This page contains information for prospective PhD students. A list of some of our current PhD students, complete with their research interests, is available.

How to apply to study with us

We welcome applications from all potential PhD students. Within our group we currently have PhD students from many different countries.

Every year, we admit new students. You can apply at any time, but to be considered for our (limited) funded places, please ensure your application is with us in time for the annual deadline, which is 1st January each year for entry in late September/ early October that year. If you are interested in applying to study with us, in addition to the Graduate School webpage, here is some advice.

• At present the majority of our PhD scholarships are connected to the Centre for Doctoral Training in Algebra, Geometry, and Quantum Fields, which is a joint venture with Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt universities. Be aware that this programme has a slightly different deadline than the Glasgow deadline - for September 2025 start this was 16 December 2024. Follow the instructions on the AGQ-CDT website, in particular fill in the pre-application form and request your reference letter writers to direct their letters to the correct email address.

• Applicants for the AGQ-CDT will be automatically considered for any other University of Glasgow scholarships for which they are eligible.

• You can apply online here.

• In "6. Course Details", you are asked to select a Supervisor. Information regarding potential supervisors is listed in the Available Supervisors tab. Feel free to contact any of us for more information and to ask about research areas. You are not required to list a supervisor, but it is recommended (but see the separate AGQ instructions, if relevant). It is especially helpful if you contact potential supervisors before you submit your application. If you do not select a supervisor, please give some information regarding which research group you are interested in working with. At this stage many students are interested in a particular research area, but could successfully work with one of a selection of supervisors. You should contact each of the relevant potential supervisors to let them know this, so that all of them are aware of your application.

• In "6. Course Details", you are asked to select a Research Title. Please note that you are not required have to write a research proposal, so feel free simply to indicate which area of expertise you would like your PhD to be in. We understand that the vast majority of applicants do not yet have a clear understanding of precise research topics and directions. We are happy to read a short personal statement, but it is not mandatory.

• In "7. Finance", if you want to be considered for one of our funded places, please select "Univ of Glasgow Scholarship". If you are interested in being considered for a Maclaurin Scholarship, or if you are eligible for, and interested in, a China Scholarship Council scholarship, you should also mention this. Alternatively, if you have already secured funding from an external source, please say so in this section.

• There is no funding available for the Integrated PhD programme, the MSc by research, or the MPhil programme. If you want to be considered for funding, do not apply to these programmes.

• Application Deadline. You can apply at any time. However, it is strongly recommended to apply in November or December to the AGQ CDT by its deadline, or if you are applying to a non-CDT subject, then apply to Glasgow by the deadline of the School of Mathematics and Statistics, 1st January. Applications are dealt with on a rolling basis until all scholarships have been awarded, so if you miss the deadline, apply, and if there are still scholarships available you will be considered for them. In this case it advisable to let your potential supervisor know that you have applied.

More general advice

PhDs in mathematics are prized throughout the whole of science, industry and the broader economy. They are the entry-level to a career in academia, but they also lead to a host of other employment opportunities. As such, PhD programmes are challenging but also rewarding, sometimes lonely but often exhilarating, and everyone at some point faces the second year blues. There are many places on the web with good general advice for starting PhD students, here are some:

• Terry Tao has some great advice for various career stages.
• Ravi Vakil has some good advice (towards the bottom of the page) for starting graduate students.
• Dan Margalit has a wonderful resource with both general and topology-specific advice for PhD students
• PhD comics