Postgraduate research

Electronics and computer science

PhD electronics and computer science student

Join over 500 researchers working with industry and government to address some of the problems facing the world today.

About

Electronics and computer science (ECS) is the leading university department of its kind in the UK. We were on of the first universities to be named an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Education (ACE-CSE) by the UK government.

Our research is organised around research groups and centres. You'll join one of these groups. This means that specialist academics will always be on hand to hear your ideas and offer help and encouragement. With around 250 staff, ECS has unrivalled depth and breadth of expertise.

You'll have the freedom to run your own project and you'll be supported by a team of supervisors. Direct and regular contact with your supervisors will help you develop your scientific insight, and steer you towards creative and original thinking.

Our graduate school provides training on transferable skills, courses on research methodology, and a working framework to help you settle into a disciplined working routine. You'll also have opportunities to travel to international conferences and events to present your work. 

ECS holds an annual careers fair that attracts major companies. The majority of our graduates take up roles in the technology industry or develop their research interests further. If you have a great idea our Future Worlds startup accelerator is there to nurture aspiring entrepreneurs through one-to-one support and its network of investors.

PhD

This is our standard 3-year research degree. When you apply, you'll choose one of the following:

  • electronic and electrical engineering
  • computer science
  • web science

UKRI AI Centre for Doctoral Training in AI for Sustainability (SustAI)

SustAI is a multidisciplinary and inclusive doctoral training programme. The CDT will provide 70 fully funded PhD studentships over 5 cohorts. SustAI will equip students with state-of-the-art AI technical skills and a deep understanding of how these skills can be applied to address pressing environmental challenges. To register your interest, please sign-up for the newsletter here

Main areas of research

A key feature of ECS is that we are truly interdisciplinary. Many of our research groups sit at the interface between electronics and computer science, including cyber security and cyber physical systems. Areas include:

  • agent technologies
  • cyber-physical systems
  • cyber security
  • digital health and biomedical engineering
  • digital libraries
  • electrical power engineering
  • environmental modelling
  • e-science
  • high voltage engineering
  • machine learning
  • next generation wireless technologies
  • smart electronic materials and systems
  • spintronics
  • technology-enhanced learning
  • vision, learning and control
  • web science

Similar research degree topics

Horizon Europe Programme

The University of Southampton is pleased to announce that PGR students from EU and Horizon associated countries joining us in 2024-25 will pay the same as UK PGRs for their PhD.