There are a total of fifteen studentships available for start in October 2023. Up to Nine of the studentships are available for UK students and up to six for international students. The funding for each studentships is for a period of 42 months.

Specific academic requirements for individual projects are noted along with the project details and it is recommended to contact potential supervisors to discuss your application before final submission. The normal minimum requirement for admission to a research degree programme is an Upper Second Class Honours Degree from a UK or ROI Higher Education Provider or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University.

UK studentships cover stipend and fees.  To be eligible for the UK studentships applicants must:

• be a UK citizen or a non-UK citizen with permanent settled status in the UK AND
• have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of the studentships

International studentships cover stipend and fees."

Due to high demand you are advised to apply as early as possible.

The minimum academic requirement for admission to a research degree programme is normally an Upper Second Class Honours degree from a UK or ROI HE provider, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University. Further information can be obtained by contacting the School.

Applications for the CSIT Doctoral Training Programme are now open!

The closing date for applications is 28 February 2023.

Stage One: Postgraduate Application

Applicants wishing to apply for a studentship must complete a PGR application form via the Queen’s University Postgraduate Applications Portal by the noted closing date.

Please insert, as part of the project title, the code CSITDTP when completing your application.

Stage Two: Supervisor ranking

A supervisor panel for each project will rank candidates based on the submitted applications and an interview between student and supervisor(s).  

Stage Three: School ranking

A panel, with representatives from the EEECS school and CSIT research institute, will shortlist, interview and rank candidates put forward from the preceding stage. Studentships will be offered to the top 15 ranked candidates (there is funding for 9 home and 6 international studentships).

The results of the competition are expected to be announced in March 2023.

There are 36 projects available for an October 2023 start, as part of this programme. These projects are split into four thematic areas of research which you view by clicking the links below:

• ICS Security & Safety-Critical Systems
• Network & Wireless Security
• Trusted Hardware & Applied Cryptography
• Autonomous Security & Security of AI 
• All Projects 

There is also an opportunity to submit your own topic for consideration in the application portal. If you wish to do so, please insert, as part of the project title, the code CSITDTP when completing your application

If you have any further questions about the research project itself, please contact the lead supervisor.

The CSIT Doctoral Training Programme also provides an exciting and unique opportunity to:

1. Advance research in exciting and emerging areas of cyber security research
2. Focus on enterprise and leadership skills
3. Co-design the Research Program with Industry
4. Effective cohort interaction and experience with a comprehensive training programme
5. Extensive industrial collaborative opportunities with CSIT’s many industry partners, e.g. Thales, Qualcomm, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and many others
6. Use world-class facilities including our Cyber Range, industry standard Wireless labs, and extensive hardware development and measurement infrastructure
7. Access to modules in our NCSC-certified MSc Advanced Cyber Security and MSc AI 

Doctoral Training Programmes are prestigious programmes which aim to enable cutting-edge doctoral study within a dynamic research culture that encourages innovative, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and a cohort student experience. The cohort nature of the programme fosters collaborative learning, creativity, and confidence in a unique way, where students benefit from mutual academic, emotional, and logistical support, helping to improve research outputs and timely PhD completion.

A comprehensive and tailor-made training program has been designed for these programs. This includes inductions and/or team-building activity each year to ensure cohort cohesion, access to up to 3 relevant modules from Queen’s NCSC-accredited MSc in Applied Cyber Security, the opportunity to undertake 3 to 6-month internships with our industry partners, a Spring School in Year 2 comprising a programme of intensive advanced-level master classes on technical topics and policy/regulatory issues with lectures given by international experts in the field, a Capture the Flag (CTF) challenge (group-work) in our Cyber Range and many other activities (QUB’s Master your Leadership programme, a public engagement training course, responsible innovation training and a wide range of personal development and transferrable skills training courses run by QUB’s Graduate School, such as Academic Writing Skills, Project Management, Stress Management, Ethics, GDPR, Presentation Skills, Communication Strategies and Applying Research to Policy.  

A PhD is normally a 36 month period during which you further develop yourself by acquiring knowledge and skills in a specific subject of your choice. You will learn how to solve problems rigorously using scientific methods through hands-on training under a team of academic supervisors. As your study is to be cross-disciplinary in nature and to ensure you do not need to prioritise research activities over training activities, the funding provided for your studies is 42 months. This is six months longer than the standard 36 months typically available for PhD study.

A PhD is unlike undergraduate or postgraduate taught study. There are no structured classes, only training sessions which are typically half-day or full-day events without exams or coursework. You control your own time, and set your learning targets and deadlines through discussion with your supervisors.