Interested in doing a PhD?

I am always looking for motivated students who are interested in pursuing a PhD aligning with my research interests.

If you are interested in pursuing a PhD with me, please send me an e-mail. Please mention why my work in particular interests you, perhaps by discussing a paper I have worked on, or a relevant idea you might have.

Applicants will typically have a BSc in Computing Science or a related discipline at 2:1 level or above, and will have had some exposure to the field of programming languages through courses, internships, or undergraduate projects.

See here for information about applying to do a PhD at the School of Computing Science at the University of Glasgow. As part of the application process, you will need to write a research proposal; this is not binding but gives you an opportunity to show that you can read around an area and can identify a problem to work on. I would be happy to work with you to develop this.

I would be happy to discuss these or any other relevant ideas you might have.

PhD study in the UK

Procedures for PhD degrees vary from place to place. In the UK, a PhD normally consists of 3-4 years of independent research under the supervision of a member of academic staff. At the end of this period, you will submit a thesis detailing the work you have done, which will be examined by an internal and an external examiner at a (closed) viva. The key criteria for award of the PhD is that the work should make a “significant and original contribution to existing knowledge”.

Funding

The School of Computing Science has several scholarships available each year which cover tuition fees (at the ‘home’ level) and provide a monthly stipend. If you have pre-settled or settled status, then you qualify for ‘home’ fees. The deadline is typically in January each year.

If you are an international student (unfortunately, this now also includes EU students), it is sometimes possible to find funding from other sources; please still contact me and we can explore options.

Research Environment

The School of Computing Science at the University of Glasgow has an international research reputation, and Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, offers an outstanding range of cultural resources and a high quality of life.

As a PhD student, you will be part of the FATA Section which is a large, friendly, and very active research group in theoretical computer science, including algorithms and complexity; programming language foundations; and formal methods. You will also be part of the Programming Languages Theme, which comprises researchers interested in programming languages from theory, systems, and education. We have a regular seminar series, PLUG, and members of the theme regularly publish in top venues (e.g., POPL, ICFP, ECOOP, ESOP, CONCUR).

Scotland is an outstanding place to do programming languages research. You will benefit from the Scottish Programming Languages Seminar, which brings together PL researchers from across Scotland three times a year, and you will have the opportunity to interact and collaborate with researchers at other universities.