This web page contains some fairly informal notes and general hints on
how to find out about PhD study here. I update it relatively frequently.
You should also visit
the department's main web page
and follow the link for prospective students labelled
"Research (PhD)". Via that, you will be able to find out more about the
administrative details, and also the kind
of research that goes on at this department in particular, and what are the
main research groups. Like most research-active academic departments, we
specialise in certain sub-fields of computer science, and prospective
research students are strongly recommended to choose a topic where the host
department has expertise.
When applying here, it is important to either get in touch with a potential
supervisor, or at least check that research interests here seem to correspond with
your interests.
If you want to do PhD study at this department, you must submit an
application via the university. See “links” above to find out how to do this.
Funding:
We also have a limited number of funded studentships.
Funded studentships that I am currently aware of:
Duncan Norman
Research Scholarship
Please note that the closing date for the competition is 5.00pm on Wednesday 31 March 2010.
All prospective Home, EU and International Postgraduate Research students are
invited to apply for this prestigious scholarship. To be eligible, the student:
i) Must have been made a formal offer to study for a full-time PhD commencing
in Session 2010/11 (i.e. from 1 October 2010);
ii) Must supply two references and copies of relevant transcripts with the
application form, to be returned no later than Wednesday 31 March 2010.
The scholarship is based on academic excellence, outstanding research potential
and evidence of actual or potential leadership qualities. The Scholarship is
tenable for up to three years (subject to good academic progress) and includes
payment of all tuition fees, an annual stipend of 15,000 pounds, free University
accommodation and a laptop or desktop computer and printer.
Dec.10: Dorothy Hodgkin; collaborating company
must contribute 45k to 4 years of study. Students from BRICS/developing world
Hong Kong awards
deadline 31.5.11.; Croucher foundation
Some frequently-asked questions, plus some others that are not asked frequently,
but ought to be:
What is the difference between PhD and MPhil?
MPhils take about 2 years to complete, and
PhD's usually take at least 3 years. The PhD degree requires more of a contribution
to knowledge. Postgraduate students are usually enrolled on MPhil initially and
then transfer to PhD.
What qualifications do I need?
To apply for PhD/MPhil in Computer Science
you should have at least BSc (overall class of first or upper second in UK) or MSc
degree in a subject related to Computer Science (for example, maths, physics or philosophy).
The degree should be obtained by the time you intend to start your PhD or MPhil study.
Taught, not just research-based study?
As a postgraduate student, you may be encouraged to attend modules from our
undergraduate or MSc programmes (if they are relevant to your proposed research
and you don't know the specific topic already). In any case you are welcome to
attend classes, by arrangement with the lecturer.
If you actually are interested in a taught postgraduate programme leading to the
MSc degree, consult
http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~alexei/MScApplications/MScApplications.html.
Part-time/remote study?
Part-time study is possible, with agreement from a
supervisor, and provided there is a good reason for it. Remote or
on-line study for a research degree is not possible; it has been found
not to be practicable.
English-language qualifications required:
If you were taught in English in your school or university or did your degree in English instruction, we need some evidence
from your university to confirm the language of instruction. Also if you state you are working in a company using their
English, again we need some evidence.
What is the timetable for applying for, and starting postgraduate study at Liverpool computer science?
The highly-recommended time to begin as a PhD student is the beginning of October,
or else during Septermber, since there are some induction events in October,
plus, the semester begins around then. But you may apply to begin at other
times. It takes time to process applications, indeed we cannot really begin
until all supporting documents are received (such as degree transcripts).
It will also slow things down if you do not specify a research group or
supervisor.
Can I apply without specifying any research topic?
We do receive some applications from overseas, from prospective students who,
for example, may have government grants to study towards a research degree.
We can consider such an application, and decide based on your background
whether you would be a suitable PhD student here, but we would still need
to identify a supervisor (and second supervisor) in order to accept an
application, and you would have to be prepared to discuss and agree on research
topics. You may wish to contact me before applying.
How about studentships associated with specific research projects?
Maybe you have seen an advertisement for a studentship, produced by a
member of staff here, that describes a proposed research topic. This usually
happens when someone receives research funding to support a studentship, based
on a research proposal that specified, as part of the proposal, some work
that could lead to a PhD degree. You should contact that member of staff
to epxress your interest and ask any questions you may have about it. You
should submit an application for PhD study in the usual way, and specify
on it, the member of staff and research project.
How do I identify a research topic?
We understand that this is not something you can just do on your own.
There are many topics within CS, and it is hard to figure out which one is
best for you—that would take too long! There's also the issue of finding
a research topic that's relevant to research interests of member of academic
staff at this department, and where you could likely make progress.
But, the fact that you are interested in PhD study in computer science suggests
that something triggered off your interest, something you heard in a lecture, or
read in a book, perhaps in the course of doing an undergraduate programming
project. Perhaps you heard that
you can win a
million dollars for inventing a fast algorithm that plays Minesweeper.
Or that there are no programs that do a very good job of classifying images
according to the objects they depict. Whatever it is, you need to pick it
up and run with it. Study it on the web, or talk to someone who might know the
research issues in more detail, or who could at least point you to someone who
does.
How much detail should I use in describing my research topic?
There's a great deal of flexibility here! A few keywords may be sufficient to
specify the general area that you are interested in. Although in that case, you
should also mention how you came to be interested in it. If you wish to
attach a multi-page document describing your topic of interest, that is also
fine, but in that case, you would certainly want to have checked that we have
a suitable supervisor here. Also, a list of keywords at the beginning is still
very useful.
Should I choose a supervisor or research group?
This is not quite mandatory, but it is strongly recommended.
You can find out about the research groups at the department on the
web pages, also you can find out about individual academic staff members by looking
at their own web pages. Note the answers to the other questions here about identifying
research topics; the choice of research group is driven by the choice of topic.
Other departments/universities?
In general, your application for PhD study looks stronger if you apply
to other departments/universities for PhD study, especially if those other
ones have relevant expertise and research groups. That is because it shows that
you have found out about the research topic, and shows that your interest
in that topic is more important than your interest in a particular location.