COMPUTER SCIENCE: SWANSEA UNIVERSITY RESEARCH EXCELLENCE SCHOLARSHIPS (SURES): FULLY FUNDED PHD SCHOLARSHIP: ENUMERATION DEGREES AND TOPOLOGY

Funding provider: Swansea University

Subject areas: Computer Science / Mathematics

Project start date:

• 1 October 2024 (Enrolment open from mid-September)

Supervisor: Dr Arno Pauly (a.m.pauly@swansea.ac.uk)

Aligned programme of study: PhD in Computer Science

Mode of study: Full-time

Swansea University is pleased to offer fully-funded Swansea University Research Excellence Scholarships (SURES) for full-time doctoral students to its fifth cohort, commencing in October 2024.

Each SURES scholarship includes tuition fees and a stipend – reviewed annually at the UKRI standard rate – and a £1,000 annual training allowance to support immersive training experiences, conference attendance, engagement with industry and international collaborative opportunities.

Each scholarship is offered for a maximum period of three years; SURES students are expected to submit their theses within this timescale.

Project description:

Research at the Faculty of Science and Engineering

Kihara and Pauly recently uncovered an intricate connection between computability theory and topology (“Point degree spectra of represented spaces”, Forum of Mathematics Sigma 2022). They associate a degree structure (called degree spectrum) to a topological space which reflects many of its topological characteristics. For example, the real numbers are associated with the Turing degrees. This connection already has been used to obtain new results in topology using computability-theoretic methods and vice versa, including solving a long-open question by Jayne on the number of sigma-homeomorphism types of Polish spaces. This project is about further exploring this connection.

Concrete research objectives include calculating the degree spectra of more topological spaces exhibiting unusual properties, and to identify topological properties linked to classes of degrees such as the uniformly intro-enumerable ones. A big open question in this area is whether every almost-total enumeration degree is graph-cototal.

Background knowledge in some of pointset topology, computability theory, dimension theory or logic would be helpful.

Candidates must have attained, or must be expected to attain, a first-class honours degree and/or a distinction at master’s level. If you are eligible to apply for the scholarship but do not hold a UK degree, you can check our comparison entry requirements (see country specific qualifications). Please note that you may need to provide evidence of your English Language proficiency. 

• Where applicants have multiple master’s degrees, a distinction must be held in the degree that is most relevant to the intended PhD study.
• If you are currently studying for a master’s level qualification with an expected award date that is later than 01/10/2024, you should hold a minimum of an upper-second-class (2:1) honours degree.
• You should be able to demonstrate a pass with a minimum grade average of at least 70% for your part-one master’s degree modules (the taught aspect of your master’s course rather than a research-focused dissertation) and submit your dissertation by no later than 30/09/2024.

Applicants must be able to begin their course of study in October 2024. As a cohort-based programme, deferral to an alternative enrolment window within the academic year or to another academic year is not permissible.

Please note that both the degree and language-proficiency entry requirements for SURES are higher than the baseline standard for entry that is stipulated for most of the PhD programmes at Swansea University. 

Due to funding restrictions, this scholarship is open to applicants eligible to pay tuition fees at the UK rate only, as defined by UKCISA regulations. 

If you have any questions regarding your academic or fee eligibility based on the above, please email pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk with the web-link to the scholarship(s) you are interested in.

This scholarship covers the full cost of UK tuition fees and an annual stipend of £19,237.

Additional research expenses will also be available.

To apply, please complete your application online with the following information:

1. Course choice – please select Computer Science / PhD / Full-time / 3 Year / OctoberIn the event you have already applied for the above programme previously, the application system may issue a warning notice and prevent application, in this event, please email pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk where staff will be happy to assist you in submitting your application.
2. Start year – please select 2024
3. Funding (page 8) –

• ‘Are you funding your studies yourself?’ – please select No
• ‘Name of Individual or organisation providing funds for study’ – please enter ‘RS632 – SURES Topology‘

*It is the responsibility of the applicant to list the above information accurately when applying, please note that applications received without the above information listed will not be considered for the scholarship award.

One application is required per individual Swansea University led research scholarship award; applications cannot be considered listing multiple Swansea University led research scholarship awards.

We encourage you to complete the following to support our commitment to providing an environment free of discrimination and celebrating diversity at Swansea University:

• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Monitoring Form (online form)

As part of your online application, you MUST upload the following documents (please do not send these via e-mail). We strongly advise you to provide the listed supporting documents by the advertised application closing date. Please note that your application may not be considered without the documents listed:

• CV
• Degree certificates and transcripts (if you are currently studying for a degree, screenshots of your grades to date are sufficient)
• A cover letter including a ‘Supplementary Personal Statement’ to explain why the position particularly matches your skills and experience and how you choose to develop the project.
• Two references (academic or previous employer) on headed paper or using the Swansea University reference form. Please note that we are not able to accept references received citing private email accounts, e.g. Hotmail. Referees should cite their employment email address for verification of reference.
• Evidence of meeting English Language requirement (if applicable).
• Copy of UK resident visa (if applicable)
• Confirmation of EDI form submission (optional) 

Informal enquiries are welcome, please contact Dr Arno Pauly (a.m.pauly@swansea.ac.uk).

*External Partner Application Data Sharing – Please note that as part of the scholarship application selection process, application data sharing may occur with external partners outside of the University, when joint/co- funding of a scholarship project is applicable.