Notes for prospective graduate students

When I think of the most able students I have encountered in my teaching—I mean those who have distinguished themselves not only by skill but by independence of thought.
-- Albert Einstein

Welcome. This page was written for PhD applicants interested in my supervision. It contains information that can help you decide whether I can be the right supervisor for you. I suggest you read this page through and then email me with any questions.

Research interests

There is no official requirement that your research interest match your supervisor's (in fact certain differences can be fruitful) but supervision is most effective if there is some overlap. You are invited to look through my research interests and decide which research directions sound the most interesting to you, if any.

Research ideas

I am generally open to all ideas about the research directions that you would like to pursue. If you are looking for ideas, perhaps my page on PhD research ideas in software design can help.

Funding

Our department has a Web page on funding opportunities for research students, including ORS and EPSRC grants. If you have any questions about these, call (+44 1206 874879) or email the graduate office at the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex for information. I may be able to apply for an EPSRC PhD studentship on your behalf; if interested, please submit your application and indicate your interest in submitting a grant application.

Application procedure

Every application for an MSc or PhD studentship must go through the graduate office at the department of computer science. Details on the application procedure and additional information is available from our page for prospective research students.

When submitting your application, make sure you include the following:

Research proposal: A statement of research interests detailing what are your research interests and how can I help you conduct research in these directions. You need not necessarily include very detailed research plan but merely describe the kind of things you would like to do or, if you aren't sure, the kind of things you enjoyed/will enjoy doing.
Curriculum vitae describing what you have learned in the duration of your academic and/or industrial career, in particular, which operating systems and programming languages have you worked with and which software packages have you learned to program with.

Style of supervision

Ambitious, able students are encouraged to apply. For details about my supervision style please visit my page on ten tips for the successful research novice.

Contacting me

I invite you to write me about the following:

What is your objective in becoming a PhD student?
Why did you choose the University of Essex and why did you choose me as a supervisor?
Which ones of my research interests suits yours? Do you have an idea how to complement those of you research interests which I cannot help you with?
What class of problems do you see yourself investigating? Which ones interest you most?
Which parts of your background prepare you best for a PhD degree? Which theoretical subjects and practical experiences are missing to your opinion for the purpose of taking up on a PhD degree?
Have you secured a source of funding for your study?

Questions about the application procedure should be addressed to our graduate office, telephone +44 (1206) 874879, email ces-gradoffice@essex.ac.uk. Questions about research ideas and supervision style, including additional tips on how to submit an application should be emailed to me.

Links:

Good luck!

Dr Amnon H. Eden