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, the next of which is 1st January 2024. If you are interested in applying to study with us, in addition to the Graduate School webpage, here is some advice.

• You should 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. It is especially helpful if you contact them 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 people are interested in a particular research area, but would be happy 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 to Glasgow by the deadline of the School of Mathematics and Statistics, 1st January 2024. The GlaMS deadline of 22nd January, which you might find written elsewhere, is based on the Edinburgh deadline. For Glasgow applications, it is best to adhere to the Glasgow deadline. All applications within the relevant subject areas will be automaticallly considered for GlaMS when you apply to the School; a separate application is not needed. 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.

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