MPhil/PhD in Computing
When can you start this course? | Fees | Course length |
Why choose this course?
- You'll have the opportunity to exploit and challenge your potential and develop your ideas under the supervision of highly committed, dedicated and qualified experts.
- You'll become confident and a specialist in the area of study and will be equipped for a career in academia, research and development sectors.
- You'll study in state-of-the-art facilities.
- We have a fast-growing research environment and reputation.
- Our friendly research staff are highly regarded internationally.
About the course
Research is an important component of academic life. It plays a major role in supporting what we teach to our students, and directly helps organisations to solve real world issues.
Our research combines the best of both worlds by having strong connections with the Derbyshire region and active international links. The work - only some of which is highlighted here - often contributes directly, not only to the development and well-being of the region, but also to the body of knowledge in the scientific community at large.
One of the core aims of the DISYS Research Group is to provide research related opportunities for widening participation and through its collaborations and scholarly activities to make an impact and establish an excellent reputation of its applicable research regionally, nationally and internationally.
The DISYS research group has a research active, focused, dedicated and committed team of members of staff who are very keen to work with you.
Available research areas for study include:
- Cloud computing, P2P and data grids
- Complex networks, network architectures and management
- Crowd sourcing, social networks and web data analytics
- Distributed data and collective computational intelligence
- Multi-agents and service oriented computing
- Resource discovery and scheduling in heterogeneous networks
- Semantics, ontologies and conceptual structures
- Situated, context-aware computing and smart environments
- Trust, intrusion detection and network security
- Visual computing, games and serious games
You can undertake a negotiated programme of research leading to the award of either a Master of Philosophy degree or a Doctor of Philosophy degree.
These higher degrees are awarded in recognition of a successful period of research training normally culminating in the production of a thesis.
There are three routes to a higher degree:
MPhil
This is designed for graduates who want to gain a strong knowledge and understanding of the subject and then take the discipline forward through an approved programme of original research.
New Route PhD
The route is for recently qualified graduates with good honours degrees who are keen to progress immediately to a research experience in their preparations for a career in which the ability to undertake research will play a key role.
Traditional Route PhD
This route entails a programme of research which normally takes three years of full time study. You can choose to take it part time over a period of up to six years. The traditional route enables capable and qualified individuals to pursue an original research investigation into a chosen topic within a field of enquiry.
What our students say
Developing software to identify individual bottlenose dolphins, Justin Rogowski
Using artificial intelligence to develop a tool for marine conservationists, Justin Rogowski's research into artificial intelligence for his Doctorate has resulted in an important tool for marine conservationists.
Justin has developed software to analyse the dorsal fins of bottlenose dolphins, and, working with Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation in Ireland, has mapped unique identifiers for each individual dolphin.
During his research, Justin discovered that computer graphics and image processing software can be used to identify each dolphin's dorsal fin and the aspects that make it unique.
Supervision
You will be allocated a Director of Studies and one or two second supervisors who form a 'supervisory team'. You will become part of the School of Computing and Mathematics. Office accommodation is provided on campus, as well as the necessary computing equipment.
Anything else?
How to apply
Please read very carefully our admission information for research applicants.
All applicants require to submit a 2-page well-written proposal. Applicants are encouraged to contact Prof Nik Bessis to discuss and refine their ideas prior to their formal submission. The preparation of a well-written proposal is an important task. We suggest you to take the following into consideration when preparing your proposal:
- Proposed title
- Brief overview of the area of research interest highlighting why the area requires attention and further research. In this section, you should provide a summary of your critical analysis about what published research has been done in the area and on this basis to justify what you want to do.
- Proposed research aim and a list of your research objectives
- Proposed methodologies, tools and techniques you wish to employ
- Referencing list
Apply using forms RD2 and RD3 at www.derby.ac.uk/research
Start dates
These courses start in May, October and January.
Contact us
Discuss your research proposal or initial ideas with Professor Nik Bessis.
Contact us on +44 (0) 1332 591896 or email n.bessis@derby.ac.uk
For queries regarding the application process, contact Dr Victoria Carpenter on +44 (0) 1332 591896 or email v.carpenter@derby.ac.uk
Start dates
You can start in May, October or January.
Fees*
Please contact us for details of the fees for this course.Course length
- The MPhil is studied over two years.
- You can study the PhD for three years full time, or six years part time.
- The new route PhD is studied over four years.
