[TYPES/announce] PhD. Positions in Formal Methods at Royal Holloway University of London

[Matthew Hague]

PHD POSITIONS IN FORMAL METHODS

Applications are invited for fully-funded PhD positions in the Department of Computer Science at Royal Holloway, University of London, awarded on the basis of academic excellence to new students who will commence a research programme in Oct 2015.

We are looking for applicants interested in formal methods, particularly in one of the following areas:

- Verification of first-order, higher-order, and/or concurrent software.
- Automata theory
- Pushdown systems and their extensions.
- Higher-order recursion schemes and their extentions.
- Automata models of concurrent computation
- Static analysis, SMT solving, &c.

To discuss these areas, please contact Dr Matthew Hague (matthew.hague at cs.rhul.ac.uk). Successful candidates will work with Dr Hague and will join his research team, see http://www.cs.rhul.ac.uk/home/hague.

Scholarships are also available in the areas of 

- Algorithms and applications
- Bioinformatics
- Computer learning
- Distributed and global computing
- Software language engineering

For more information on these areas, please see https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/computerscience/research/home.aspx.


THE DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

The Department is one of the UK's leading centres for research into Computer Science. In the most recent Research Excellent Framework (REF 2014), we ranked 11th in the UK for the quality of our research output, with over 32% of our publications recognised as world leading, and a further 55% internationally excellent. The theories we develop lead to the design and building of novel practical computing systems, and their application in the real world.  Research students enjoy a very lively research culture and are fully involved in the research activities of the Department (and share their successes).  The Department also funds students to present their work at international conferences.


INFORMATION ABOUT DEPARTMENTAL SCHOLARSHIPS

A Departmental Scholarship provides support of circa 16,000 GBP per year over 3 years for a full-time student. It also includes a fee waiver to cover fees at the HEU rate.


REQUIREMENTS

Applicants should have a first-class honours or 2:1 degree in Computer Science or a related discipline *ADD ANY ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS*.  Applicants should also meet English language requirements (IELTS 6.5 with no subscore lower than 5.5, or equivalent).


ELIGIBILITY

The scholarships are available to students starting their studies in October 2015.  Home, EU and International students are eligible but please note that the scholarships do not cover overseas fees. Students who have already started their study programme are not eligible.


APPLICATION PROCESS

Applicants should prepare the following documents: (1) up to 4 pages proposed research topic/area and the name of a potential supervisor; (2) a brief covering letter that describes your reasons for wishing to pursue a PhD in the proposed area; (3) a copy of your CV, including your actual or expected degree class(es), and results of all University examinations; and (4) two academic references. These documents should be submitted together with an online application following the application procedure accessible from 

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studyhere/researchdegrees/applying/home.aspx.


IMPORTANT DATES

March 30th 2015: scholarship application deadline
Beginning of April 2015: selection interviews
End of April 2015: decision of the scholarship
Mid May 2015: formal confirmation of the scholarship granting

For candidates who wish to fund themselves, the Department accepts applications throughout the year. The normal starting date is early October each year but alternative starting dates can be arranged. Candidates with visa requirements should ensure that they apply in time for their visa to be issued in advance of their planned start date.