MPhil/PhD
Computer Science
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Why study MPhil/PhD Computer Science at Goldsmiths
Our MPhil/PhD programme in computer science offers you the opportunity to participate fully in the highly interdisciplinary research environment of our department and of Goldsmiths as a whole.
- We aim for all our students to produce innovative ideas and to develop those ideas into fully fledged research results and software and hardware systems, working within the creative atmosphere of our department.
- We welcome outstanding applications to study and perform research in any aspect of computer science, and strongly encourage you to contact members of staff with overlapping research interests to discuss your research proposal in the first instance. If you are unsure who to talk to, please contact the Postgraduate Tutor listed below with a description of your interests.
- We provide you with office space and computer equipment along with access to computer labs and other facilities, in addition to resources and facilities made available by Goldsmiths and support provided by the Research Office.
- The department and the Goldsmiths Graduate School provide training in research methods and in technical skills. We have a number of regular research meetings and seminars, from formal lectures to more informal workshops and discussion groups, and you are encouraged to present your work to the department at least once a year. There are also opportunities for you to participate in the teaching activities of the department.
- Assessment will be by written thesis (up to 100,000 words) and viva voce.
Contact the department
If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Akshi Kumar.
Length
3 years full-time or 4-6 years part-time
Entry requirements
You should normally have (or expect to be awarded) a taught Masters in a relevant subject area. You might also be considered for some programmes if you aren’t a graduate or your degree is in an unrelated field, but have relevant experience and can show that you have the ability to work at postgrad
Fees
Home - full-time: £TBC
Home - part-time: £TBC
International - full-time: £20000
Department
You'll research
We currently offer MPhil/PhD supervision in many areas of computing, including:
- Computational creativity
- Computer vision and audition
- Interactions between art, media and technology
- Adaptive hypermedia systems
- Artificial intelligence
Find out more about research degrees at Goldsmiths.
Entry requirements
You should normally have (or expect to be awarded) a taught Masters in a relevant subject area.
You might also be considered for some programmes if you aren’t a graduate or your degree is in an unrelated field, but have relevant experience and can show that you have the ability to work at postgraduate level.
International qualifications
We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the qualifications we accept from around the world.
If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification) of 7.0 with a 7.0 in writing and no element lower than 6.5 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for postgraduate-level study.
ATAS Approval
International students who require a visa will also need to apply for an ATAS certificate to study on this programme. The ATAS application needs to be approved before your CAS document can be issued by the Immigration Advisory Service.
How to apply
Apply directly to Goldsmiths using our online application system
We advise you to get in touch with the programme contact listed above before you apply. It may also be possible to arrange an advisory meeting.
Before you start at Goldsmiths, the actual topic of your research has to be agreed with your proposed supervisor, who will be a member of staff active in your general field of research. The choice of topic may be influenced by the current research in the department or the requirements of an external funding body.
If you wish to study on a part-time basis, you should also indicate how many hours a week you intend to devote to research, whether this will be at evenings or weekends, and for how many hours each day.
Before submitting your application you'll need to have:
- Details of your education history, including the dates of all exams/assessments
- The email address of your referee who we can request a reference from, or alternatively an electronic copy of your academic reference
- Contact details of a second referee
- A personal statement – this can either be uploaded as a Word Document or PDF, or completed online. Please see our guidance on writing a postgraduate statement
- If available, an electronic copy of your educational transcript (this is particularly important if you have studied outside of the UK, but isn’t mandatory)
- Details of your research proposal
You'll be able to save your progress at any point and return to your application by logging in using your username/email and password.
When to apply
We accept applications from October for students wanting to start the following September.
We encourage you to complete your application as early as possible, even if you haven't finished your current programme of study. It's very common to be offered a place conditional on you achieving a particular qualification.
If you're applying for external funding from one of the Research Councils, make sure you submit your application by the deadline they've specified.
Research proposals
Along with your application and academic reference, you should also upload a research proposal at the point of application. This should be in the form of a statement of the proposed area of research and should include:
- Delineation of the research topic
- Why it has been chosen
- An initial hypothesis (if applicable)
- A brief list of major secondary sources
Selection process
Admission to many programmes is by interview, unless you live outside the UK. Occasionally we'll make candidates an offer of a place on the basis of their application and qualifications alone.
Fees and funding
Annual tuition fees
These are the PG fees for students starting their programme in the 2025/2026 academic year.
- Home - full-time: £TBC
- Home - part-time: £TBC
- International - full-time: £20000
If your fees are not listed here, please check our postgraduate fees guidance or contact the Fees Office, who can also advise you about how to pay your fees.
It’s not currently possible for international students to study part-time under a student visa. If you think you might be eligible to study part-time while being on another visa type, please contact our Admissions Team for more information.
If you are looking to pay your fees please see our guide to making a payment.
Funding opportunities
Department of Computing Alumni Fee Waiver PhD Scholarship
In order to encourage world-leading research activity within the Department of Computing, we're pleased to offer a scholarship to alumni who wish to pursue a PhD at Goldsmiths.
Other funding
Please check the Goldsmiths Scholarship Finder for other funding that you may be eligible to apply for.
Additional costs
In addition to your tuition fees, you'll be responsible for any additional costs associated with your course, such as buying stationery and paying for photocopying. You can find out more about what you need to budget for on our study costs page.
There may also be specific additional costs associated with your programme. This can include things like paying for field trips or specialist materials for your assignments.
