PhD in Computer Science

The PhD is the primary research degree that can be taken here in the Department of Computer Science and Technology. It is a three-to-four year full-time programme (or a five-to-seven year part-time programme) of individual research on a topic agreed on by the student and the Department, carried out under the guidance of a staff member as the student's Supervisor.

For full details of the course, links to the application portal, more details about deadlines, requirements for those applying, and further guidance and information, applicants should go to the Postgraduate Admissions (PhD in Computer Science) pages.

Application Deadlines

Applications for the academic year commencing October 2026 and January 2027 are now open. Any applicants who would like to be considered for the funding competitions should apply early, submitting their complete applications by 23:59 (GMT) on 2 December 2025. 

The following table shows the deadlines for PhD applications from different parts of the world. Please note that this is a summary. Check the Postgraduate Admissions (PhD in Computer Science) pages and Gates Cambridge Trust pages for full details.

Complete applications, including references, transcripts, degree certificates and research proposals must be received by the Postgraduate Admissions Office within ten days of the dates above to be considered for funding competitions. Applications for which supporting documentation is not received by one day of the deadline will be cancelled.

Applicants who have secured external funding may apply up to 14 May 2026. 

Those who are applying for a Doctoral Studentship in the Department should apply by the deadline published on the Studentship listing.

Please note that applications submitted between 3 December 2025 and 14 May 2026 will be considered only if there is a named potential supervisor who has invited the application, if the application is complete, and if funding is readily available. Note that incomplete applications received after this date will only be considered for January 2027 admission. (They cannot be considered for the funding competitions as the application deadline for those is 2 December 2025.)

Please note the following:

• Applications for funding support from the University and Cambridge Trusts must be submitted early: see University funding deadlines.
• Research students are normally admitted to the probationary Certificate of Postgraduate Studies in Computer Science (see CPGS) in the first instance.
• Applicants will also need to include a brief research abstract within the section of the application form which asks for a research topic and to indicate a potential supervisor's name.
• Applicants should discuss their proposed research with a potential supervisor before submitting the application for admission. See Research proposal for further details about the research proposal, and Research themes for links to potential supervisors within areas of your research interests. Please confirm that you have discussed the project with the proposed supervisor, and that they have confirmed they will be content to review an application from you. You should include a statement to this effect within the research abstract section of the application form.
• Applications are considered as they are received.

Please note that your application can only be considered by the department once it has been submitted. Your application can only be submitted if it is complete.
You will be able to upload all your supporting material including a research proposal and the same time as submitting the application form. It is therefore very important to have all your supporting material, including agreement from your referees to provide you with references, your transcripts and research project proposal, ready before you start the application.

Funding competitions and grants

Applicants wishing to be considered for funding competitions should check their eligibility on the University-wide Sources of Funding web page.

The application portal acts as a scholarship funding application as well as an application for admission. In most cases, no further funding application form is required. There are some exceptions, however: we recommend checking the Student Funding webpage which provides information about other grants for students applying to Cambridge and their closing dates.

The current costs of a PhD are available from the Student Registry's Postgraduate Course Costs and Fee Status page. You will need sufficient funding to cover the University Tuition Fee, and at least the minimum maintenance for three years.

Once again, if you wish to apply for one of the department's PhD studentships and RA'ships, you should use the deadline published on the individual job listing.

Home students

The Department makes awards to UK students both from funds supplied, for example the EPSRC Doctoral Training Grant, and from its own funds such as the Premium Studentship and the Hopper Studentship. In the year starting October 2025, the Department will help to fund up to three research students from its Doctoral Training Grant. These funds are limited. The Applications Panel considers all successful applicants for funding awards within its gift and submits the names of highly ranked home and international students to the Cambridge Trusts.

The Department may also have positions associated with industrial collaborations and particular research projects. Such studentships are advertised on the University's Jobs web page.

International students

Very highly ranked international students will be considered for nomination to the Gates Cambridge Trust and Cambridge International Scholarship competitions.

Please note earlier applications deadline for Gates Cambridge US scholarships for US students who are resident in the US: 17 October 2025.

The Department will contact applicants directly about its internal awards such as the Premium Studentship.

It is worth noting that full funding must be secured before starting a course at Cambridge. Most of the scholarships will not accept applications from students who are already in residence. We strongly discourage students asserting they can self-fund a PhD in the hope that something else will turn up once you are in Cambridge.

Admission conditions

The Faculty's Degree Committee makes recommendations to offer places to successful applicants via the University's central Postgraduate Admissions Office, the only body with the authority to make an offer of a place as a postgraduate student. Offers from Postgraduate Admissions are usually conditional. A deadline will be set by which date all conditions must be met and, once met, the offer is confirmed by the Postgraduate Admissions Office.

Standard conditions include securing sufficient funding for three years to meet the financial conditions of the University including tuition fees and maintenance, and College membership. Additionally, applicants may be asked to achieve a certain grade in their current studies; to take or retake an English Language proficiency test; and any other conditions the Postgraduate Admissions Office might apply.

Successful applicants who have applied online may be required to send original documents to the University's Postgraduate Admissions Office for validation. We strongly recommend the use of a reputable courier and that you obtain a tracking number.

CDT in Decision Making in Complex Systems

The AI CDT in Decision Making for Complex Systems is a programme offered in conjunction with the University of Manchester that aims to enable students to develop new fundamental AI capabilities in the context of a diversity of complex systems. Rather than working in isolation, as is usual in AI,  the students will learn to develop these in a collaborative manner tied to a specific application domain. The CDT is focused on three areas, Uncertainty in complex systems, Decision-making with humans in the loop and Decision-making for ML systems. Model interpretability and explainability will be transversal to the three topics. Decision making with AI needs  to be interpretable and explainable to facilitate interrogation of decision processes such that trust can be built by the human, and it is essential for understanding and meeting ethical and legal implications.

Like all research students admitted to read for the PhD degree, those admitted to the AI CDT in Decision Making for Complex Systems are admitted on a probationary basis. They will have successfully completed the Postgraduate Diploma in Artificial Intelligence  at the University of Manchester before being registered on a probationary basis at the University of Cambridge. During this year students may do some additional coursework and will write a research report that is likely to form the foundation of the eventual PhD thesis. Applications for admission in Michaelmas 2026 open in September 2025.

Contacts

Please contact the department's Postgraduate Education Manager with any questions not answered above.

Email: Postgraduate Education Manager

Include "PhD application query" in the subject.

Department of Computer Science and Technology
William Gates Building
15 JJ Thomson Avenue
Cambridge CB3 0FD

Tel: +44 1223 334656 (NB may not be accessible during remote working)

Postgraduate Admissions Office
Academic Division
Student Services Centre
Bene't Street, New Museums Site
Cambridge, CB2 3PT, U.K.

WWW: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/

PhD by Special Regulations

The University of Cambridge may award the PhD Degree under the Special Regulations to a graduate of the University who is eligible to apply for the Degree and who has submitted published work which, in the opinion of the Examiners, gives clear proof of a significant contribution to learning.

The award of PhD by Special Regulations in the Department of Computer Science and Technology is very rare. If an alumnus/ae has produced suitable work in the field of computer science, experts within the Department are normally aware of this; in such cases the alumnus/ae would normally be alerted to this process.

Applications are made directly to the Student Registry not to the Department. On receiving an application, the Registry acknowledges receipt of the paperwork and application fee (currently around £500), checks a candidate’s eligibility, and then forwards the application to the relevant Degree Committee for consideration.

To be eligible a candidate must:

• not have less than six years’ standing from admission to his or her first degree of the University of Cambridge (note that the term 'admission' to a degree means the date on which the degree was conferred on the candidate, not the date the candidate began the degree);
• not be a current PhD student in the University;
• not already have a Cambridge PhD, MSc, MLitt or MPhil by thesis;
• not have less than 5 years standing from a failed examination for a PhD.

For full details of eligibility see the University regulations (page 492): https://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/so/pdfs/2024/ordinance07.pdf

If the Degree Committee for Computer Science & Technology receives an application they will engage an expert in the field to judge whether there is a case, prima facie, to further examination of the work. If there is a case, the candidate will have an oral examination (viva voce) with at least two examiners appointed by the Degree Committee.

The work under consideration must not overlap with any previous submission or one in current progress, whether in published or in unpublished form, for a degree, diploma, or similar qualification at any university or similar institution.

Note that consideration of an application may take longer than a year.

Following the oral examination, examiners are asked to make one of two recommendations to the Degree Committee: either that the degree is awarded, or it is not (that is, no corrections or revisions can be made to the submitted work, as would be the case for a PhD through the standard route).

If the candidate’s application fails, they may reapply on one occasion only, after a period of not less than five years. Because of this, the Degree Committee will seek to be confident that the student has a very good chance of passing the viva if they are put forward.

The University’s pages for applicants can be found here (although note that this general information does not relate specifically to the Degree Committee for the Faculty of Computer Science and Technology):
     University overview on PhD by Special Regulations
     University guide for applicants