Postgraduate Research Degrees
By choosing to study at Manchester you will be joining one of the most innovative and successful schools of computer science in the world. Manchester saw the birth of computer science, with the creation of the world's first stored-program computer. We continue to work on pioneering research including cutting-edge image processing software, new technologies to exploit the power of the web, medical imaging software and low-power chip design.
The School has four research divisions, collectively incorporating 10 individual research groups ranging from from Bio-Health Informatics to Machine Learning and Optimisation, and is keen to receive applications from potential research students in all areas. Browse through our Research Project List to find a suitable topic or potential supervisor. For those new to research, the School provides a programme of taught courses on topics such as research methods, research planning and thesis writing.
Although a research degree is traditionally the route to an academic post, and is often an essential qualification for a research career, it is now frequently sought by industry. Research graduates are a step ahead in the race for jobs: the communication and analysis skills integral to a research degree make them highly employable individuals.
A research degree involves sustained, in-depth study of a specific area, which is then written up as a thesis for examination. It enables you to become an expert in your field, as well as giving you the core skills you need to perform effective research across a broader spectrum of areas.
The School offers three types of research programmes:
PhD: A three-year degree resulting in a substantial thesis. It often starts with an MPhil year.
CDT: A new model of PhD training which preserves the deep technical research study associated with the UK PhD, while augmenting this with training and practical experience in creativity and innovation, scientific evaluation, and experiences working with and communicating with users from outside academia.
MPhil: consists of one year of research culminating in an MPhil thesis.
MEnt: Master of Enterprise Computer Science combines masters level subject knowledge, sound business theory and the practical enterprise skills needed to apply that knowledge in a business context.