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Research Degrees

The PhD degree is awarded upon successful completion of a thesis based on original research carried out over a period of between three and four years under the guidance of your supervisor. Most of the first year is usually spent deepening your knowledge by attending courses and seminars and by reading books and papers.

Applicants will be allocated two supervisors. You can consult our research webpages for more information about the scientific activities we are engaged in, and about the areas of mathematics in which you might be supervised. Below you can find specific information about PhD degrees in the five research areas of the Department:

You are encouraged to apply early. For more details on how to do so, see how to apply for a PhD.

For students whose first language is not English or whose first degree was awarded by a University not delivering the courses in English, postgraduate students must demonstrate proficiency in English Language. The University's minimal language requirements for postgraduate studies may be found here.

Students studying elsewhere for higher degrees are most welcome to spend a term or two in Durham. You can find more information about this on the Graduate School's webpage. In addition to the fees charged by the University, there may be additional bench fees. If you are interested in visiting Durham please contact us at maths.postgraduate@durham.ac.uk to discuss this.

Applied and Computational Mathematics

Contact: Dr Djoko Wirosoetisno

Email: p.g.numerical-analysis@durham.ac.uk

Mathematical and Theoretical Particle Physics

Contact: Dr Mathew Bullimore

Email: pg.cpt@durham.ac.uk

Timetable

We strongly encourage all applications by 11 December 2022.

If you are not self-funded please indicate this to us, e.g. by choosing the Durham Doctoral Scholarship, when applying. Although there is no formal deadline, applications submitted by 11 December will be considered for all the available funding options.

Since some funding options require a supervisor, during the selection process we may suggest a supervisor in your field of interest with whom you can prepare a joint application for funding.

Research proposal

The application form requests a research proposal. We are not expecting a detailed proposal, but it is useful to give us an idea here of what interests you, and why you want to do a PhD in particle theory. The application will also ask you to suggest the name of a supervisor. Again this is helpful to get an idea of what you are interested in.

Supervision

PhD students in Mathematical and Theoretical Particle Physics belong to the Centre for Particle Theory and will normally follow CPT lecture courses in their first year. Students who do not already have assigned supervisors will be assigned their supervision team after the lecture courses have started by mutual agreement between staff and students.

Pure Mathematics

Contact: Prof Dirk Schuetz

Email: p.g.puremaths@durham.ac.uk

Probability

Contact: Dr Tyler Helmuth

Email: p.g.probability@durham.ac.uk

Timetable
We strongly encourage all applications by 11 December 2022. If you are not self-funded, please indicate this to us when applying. For example, you could do this by choosing the Durham Doctoral Scholarship. Although there is no formal deadline, applications submitted by 11 December will be considered for all the available funding options. Some funding options require a supervisor, and during the selection process we may suggest a supervisor in your field of interest with whom you can prepare a joint application for funding. 
Research proposal
The application form requests a research proposal. We do not expect a detailed proposal, but it is useful to give us an idea of your scientific interests, and why you want to do a PhD in probability. The application will also ask you to suggest the name of a supervisor. Again, this is helpful for us to get an idea of what you are interested in.