GCNU-SWC joint PhD programme

Year 1

As with the Gatsby Unit PhD programme and the SWC PhD programme, the joint programme starts with a year of intensive courses. New students are admitted at the start of each academic year in September and begin by attending Boot Camp, a three-week course covering the fundamentals of neuroscience and technology. Students in the joint programme will then take a tailored syllabus:

• Term 1: Systems neuroscience and theoretical neuroscience (SNTN)
• Term 1: Probabilistic and unsupervised learning; approximate inference and learning in probabilistic models (PUL/AIL)
• Term 1: Experimental neuroscience (EN), lectures and demonstrations only
• Term 2: Theoretical neuroscience (TN)

Students should achieve passing marks on all assignments (SNTN, PUL/AIL and TN) and exams (PUL/AIL and TN). Other courses offered by GCNU and SWC will be available but optional. See Teaching and SWC Course Syllabi for course information.

Students will complete two rotation projects in the second half of Year 1; each project will be co-supervised by an SWC experimentalist and a Gatsby Unit theorist. The two rotation projects should have different supervisors; one pair of the rotation supervisors will likely go on to co-supervise the PhD.

Students are expected to attend a subset of weekly research activities (including GCNU research talk, TNJC/CSNJC, external seminar (TN); SWC Lab Meeting and SWC Seminar; Friday Joint Tea Hours), unless the schedule is in direct conflict with the core course activities.

Year 2 onwards

Students will design their PhD project under the guidance of the two supervisors and begin research in close collaboration with both. The project will involve modelling and analysing neural and/or behavioural data from the laboratory of their SWC supervisor.

Students will propose a subset of weekly research activities (i.e., GCNU research talk, tea talk, TNJC/CSNJC, MLJC and external seminar; SWC Lab Meeting and SWC Seminar) that they will attend and actively participate in; this needs to be approved by their supervisors and both Departmental Graduate Tutors.

At the end of Year 2, students are expected to start writing their MPhil/PhD upgrade report and schedule to give an upgrade presentation to the whole unit by the end of Term 2 in Year 3. Having passed all the upgrade assessments, students will transfer from MPhil to PhD status and devote their remaining tenure to research.

At the end of Year 4, students will transfer to Completing Research Status (CRS). Thesis should normally be submitted no later than six months into the CRS period.

Across years

Both GCNU and SWC foster a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary research environment. Students are strongly encouraged to network with peers at CSML and other UCL departments (such as Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology, Experimental Psychology; Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology; Statistical Science) and attend relevant conferences such as SfN, FENS, COSYNE, ICML, NeurIPS and ICLR.

We are committed to supporting the career and professional development of our students. Students develop communication skills by writing scientific publications and giving regular internal talks and presentations in conferences. Critical thinking is further developed through weekly journal clubs and lab meetings. Students are expected to teach during the second year of the programme and act as a mentor to junior PhDs. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the wide range of research and transferable skills courses available through the UCL Doctoral School and engage in outreach and public engagement activities.

More formal sources of support inside the centres include the student’s Supervisors, the (Deputy) Departmental Graduate Tutors, GCNU Scientific Programme Manager and Administrative Manager, SWC PhD Programme Coordinator, and SWC Human Resources staff. The student wellbeing advisors at our parent faculty, Faculty of Life Sciences, also offer wellbeing support and guidance. Outside the centres and faculty, a wide range of help and resources is available through UCL, the Doctoral School, and the Student's Union.

Applicants must have a strong analytical and mathematical background, a keen interest in neuroscience, and a relevant first degree (e.g., in Computer Science, Cognitive Psychology, Engineering, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Physics, Statistics).

Candidates offered a place on the joint PhD programme will be required to meet UCL's standard admissions requirements. This includes UCL's English language proficiency requirements; the required UCL level of English proficiency for the joint programme is Level 2.

Full funding is available to all students, regardless of nationality. The PhD studentships cover UCL tuition fees for both home and international students and include an annual tax-free stipend as well as travel budget for attending conferences and workshops. We also welcome applications from students with pre-secured funding or who are currently applying for other scholarships/studentships.

Before applying, it's important to carefully review the details of all three programmes offered by the Gatsby Unit and SWC. Think about the structural differences of the three programmes, your academic background as well as your research experience and interests to decide which programme(s) best align with your goals.

To be considered for the GCNU-SWC joint PhD programme, please apply to either the Gatsby Unit PhD programme or the SWC PhD programme. In both cases, you will have the option to also be considered for the joint programme. It is not possible to apply to the joint programme only, i.e., you will either be considered for the Gatsby Unit programme and the joint programme or for the SWC programme and the joint programme. For applicants who wish to also be considered for the joint programme, you will be asked to explain succinctly:

• Why you are interested in the joint programme. Please note that collaborative research is also encouraged within the Gatsby Unit programme and the SWC programme, so you should emphasise the ways in which the structural differences of the joint programme appeal to you.
• How your education and research experience prepare you particularly for the joint programme.

Applications must be submitted via either the Gatsby Recruitment Portal (Gatsby Unit PhD programme) or the SWC Recruitment Applicant Portal (SWC PhD programme) by 17:00 GMT on Monday 9 November 2026. Applications by any other means will not be accepted.

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