Key Information
Duration: Full-time 48 months; Part-time 96 months
Start dates: January 2027 (apply before Oct 2026), April 2027 (apply before Jan 2027), July 2027 (apply before Apr 2027), October 2027 (apply before Jul 2027)
Language: English
Delivered: On Campus
Campus Location: Guildford, United Kingdom
Overview
The PhD research programme at the University of Surrey 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.
Career opportunities
This 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.
Programme Structure
Research 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
Admission Requirements
Academic requirements
GPA: Lower Second Class; Upper Second Class (recommended)
English requirements
- Duolingo English Test: 120
- TOEFL iBT: 88 OR new TOEFL iBT: 4.5
- PTE Academic: 67
- IELTS: 6.5
Other requirements
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).
Fees and Funding
Tuition Fees
International: 53,468 AUD / year (approx. 28,300 GBP / year)
Domestic: 9,896 AUD / year (approx. 5,238 GBP / year)
Part-time: UK £2,619; Overseas £14,200
Living costs
Guildford, United Kingdom: 1,247-2,154 AUD / month