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From time to time, we have calls for applications for PhD studentships and job posts. See below for more details.

PhD Studentship

The University of Kent provides a number of doctoral studentships every year, some of which will be available for those who are interested in pursuing a cyber security related PhD degree in multiple relevant disciplines. More scholarships for a start in the 2025-2026 academic year are to be announced. Please follow iCSS on LinkedIn or visit this website regularly to be informed about such new scholarships.

SEDarc PhD Scholarships

South-East Doctoral Training Arc for the Social Sciences (SEDarc)

The University of Kent is part of the South-East Doctoral Training Arc for the Social Sciences (SEDarc), which is a multi-institutional and interdisciplinary DTP (Doctoral Training Partnership) led by the Royal Holloway University of London. Other UK universities participating include University of Reading, University of Surrey, University of Sussex and Kingston University. SEDarc is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). SEDarc will develop world-class social science researchers from all backgrounds who thrive in challenge-led, collaborative and interdisciplinary contexts. Kent is proud to be one of the six partner research-intensive institutions supporting future leaders of social science in academia, public services and industry.

SEDarc is calling for applications for its first cohort who will start in the 2025-26 year. There are fully funded PhD scholarships for both home and overseas applicants. See the detailed guidelines on what are expected for PhD students of SEDarc and how to apply. The deadline for submitting an application to the University of Kent is 23:59 GMT, Sunday 24 November 2024.

iCSS is one of the participating research units of SEDarc. The following Core Members of iCSS in a social science school are eligible to be principal supervisors of SEDarc PhD students and have capacity to supervise new PhD students.

The following Core Members of iCSS can be a co-supervisor or the secondary supervisor of SEDarc PhD students studying an interdisciplinary topic:

Interested applicants should contact eligible principal supervisors to discuss a suitable topic related to one or more of the following five social science themed challenges:

  • Living sustainably
  • Healthy thriving communities
  • Inclusive economic growth
  • Secure, effective and trusted institutions
  • Transformative technologies for society

Please contact Felicity Clifford <F.Clifford-254@kent.ac.uk> or Professor Joseph Tzanopoulos <J.Tzanopoulos@kent.ac.uk> if you have any questions about SEDarc and the general procedure of applying for the scholarships. If you are interested in a cyber security related topic but have difficulties identifying the principal supervisor, please contact the iCSS Director Professor Shujun Li <S.J.Li@kent.ac.uk>.

Other PhD Scholarships

The University of Kent offers a comprehensive variety of scholarships to PhD students who achieve outstanding academic merits from entry level and beyond in their undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Search for a scholarship here. We will list any selected PhD scholarships that are particularly relevant for applicants who are interested in studying a topic related to cyber security with one or more supervisors from the iCSS.

PhD Programmes and Research Areas/Topics

iCSS Core Members who can supervise PhD students as the principle supervisor are the following:

Indicative research areas and topics of eligible PhD supervisors of iCSS are the following (more to be added). Please always consider contacting each supervisor directly to discuss the topics. We encourage PhD students to study interdisciplinary topics, so please consider two supervisors (the principal and a secondary) from two different disciplines.

Rao Faizan Ali

Visit this page for recommended topics and his University of Kent web page for more information about his research interests and publications.

Budi Arief

Visit this page for recommended topics and his University of Kent web page for more information about his research interests and publications.

Mark Batty

Visit this page for a PhD topic proposed by him and his University of Kent web page for more information about his research interests and publications.

Sanjay Bhattacherjee

Visit this page for recommended topics and his University of Kent web page for more information about his research interests and publications.

Jack Cunliffe

Visit his University of Kent web page for more information about his research interests and publications.

Lisa Dickson

Visit her University of Kent web page for more information about her research interests and publications.

Virginia Franqueira

Visit this page for recommended topics and her University of Kent web page for more information about her research interests and publications.

Stuart Gibson

Visit his University of Kent web page for more information about his research interests and publications.

Tracee Green

Visit her University of Kent web page for more information about her research interests and publications.

Allison Holmes

Visit her University of Kent web page for more information about her research interests and publications.

Sanaul Hoque

Visit this page for recommended topics and his University of Kent web page for more information about his research interests and publications.

Özgür Kafalı

Visit this page for recommended topics and his University of Kent web page for more information about his research interests and publications.

Rogério de Lemos

Visit this page for recommended topics and his University of Kent web page for more information about his research interests and publications.

Shujun Li

Visit his dedicated web page on his personal website for indicative research areas and topics suggested for PhD applicants. More research interests and recent publications can also be found on his personal website.

Jason Nurse

Visit this page for recommended topics and his University of Kent web page and his personal web site for more information about his research interests and publications.

Caoilte Ó Ciardha

Visit his University of Kent web page for more information about his research interests and publications.

Carlos Perez-Delgado

Visit this page for recommended topics and his University of Kent web page for more information about his research interests and publications.

Afroditi Pina

Visit her University of Kent web page for more information about her research interests and publications.

Vineet Rajani

Visit this page for recommended topics and and his University of Kent web page for more information about his research interests and publications.

Jennifer Storey

Visit her University of Kent web page for more information about her research interests and publications.

Frank Wang

Visit this page for recommended topics and and his University of Kent web page for more information about his research interests and publications.

Pamela White

Visit her University of Kent web page for more information about her research interests and publications.

How to Apply

Unless there are a specifically arranged procedure, to apply for a PhD studentship, please follow the general steps below. Note that the research proposal is used to test your technical writing and literature review skills, and the topic may still be adjusted in the application process and refined during your PhD study. Please read the application requirements and the application procedure carefully for different scholarships you are applying for, as these may differ from the general steps explained below.

  1. Read the general instructions for PhD applications, and any additional information of the PhD scholarship(s) you are interested in if you are seeking a funded PhD position.
  2. Study research profiles of all eligible supervisors to identify one or several supervisors you want to work with.
  3. Approach the identified potential supervisor(s) to discuss your research interests and any specific topic(s) to identity the principal supervisor(s) you want to work with and to get advice on how to prepare a research proposal (required as part of your application material, see below).
  4. Prepare your application material, which should include
    • a properly formatted CV
    • the certificate(s) and transcript(s) of all university degree programme(s) studied
    • a research proposal on a selected topic including a mini literature review, a proposed methodology, a work plan and a bibliography (see the guidelines below on how to write a good research proposal)
    • proof of your English qualifications (if not obvious from other application material)
    • proof of your home student status (if you consider yourself eligible as a home student)
    • at least two reference letters (which can be provided after you submit your formal application)
    • (if you are an overseas applicant please check the specific eligibility criteria on the relevant scholarship)
  5. After you have all your application material ready, visit the following web page to submit your application: https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/apply
    • If you are applying for a specific PhD scholarship, please indicate this at the beginning of the “Reasons for Study” field.

The University of Kent requires all non-native speakers of English to reach a minimum standard of proficiency in written and spoken English before beginning a postgraduate degree. For more information on English language requirements, please visit this page.

How to write a good research proposal

It is common that you will be asked to write a research proposal independently to demonstrate your literature review and writing skills and general understanding of the subjects. The topic of your research proposal can be given by the academic you are applying to, or be proposed by yourself. Many supervisors prefer you propose your own topic and write a research proposal all by yourself as a starting point.

A research proposal should normally include the following components (unless there are specific guidelines for a call explaining how a research proposal should be written):

  • Title
  • Your full name and contact details: Please make sure your full name match the one on your formal application form and your signature in your emails to avoid confusion. It will also be good to include your application number so your application can be uniquely identified. For your email address, please make it a clickable so the supervisor can just click it to write an email to you. If you have a personal website, a Google Scholar Citation profile, and/or a ResearchGate / LinkedIn profile, please consider including them.
  • Date: This should be the date of the last update. You may also want to include the date of the first version and a version number if you have sent multiple versions to potential supervisors.
  • Abstract: This is optional but can highly recommended so your potential supervisors can quickly get an idea of what your want to do.
  • Introduction: This is for you to explain the background/context of the topic and your personal motivation to study it.
  • Related Work: This is a section for you to review related work, to demonstrate your understanding of what have been done by other researchers on different aspects of the selected PhD topic.
  • Research Methodology: This is a section for you to explain how you currently plan to study the topic technically. You are expected to include some good technical details, in the context of related work in the Related Work section.
  • Work Plan: This is a section for you to explain a timeline of your proposed PhD study, fitting into a period of 3-4 years depending on your personal circumstances (e.g., if your funding lasts for 3 years, make a 3-year plan; and if you have funding for 4 years, do a 4-year plan). In no case you should plan to finish in longer than 4 years because there is an expectation that by the end of the 4th year you should have submitted your PhD thesis for examination.
  • References: This is a section for you to include all key references you used in your research proposal. Each reference should be cited at least once in the proposal. Pay attention to the format of references and ensure the full, correct and consistent citation information for each reference. When possible, include a URL so each reference can be checked by a single click.

Some useful guidelines on how to write a good research proposals are listed below:

Contact Us

If you have difficulties identifying research topics or supervisors, please contact the iCSS Director Professor Shujun Li via cyber-info@kent.ac.uk for advice.

If you have questions on the PhD admissions procedure, please contact CEMSadmissions@kent.ac.uk.