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Doctoral Studentship Opportunities

Application process

Contact us

If you have any questions about the SEtS Doctoral Studentships, please get in touch.

Email: cs-pgr-admissions@york.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1904 325412

Applications for studentships in the Doctoral Centre for Safe, Ethical and Secure Computing (SEtS) should follow the standard admissions process for applying for a PhD in the Department of Computer Science at the University of York. Applications must be received by the deadline shown in the 'Key Dates' section, below. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

In addition to the standard supporting documents that are required for all PhD applications, applicants for SEtS Studentships must also complete a supplementary SEtS Studentship application form.

The SEtS Studentship application form must be jointly completed by the applicant and the supervisor to ensure that the PhD research proposal is aligned to the topics of safe, ethical and secure computing. It is therefore important that the research proposal is discussed and defined before you submit your application.

Applications submitted without the form will be treated as regular applications to the PhD programme in the Department of Computer Science and will not be considered for the Centre's studentships.

Eligibility and selection criteria

Studentships are available to all applicants holding either 'Home' or 'Overseas' fees status. We especially welcome applications from women and other minority groups in STEM.

Applications received will be ranked by the quality of the entire submission, including CV, university grades at undergraduate and postgraduate level (predicted and/or obtained), and performance at interview. In particular, we will look for evidence that demonstrates a clear ability to engage with the main aims of the Doctoral Centre for Safe, Ethical and Secure Computing.

For submissions of equivalent quality, preference will be given to applicants supervised by an Early Career Researcher (i.e. within 12 years of the completion of their PhD).

Application for doctoral studentships is open to individuals who wish to study for their PhD on-campus at the University of York. Unfortunately, this funding opportunity is not available to individuals wishing to complete their PhD via distance learning. 

"We have a long-standing tradition of research on software and systems design and verification, including real-time issues and assurance of safety. With strong connections to the University's YorRobots, the Institute for Safe Autonomy and the RoboStar research group, SEtS will train the next generation of researchers to contribute to ongoing work in these groups."

Professor Ana Cavalcanti - Chair of YorRobots Executive Committee; Research Lead for Design & Verification, Institute for Safe Autonomy; Member of RoboStar Research Group; Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies

Key dates

The SEtS Doctoral Studentships will start on 18 September 2023.

Step-by-step guidance for applicants

Before you start your application, we encourage you to carefully read the following guidance:

• Familiarise yourself with the PhD in Computer Science and the PhD application process;
• Read the SEtS web pages and check the specific conditions for the studentships;
• Check our SEtS web pages for details of current PhD projects;
• Identify and contact a supervisor that is active in your preferred area of research;
• Exchange ideas with your potential supervisor and agree on the outline of a specific PhD research proposal. Complete the SEtS studentship application form, including a statement written by your chosen supervisor;
• Submit your PhD application, ensuring that you have included all mandatory documents and your PhD research proposal;
• Submit your SEtS studentship application form, ensuring you include your PhD application number.

Start your application now