposed field and title of research project

Under the 'Field and title of research project' please enter your proposed field or area of research if this is known. If the department has advertised a specific research project that you would like to be considered for, please enter the project title here instead.

You should not use this field to type out a full research proposal. You will be able to upload your research supporting materials separately if they are required (as described below).

Proposed supervisor

Please enter the name of at least one supervisor to whom you are applying. If you wish to enter more than one name, please list them in order of preference, or indicate equal preference, up to a maximum of three.

Referees: Three overall, of which two must be academic, and with the third being either academic or professional 

Whilst you must register three referees, the department may start the assessment of your application if two of the three references are submitted by the course deadline and your application is otherwise complete. Please note that you may still be required to ensure your third referee supplies a reference for consideration.

Generally, you should provide two academic references and a third reference which may be either professional or academic. However, if you have been away from higher education for a long time, you may instead provide one academic reference and two professional references.

Your references will support intellectual ability, academic achievement, motivation, and (where appropriate) ability to work in a group.

Official transcript(s)

Your transcripts should give detailed information of the individual grades received in your university-level qualifications to date. You should only upload official documents issued by your institution and any transcript not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation.

More information about the transcript requirement is available in the Application Guide.

A CV/résumé is compulsory for this course. Most applicants choose to submit a document of one to two pages highlighting their academic achievements and any relevant professional experience.

Research proposal/statement of research interests: A maximum of 1,000 words

You may submit either a research proposal comprising a detailed outline of your intended research or, if you are not yet ready to submit a full proposal, you should submit a statement of research interests, in English, describing the general area of research in which you are interested. You should summarise the research in this area that you are aware of, referring to existing papers where appropriate. You could also describe a research problem and your initial ideas on research work towards solving this or open problems.

You should include your relevant skills and experience, your reasons for applying to Oxford, and list some of the principal reasons why you consider yourself a strong applicant.

It is helpful to identify a likely supervisor. You should look at the webpages of potential supervisors working in your area of interest and even read some of their publications. You should make it clear why the potential supervisor's work interests you and why they would be the best supervisor for you.

You should be aware that a statement of research interests will not commit you to carry out the exact research work you have described and it is expected that your interests may evolve and change over the course of study.

The overall word count should not include any bibliography.

If possible, please ensure that the word count is clearly displayed on the document.

This will be assessed for:

• your reasons for applying
• the coherence of the proposal
• the originality of the project
• evidence of motivation for and understanding of the proposed area of study
• the ability to present a reasoned case in English
• the feasibility of successfully completing the project in the time available for the course (a maximum  four years)
• commitment to the subject, beyond the requirements of the degree course
• preliminary knowledge of research techniques
• capacity for sustained and intense work
• reasoning ability
• ability to absorb new ideas, often presented abstractly, at a rapid pace.

You should be aware that the statement of research interests will not commit you to carry out the exact research work you have described and we would expect your interests to evolve and change over the course of study.

Your proposal should focus on your ideas for research rather than personal achievements, interests and aspirations. You do not need to include your MSc dissertation.

Start or continue your application

You can start or return to an application using the relevant link below. As you complete the form, please  refer to the requirements above  and  consult our Application Guide for advice . You'll find the answers to most common queries in our FAQs.

Application Guide   Apply

ADMISSION STATUS

Open - applications are still being accepted

Up to a week's notice of closure will be provided on this page - no other notification will be given

12:00 midday UK time on:

Friday 1 December 2023 Latest deadline for most Oxford scholarships

Friday 1 March 2024 Applications may remain open after this deadline if places are still available - see below

A later deadline shown under 'Admission status' If places are still available,  applications may be accepted after 1 March . The 'Admissions status' (above) will provide notice of any later deadline.

*Three-year average (applications for entry in 2021-22 to 2023-24)

Further information and enquiries

This course is offered by the Department of Computer Science

• Course page on the department's website
• Funding information from the department
• Academic and research staff
• Departmental research
• Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences
• Residence requirements for full-time courses
• Postgraduate applicant privacy policy

Course-related enquiries

Advice about contacting the department can be found in the How to apply section of this page

✉ [email protected] ☎ +44 (0)1865 283559

Application-process enquiries

See the application guide

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SUBJECT LEAGUE TABLE 2025

Computers and computer programmes are integral to our everyday lives. A Computer Science degree is not only great for employability in the modern world but is also an ideal degree for those who love to analyse and problem solve. You can find the best universities for Computer Science in the UK outlined in our Computer Science rankings. You can filter our computer science university rankings by region, entry standards, student satisfaction, graduate prospects, and more. Universities offer degrees combining Computer Science with other fields, so see which course best suits you.

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Computer Science Ph.D.

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Updated October 18, 2023 · 4 Min Read

ComputerScience.org is an advertising-supported site. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate us. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site.

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With the rising need for technical expertise, employers are increasingly including doctoral degrees in their minimum hiring requirements. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics  projects a 15.3% jump  in the number of jobs in CS requiring a doctorate degree by 2022.

An online Ph.D. in computer science proves a lucrative degree and allows for more independent, creative input into projects, along with more freedom to design products, implement change, and inspire students and employees. Employees with their doctorates tend to enjoy higher salaries and lower unemployment rates than those with lower-level degrees.

Earning a Ph.D. in computer science opens doors to high-level academic positions, and allows for more independent, design-based work.

Doctorate in Computer Science Overview

What is a doctorate in computer science.

A doctorate in computer science builds on prior knowledge, education, and experience in the field. The degree typically takes 4-5 years to complete, and involves independent study and research in a focused area of interest. Doctorate programs include coursework and research that culminate in a final dissertation.

How do I get a PhD in Computer Science?

To enter a Ph.D. program, you must hold at least a bachelor's degree in the field, though a master's degree is usually preferable. Doctorate applicants must also submit GRE scores and letters of recommendation.

Students who enter these programs generally want to enter highly specialized computer science fields or teach at the college level. They must demonstrate academic success in prior college programs, and a desire to learn more about a specific area of the industry through additional study and research.

• 72-90 credits

Computer science plays a role in virtually every field of industry. For this reason, Ph.D. programs are diverse, and many students pursue interdisciplinary degrees.

Students wishing to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science generally take 4-5 years to complete the degree, which usually requires 72-90 credits. Learners can devote their studies to general computer science or choose a specialty area, such as one of the following:

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Average Annual Tuition for a PhD in Computer Science

Source:  CollegeBoard, 2017-18

Online Ph.D. in Computer Science

Online options for computer science doctorates continue to grow. Considering the nature of the material, it's no surprise computer science courses were among the first offered in an online format from prestigious institutions such as MIT and Stanford. Doctorate studies require independent work, which integrates well with the online learning format.

Advantage: Individualized Pacing

Online programs offer the advantage of working at your own pace. Because the research and dissertation process varies greatly by student, this format proves especially conducive for doctorate-level work.

Advantage: Growing Prestige of Online Programs

The  Taulbee Survey  estimates more than 1,834 graduates earned Ph.D.s in computer science in the 2016-17 academic year — more than ever before. This represents a 1.2% increase over the previous year. That said, the total number of doctoral degrees awarded in the 2016-17 academic year increased by 5.2% over the previous year.

Computer science courses represented some of the first offered online with the arrival of Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) and other open-access learning platforms, which became popular around 2012. Some of the nation's most prestigious universities, including Stanford, MIT, and Harvard, pioneered the MOOC industry. These universities now offer singular courses in computer science, many of which are free, through Coursera and other open-source platforms.

Specialization

Doctorate students should choose specialties they feel passionately about. Specialization options vary between doctoral programs, so prospective students should make sure their online program offers concentrations in their area of interest.

Courses in an Online Ph.D. in Computer Science Program

Required major courses vary by school, depending on each institution's resources and faculty. This makes each program unique. College and university faculty acquire specialty areas of study, and typically teach courses related to those topics. Required courses may also root in the school's longstanding traditions, based on department history and resources. Common courses for doctoral programs in computer science may include:

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Computer Science (M.S.)

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Program Quick Facts

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Want to take your computer science career to the next level? With a field that continuously evolves, you need an education that can help you evolve with it. From concepts in computer architecture to real-world data-structuring skills, the right computer science graduate degree program can put you on a path that helps companies rise to every high-tech challenge while pushing your career to new heights.

University of the Cumberlands’ 100% online Master of Science in Computer Science program covers what it takes to:  

• Identify, understand, and use emerging technologies
• Solve complex computer science problems
• Deploy secure systems
• Examine computer processes and programming methodologies
• Grasp relevant professional, ethical, legal, security, and social issues
• Apply software development principles and techniques in applications

  To learn how a Master of Science in Computer Science from University of the Cumberlands could help you evolve and advance your career, fill out the form on this page.

Program Outcomes

Advance your career at your own pace through a convenient online curriculum.

Gain a competitive edge and acquire the skills you need to make a bigger difference., network with industry experts and fellow students who share your professional goals..

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Convenient Online Curriculum

Affordability

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25 Most Affordable Online MBAs for 2024

Earning an MBA can yield great returns professionally and financially. Business school graduates regularly see six-figure salaries with opportunities for sign-on bonuses and promotions. But fronting the initial cost of the degree can be challenging, with the costs of some programs totaling tens of thousands—or even hundreds of thousands—of dollars. For those seeking more inexpensive ways to earn their MBA, Fortune has compiled a list of the 25 most affordable online MBA programs. This list was compiled using data provided by schools for our Best Online MBA Programs list. For schools that provided the cost per credit instead of the annual or total tuition, we multiplied cost per credit by the number credit hours required to graduate from that program. This ranking was last updated September 2022.

Earn Your MBA Online from Boston University

Maryville University Master of Business Administration | Online

1. Louisiana Tech University

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2. University of Texas of the Permian Basin

3. Southeast Missouri State University (Harrison)

The Online MBA From Syracuse University

4. University of Louisiana–Lafayette BI Moody III College of Business Administration

5. West Texas A&M University

6. University of Southern Indiana

7. Texas A&M University–Kingsville

8. missouri state university college of business, the online mba from rice business.

9. Delta State University

10. Troy University

11. University of Louisiana–Monroe

12. Dakota Wesleyan University

13. Auburn University–Montgomery

UNC Kenan-Flagler’s top-ranked online MBA

14. Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania (Grove)

15. Southern Utah University

16. University of Central Missouri (Harmon)

17. University of Alabama–Birmingham

• Did not provide

18. Morehead State University

19. University of Southern Mississippi

20. Campbellsville University

21. University of North Carolina–Wilmington Cameron School of Business

22. Fayetteville State University

23. Lindenwood University

24. University of Maine

25. University of Massachusetts–Lowell

With tuition of slightly less than $9,000, Louisiana Tech University ranked as the most affordable online MBA—or best budget online MBA—among Fortune ’s ranking. Another 10 schools offer tuition of less than $15,000 and the  University of Dubuque also recently announced an online MBA program that costs less than $15,000 .

The average cost of an online MBA can vary widely, from just under $9,000 to nearly $80,000. When considering the most affordable online MBA programs, however, there are 25 options that all come in with tuition of less than $20,000. Because many online MBA programs are designed to be completed while working part- or full-time, that allows students to continue earning while enrolled—potentially reducing some of the financial burden of going back to school.

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BSc Computer Science

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University of London

Accredited bachelor's degree.

Offered by the University of London

36 - 72 months

23 courses total, 14 - 28 hours per week

100% online learning

Hands-on learning from anywhere, no travel required

£13,276 to £19,767 total degree cost

Tuition varies by geographic location

Flexibility

Choose a study schedule that matches your commitments

Master cutting-edge programming skills and prepare for a high-growth tech career

Whether you’re just beginning your technology journey, or returning to education to change or advance your career, the University of London’s online Computer Science degree will give you all the tools you need to thrive in this ever-changing field.

During this course, you’ll master sought-after programming, mathematical and computing skills through practical project-based modules. You’ll choose a learning path to focus on IT career specialisms such as Data Science, Web and Mobile Development, or Machine Learning and AI. Along with the same applied computing knowledge and expertise you’d receive from studying on-campus, you’ll gain job-ready transferable professional skills, allowing you to solve problems and manage tech projects in almost any industry, including business, finance, education, science, and engineering.

Learning to use a range of programming languages, including Python and C++, you’ll position yourself for a range of exciting roles in an industry that’s expected to grow by 15% this decade (the US). What’s in this degree program?

Applications open now for October cohort!

Sign up to attend our webinar: Advance your career in tech with Goldsmiths, University of London

If you have a question please contact the University of London via the Student Enquiry System .

View the Prospectus; Programme Specification and Schedule of Programme Fees .

Applications open on now

Get ready to apply to join October cohort or express interest to learn more and receive a downloadable admissions checklist.

Choose your path: Direct entry or Performance-Based Admissions

Whether you have entry qualifications or experience working in a computer science field, earning a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science can help accelerate your career. If you do not have the standard entry requirements for the bachelor’s degree in Computer Science the University of London welcomes applications for the via the Performance-Based Admissions route.

To qualify for Performance-Based Admissions you need a minimum of four GCSEs or a High School Diploma (or equivalent) and relevant work experience. If you gain Performance-Based entry to the degree, you’ll also need to achieve a pass (40% weighted average or higher) in two of the following core modules to remain on the course: Programming I, Computational Mathematics or Discrete Mathematics. You do not need to complete these courses before you enrol, they will simply form part of your first term studying the degree.

Unsure which entry route is best for you? Simply apply via direct entry. If you don’t meet direct-entry criteria, your application will automatically be considered for Performance-Based Admission.

Flexible, pay by module tuition lets you take on the right balance for your lifestyle

• £13,276 to £19,767 tuition total With flexible payment options, you can pursue a high-quality education at the pace you choose.
• Pay per module Tuition is paid by module on a pay-as-you-go basis equally across six terms. If you need to pause your coursework for a term, you won’t be charged for that term.
• Funding your studies You may find potential sources of funding and scholarships here .

Applications open on now!

Apply by September 9 to secure your spot

You can earn degree credit

When you complete these programs, you can earn degree credit if you are admitted and enroll in the degree program.¹

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¹Each university determines the number of pre-approved prior learning credits that may count towards the degree requirements according to institutional policies.

Make progress before you enroll

These courses are part of this degree program. If you are admitted and enroll in the degree program, your coursework can count toward your degree learning and your progress can transfer with you.

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Object Oriented Programming

Build a crypto-trading platform with c++.

Intermediate · Specialization

Prepare for this degree

These courses may provide you with a preview of the topics, materials and instructors in a related degree program which can help you decide if the topic or university is right for you.

Introduction to Computer Science and Programming

Get ready for computer science.

Beginner · Specialization

Frequently asked questions

Do the same faculty teach online and on-campus courses.

Yes. Each module is designed by the same academics who teach on campus at Goldsmiths, University of London. They’ll also be leading the delivery of the modules, supported by online tutors and the University of London team.

Is the BSc Computer Science degree the same degree you can earn on campus in the UK?‎

Whether you study online or on campus, you’ll receive the same degree: a University of London Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. The faculty and academics are those who teach the on-campus programme at Goldsmiths in London. The programme structure and content is similar to that taught on campus, but it’s adapted to suit the specific needs of learners studying online.

What institution name will appear on my degree certificate?‎

Your certificate will show that you have successfully completed the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. It will also show that the awarding body is the University of London with academic direction provided by Goldsmiths, University of London. The certificate does not mention Coursera or online study.

Is there a graduation ceremony I can participate in?

When you successfully complete the programme you will be invited to our annual graduation ceremony in London.

How long will it take to complete the degree if I am working while studying?‎

The programme will take you between three and six years to complete. If you’re working and intending to study the degree alongside, you can pay for modules as you go and study at your own pace. On average, a student studying part time will finish the degree in four to five years.

Can I take my written exams online?‎

Exams were moved online due to Covid-19. They are still currently taking place online and students do not need to attend an exam centre. If this changes the University of London will communicate this with all students.

Can I switch between online and on-campus programmes?‎

Yes. If you’re an online student who would like to transfer to an on-campus degree, Goldsmiths welcomes transfer applications.

To complete your degree in two years of full-time study at Goldsmiths, you must have completed eight Level 4 modules successfully. To complete your degree in one year of full-time study at Goldsmiths, you must also have completed eight modules at Level 5.

Can I receive credit for the open courses associated with this programme?‎

No. The University of London doesn’t provide credit for the completion of open courses associated with this programme. However, the Introduction to Computer Programming , How Computers Work , and Mathematics for Computer Science courses will provide a taste of the content taught on the degree programme.

What are the English proficiency requirements?

Goldsmiths accepts a range of evidence of fluency, including proficiency test scores. If you don’t have evidence but believe you can meet the standard, Goldsmiths may consider your case. You’ll find more information on the English language requirements on the University of London website.

Is there an application fee?‎

To help cover the associated administrative costs of processing the high volumes of applications this programme attracts, there is an application handling fee for the BSc Computer Science programme of £60. It is non-refundable and non-transferable.

Is the programme accredited?‎

The BSc in Computer Science leads to a recognised UK degree qualification. However, this degree doesn’t receive any additional professional accreditation at this time.

What is Performance-Based Admissions?

Performance-Based Admissions provides students who do not have the standard entry requirments for a degree with alternative route to entry.

The University of London welcomes applications for the bachelor’s degree in Computer Science via the Performance-Based Admissions route. To qualify for Performance-Based Admissions you need a minimum of four GCSEs or a High School Diploma (or equivalent) and relevant work experience.

If you gain Performance-Based entry to the degree, you’ll also need to achieve a pass (40% weighted average or higher) in at least two of the following core modules to remain on the course: Programming I, Computational Mathematics or Discrete Mathematics. You do not need to complete these courses before you enrol, they will simply form part of your first term studying the degree.

Please note, students who apply via Performance-Based admissions will enrol onto exactly the same programme as a direct entry student.

More questions?