PhD
scholarships

The School offers
PhDs in Actuarial Science, Pure, Applied, and Financial Mathematics, and
Statistics. Several postgra
duate scholarships are available each year. This
award includes PhD fees and a scholarship of £14296 for 3.5 years. Some of the
funding is open to international students*. In addition to School-specific
funding there are other scholarships andbursaries available to postgraduate students both from the University as
well as external awards.

The
SMSAS research environment

As a research
student you will join a vibrant research community of over 100 postgraduate and
postdoctoral researchers and academic staff. You will be given a personal desk
and computer in one of the school’s research offices. You will be assigned a
main supervisor, with whom you will work closely, and a second supervisor.

You will attend
research seminars and will be expected to follow at least 100 lecture hours of
postgraduate modules during the first two years of your PhD. Your choice of
modules will be taken in consultation with your supervisor and will cover areas
relevant to your PhD. As well as modules from the School’s Master’s programmes
you might take courses specifically designed for PhD students and offered by
the London
Taught Courses Centre (LTCC).

Attendance at
academic conferences is a key part of your development as a researcher. It will
allow you to see the latest developments in your field and to disseminate your
work to a wider audience, including world-leading researchers. The School
offers generous travel support to all PhD students.

Members of the
School’s PhD community have attended/presented their work at leading
conferences and institutes such as the University of Waterloo, International
Statistical Ecology Conference (Montpellier, France, July 2014), International
Biometric Conference (Florence, Italy, July 2014), Young Algebraists’
Conference (Lausanne, June 2014), Computational Geometry and Statistics
Conference (Singapore, February 2014), and the Actuarial Research Conference
(Santa Barbara, California, July 2014).

Graduate
Teaching Assistantships (GTAs)

Students engaged as
Graduate Teaching Assistants hold a unique position in the University in that
they are both registered students in receipt of a scholarship award and
employees of the University.

Teaching duties may
include: marking, demonstrating, tutoring, outreach and, where appropriate,
lecturing. The School expects that GTAs will do no more than six hours of
teaching and teaching-related duties including preparation per week during
term-time.

Full
GTA terms and conditions

Entry
requirements

Candidates must hold
a good Honours degree (First or 2i) and a Master’s degree (MSc, MMath, MSci) at
merit or distinction in a relevant subject or equivalent. For best
consideration, candidates should either have a Master’s degree or expect to
finish their Master’s qualification by September 2016.

Applicants whose
first language is not English must also meet the University’s English
language requirements.

Applicants for
research programmes in Actuarial Science are advised to also double-check the
requirements outlined on the CASRI PhD
applications page.

How to
apply

Applicants are
advised to identify a potential supervisor before making a formal application
so please familiarise yourself with their research interests using the Meet our researchers
links (above, right). Their personal profiles offer more information and
frequently a link to a personal website as well. Some supervisors also have
specific projects available, see:

You are encouraged
to contact the potential supervisor(s) to discuss potential areas for PhD
supervision and to name the supervisor on your application form.

Candidates should
use the University of Kent online application system.
http://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/apply/index.html
Make sure that you include:

name(s)
of proposed supervisor(s)
a clear
indication of the research area in which you wish to work
copy of
transcripts of all qualifications including expected or actual degree classifications
details
of all professional qualifications obtained and any work experience
details
of experience, if any, of research and teaching
academic
references
how you
plan to fund the PhD. If
you wish to be considered for a studentship make sure you select ‘School
Research Scholarship’ in the part of the form that asks ‘How are you
intending to fund your studies?’

Applicants
for research programmes in Actuarial Science are advised to also double-check
the requirements outlined on the CASRI PhD
applications page.

Apply by 2 December 2016 to
be considered for a scholarship starting in January 2017.

The deadline for PhD
students starting in September is 31 January. Applications made after this date
will be considered at the School’s discretion and only if funding is available.

Assessment
criteria

All PhD
scholarship applications are assessed according to these criteria:

Evidence
of the quality of the applicant based on qualifications, performance at
undergraduate and postgraduate level, and any relevant professional
experience.
Evidence
that the applicant is well prepared for doctoral study in their chosen
research area based on previous research experience, background knowledge,
and comments by referees on suitability for research.
Evidence
of the quality and feasibility of the proposed research project.
Evidence
that the applicant possesses the qualities required to support and
contribute to the school’s undergraduate taught programmes.

Shortlisted
candidates will invited for interview and performance at interview as well as
your online application will be used in deciding who is awarded the
scholarships.