Department of Statistical Science

Applications are invited for several PhD funding opportunities (one EPSRC studentship and up to four internally-funded studentships) based in the UCL Department of Statistical Science, to commence in September 2012.

The Department is among the three largest statistics groups in the UK with 24 academic members of staff including Professors Tom Fearn, Mark Girolami, Valerie Isham, Sofia Olhede and Patrick Wolfe. The Department’s methodological research is organised into five areas:

• Biostatistics
• Computational statistics
• General theory and methodology
• Multivariate and high dimensional data
• Stochastic modelling and time series.

Research often cuts across these areas. Much of this work is interdisciplinary and involves collaborations within and outside UCL.

Studentship Description

The EPSRC studentship is tenable for 48 months and covers tuition fees at the UK/EU rate plus a stipend of £15,590 per annum for eligible UK residents. EU nationals who have not been ordinarily resident in the UK for 3 years prior to the start of the studentship may still qualify for a fees only award. The full rules for eligibility of students supported through EPSRC funding are available here.

The internally-funded studentships are tenable for 36 months and cover tuition fees plus a stipend of £15,590 per annum (based on the standard UK Research Council rate with London weighting). These awards may only be used to support students liable to pay tuition fees at the UK/EU rate. The procedure for determining one’s tuition fee status is outlined here.

Person Specification

The requirement for admission to the MPhil/PhD in Statistical Science is a 1st class or high upper 2nd class Bachelor’s degree, or a Master’s degree with merit or distinction in Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative discipline. Overseas qualifications of an equivalent standard are also acceptable. Further details can be found here and the research interests of potential supervisors are detailed here.

Eligibility

Candidates should apply for the MPhil/PhD in Statistical Science in the usual way by completing the online form available here and, in addition, send a covering letter directly to the Department making their case for the funding. The covering letter should be sent to Dr Russell Evans at the email address below.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until all the studentships are filled (i.e. the below closing date represents only a final deadline). You are therefore advised to apply as soon as possible. Please also note that applications for an MPhil/PhD place and for funding are dealt with separately and, (while the former is obviously a prerequisite for the latter), an offer of admission to the MPhil/PhD programme should not be misconstrued as a simultaneous offer of funding.