Application Portal

Click here to apply: Application Portal

How to Apply

1. Check whether the company-linked studentships (if any) listed on the website are appropriate for you. These come with enhanced opportunities, and all applications for company-linked studentships will be considered for the main CDT funding too.
2. Check general eligibility etc. (see Entry Requirements).
3. Make sure you are aware of the funding that is available (see Funding; if you are bringing with you external funding we can also consider that).
4. Make an initial application (see section below on Applicaton Process) with an initial research proposal.
5. Identify a supervisor, get agreement from the potential supervisor and build a final research proposal. Example potential supervisors are listed on the Supervisors page.
6. Finalise an application before the deadline, ensuring the application is complete. Again, details are in the Applicaton Process. Incomplete applications cannot be considered.
7. Be available for interview in the interview period (see section below on the Timeline).

Application Process

Please follow our application process to apply for an EPSRC CDT in Machine Learning Systems studentship.

The deadline for applications for entry in September 2025 is 22 January 2025 12 noon.

The CDT Machine Learning Systems does not advertise defined supervisor-led PhD projects. Instead, applicants are required to write and submit their own research proposal for a PhD project and to nominate a suitable prospective CDT supervisor in their application.

Applicants should follow the below guidance to prepare and submit their application and maximise their chances in getting through the CDT selection stages.

The University of Edinburgh Application System EUCLID: Access to the EUCLID system to submit your CDT application is via the Degree finder: Centre for Doctoral Training in Machine Learning Systems PhD with Integrated Study | The University of Edinburgh. On the right hand-side menu, select the start date of 8 September 2025. This will launch the EUCLID platform and you will be guided through the completion of your online application.

Please make sure that you follow the below steps, complete your application and upload all the necessary documents as listed further below by the application deadline. Applications who do not include the documents 1-6 as listed below, by the application deadline, will be considered incomplete. Incomplete applications will not be considered and will be rejected automatically.

More guidance is available on how to submit your application via EUCLID:

Submitting your online application | Student Administration (ed.ac.uk),

Applicants | Student Administration (ed.ac.uk).

STEP 1. Submit an initial application

As a general rule, we strongly recommend that you submit your application as early as possible.

Once submitted, additional documents can be uploaded until the deadline for applicaiton is reached so you will be able to upload updated documents (such as the research proposal and statement) before your application is final.

An initial application can be made from 15 October, even if you have not yet made contact with a potential supervisor. It should still contain a CV, your transcripts, a statement, and a research proposal.

We advise applicants spend some time researching online about how to make a good PhD application. However, we are aware that some students, perhaps those from groups less well represented within the research community, may still feel unconfident about the application. Explicitly for those with home funding status: if this is you, please ask in your application for “pre-assessment feedback” in your statement (Document to Submit n.3 in the table below) to ask us to confirm your application is what we are looking for. We will endeavour to provide feedback for preliminary applications submitted before 1 December.

STEP 2. Find a supervisor

1. Browse the list of CDT supervisors on the CDT website and identify an academic who works in your research area and who could be interested in your proposed PhD project. There might be several suitable profiles. Make sure you read through the profile of each academic, including about their research and area of interests. It is also a good idea to read their latest published research paper or one that relates to your specific ideas for your own PhD research.

   You can also browse the Edinburgh Research Explorer platform, which includes all staff within the University of Edinburgh.

2. Prepare an email to them to establish a first contact. Make sure to include the following elements:

   1. Introduce yourself by detailing your study background (and relevant professional experience if any) including some details of a past research project;
   2. Explain why you would now like to do a PhD (within the MLSystems CDT) and some thoughts about what it could be about and how it would fit within their research area and interests;
   3. Attach an academic CV to your email but make sure everything important you want them to know about you is in the email body rather than in an attachment (as they might not see it)
   4. State your fees status (Home or International). This is important because supervisors have a cap on the number of candidates they can put forward under each category. You can check which fees status you are likely to be classified under in Entry Requirements.

Keep your message brief and to the point while including all the important elements listed above.

If you have identified more than one potential supervisors, you should email each of them preferably at the same time not to lose any time.

1. Be patient for an answer but feel free to chase them up about 1-2 weeks after. Academics are busy people and they might not be interested in your profile however, they should be back in touch with you either way so that you can move on.

There is more guidance about contacting prospective supervisors on the School of Informatics website: Finding a supervisor | School of Informatics (ed.ac.uk).

STEP 3. Finalise your application

Once a supervisor has expressed an interest in supervising a PhD project with you and you have discussed a potential project with them, you can finalise your application. Make sure that your application is complete and includes the latest version of your statement and research proposal (upload them as additional documents) before the application deadline.

Your application must include the following documents (see guidance for each document further below):

Research proposal

This should describe a potential PhD project of your own. Although supervisors can help shaping the project and give you some feedback on it, the research proposal should be written by you entirely and demonstrate your ability to lead research and your understanding of what a PhD involves.

You must ensure that:

• the PhD project you propose fits within the MLSystems CDT remit AND
• you follow the below guidance to write a research proposal AND
• it is your own work

It is important to note that although the research proposal you submit should be about a potential PhD proposal adequate to your skillset and interests, it is not necessarily going to be exactly the PhD project you will do if appointed. The final PhD project will be the result of a joint reflection from you and your supervisory team, which will also have to align with the CDT specific requirements based on the other students appointed on the cohort and the supervisors’ availability.

Guidance for the research proposal

Here is a suggested structure for your research proposal: Title • Abstract • Brief introduction to the project, showing what original research you are proposing • Summary of the overall point and objectives and expected contribution of the research • Critical summary of existing literature and how it relates • Methodology and Approach • How the research will be communicated to the wider academic community, plus any non-academic audiences / users • How you are prepared for the project • The skills required for the project and why you are a good fit • Any ethical considerations of the project • Summary and conclusions.

The research proposal should generally be a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 pages long, though if more is needed for e.g. figures etc., then these are not strict requirements.

More general guidance on how to write a research proposal for a PhD application which might be useful, is provided by the University. However, ML Systems is often more engineering than science, and it is commonly more meaningful to consider the proposed gain to knowledge, understanding and capability than it is to formulate a specific scientific “hypothesis” for testing.

Academic CV

An academic CV is similar to a standard CV albeit putting emphasis on your study background and research experiences, which can be both from a study or professional context. It should not exceed two pages.

Statement

The personal statement should explain why you are a suitable candidate for the CDT and for the project described in the research proposal in particular. It should detail your motivation to do a PhD within the context of the CDT Machine Learning Systems. Your statement should not exceed 500 words and should be annexed to your research proposal document (preferably placed before it, on page 1) and both uploaded as one single document under the “research proposal” category.

More guidance on how to write a personal statement: Personal statement | The University of Edinburgh

Disclosing special circumstances on the MLSystems CDT

If you would like to disclose any special circumstances, difficulties or barriers you have faced during your study or career, which could explain gaps on your CV, longer studies and/or weaker marks and grades, and which will be helpful for supervisors and CDT selectors to know when looking at your application, you can do so in your statement. This could be for example related to health, caring responsibilities, family circumstances, relocation, financial pressure or any learning difficulty or disability which you are comfortable disclosing to selectors.

Transcripts and Certificates of all degrees obtained to date

For each degree obtained in Higher Education, please upload your transcripts and certificates (diploma) when available. If you have not yet been awarded a degree, you can upload interim transcripts if available. If you do not hold all transcripts and certificates from all your studies to date, it is your responsibility to obtain them to complete your application.

If those documents are not in English, please also provide the English translation.

References

Your application requires two references provided by the referees of your choice. It is best to choose referees from the academic sector (personal tutor, dissertation’s supervisor etc.) to support your PhD application since they will be more relevant however, it is also acceptable to have references from a former line-manager in a professional context.

The application system will ask you to provide the name, organisation and email of your chosen referees. Your referees will then receive automated emails requesting a reference for you and providing guidance about how it can be uploaded to our system. Note that references should come from professional emails and not from personal emails (i.e. not Gmail or Yahoo, etc.).

If you upload reference letters yourself then these should be on headed paper, signed, and dated no more than one year from the start of the programme for which you are applying.

The CDT EDI and Widening Participation form

The CDT has a specific form to collect demographic data from its applicants for statistics purposes and reporting to its funder (the EPSRC). It also offers the opportunity to applicants to disclose belonging to one of its under-represented groups and to allow the CDT to support applications from such applicants throughout the recruitment process. This form is kept separate from the EUCLID application so that selectors (including supervisors) do not see that information. It is only seen by an independent CDT panel who will monitor the EDI and WP data of the applicants throughout the selection process.

You must submit the form at the same time of completing your EUCLID application. You are not obliged to complete it and can leave it blank. If you do so, the data will be reported as “not available”.

CDT EDI and Widening Participation Form

A proof of English proficiency

See Entry Requirements

STEP 4. Wait for the outcome

Your application will be screened for completeness and relevance and passed on to the supervisor(s) you have nominated (or we have advised) for review and assessment by the end of January. Supervisors will be in touch with you directly if they would like to arrange an interview.

You will receive an outcome via the EUCLID system or the CDT admission team by the beginning of March at the latest. If you are successful in getting a studentship offer, we will invite you for a post-offer visit which you can do before making your final decision.

Selection process

Indicative Recruitment Timeline

What We Are Looking For

We take an evidence-based assessment against competencies to select and appoint the best students on the CDT. When assessing your application and conducting interviews, we will be looking for proofs of all the below competencies which are essential to conducting an excellent PhD in a cutting-edge and challenging field.

You may have different sources of evidence for the different competencies and these can be drawn from a wide range of activity and experience (studies, professional experience, volunteerism or hobby etc.) but they need to be reflected in your application and in your performance at interview.

1. Substantial knowledge of the background methodology
2. Good mathematical understanding and capability: a confidence and competence in handling mathematical ideas, and manipulations.
3. Clear computational and software engineering experience
4. Good basic computer science understanding
5. Substantial proactivity
6. Clear experience of doing research and a level of capability at that research
7. Evidence of scientific writing capability
8. Evidence of diligence, honesty, rigour, scholarliness, and accuracy
9. Evidence of friendliness, a care for others, a willingness to help out, good working with others, and commitment to working partnerships
10. Evidence of excellence (awards and prizes, publications, achievements of all sorts, community engagement, project lead etc.)

The CDT Interviews

Interviews are organised and led by the supervisor you have identified (or we have advised) as a prospective supervisor for your PhD project. An additional independent interviewer CDT will also be on the panel, and will act as CDT representative. The panel could potentially also include other parties, e.g. a prospective secondary supervisor as a third member. The interview will cover both technical knowledge and competencies, and the more general motivation and competency required to do a PhD.

Interviews last typically an hour and may be either in-person and online depending on the panel’s availability and student location. Supervisors will contact students directly to arrange interviews. If you have any concerns round your interview or require adjustments, you can confidentially get in touch with the CDT admission team at any time.

If you attend your interview in-person, the CDT will refund up to £100 of expenses (travel and accommodation).

The Post-offer Visit

If you receive a studentship funding at the end of our selection process and if you have not attended your interview in person, we will invite you to a post-offer visit so that you can come over to the School of Informatics in the University of Edinburgh, meet your prospective supervisors as well as the CDT management team. There will also be a chance to speak with current CDT students. This will give you a good idea of your future PhD environment and will help with your decision.

A virtual visit including a similar content will be offered to students who cannot come to Edinburgh in person.

Anticipated dates of post-offer visits:

In-person: Tuesday 11 March: 10:00-12:00 Online: Wednesday 12 March: 10:00-12:00

If you attend an in-person post-offer visit, the CDT will refund up to £100 of expenses (travel and accommodation).

The CDT MLSystems admission team is contactable on: mlsystems-admin@inf.ed.ac.uk