Ph.D. Degree

Introduction

A Ph.D. requires three years training in research. The topic of a Ph.D. dissertation may be chosen from the wide range of subjects studied within the two departments that constitute the Faculty of Mathematics. To find out about current research activities please refer to the respective web pages of the departments.

• Department of Applied Mathematics & Theoretical Physics (DAMTP)
• Department of Pure Mathematics & Mathematical Statistics (DPMMS) (including the Statistical Laboratory)

Sir Isaac Newton Lucasian Professor 1669-1702

The portrait of Newton (by Barrington Bramley in 1992 after that by Sir Godfrey Kneller dated 1689) is copyright of the Portsmouth Estate and is reproduced by kind permission of the Tenth Earl of Portsmouth.

Entry Qualifications

Students from outside Cambridge should note that they are likely to be accepted directly for the Ph.D. degree only when they have been educated to a standard comparable with that of the Master of Mathematics / Master of Advanced Study. Applicants who are not so qualified should ask in the first instance for acceptance for the Master of Mathematics / Master of Advanced Study. Subsequent acceptance for research usually depends on the achievement of a relatively high standard in this qualification.

Funding

Home and European Union students are normally supported by Research Council awards during their three years of research. This funding is arranged by the Department offering the place. There are other awards available for students from outside the European Union. Also, several colleges can give at least a degree of financial support to postgraduates. In order to find out about such possibilities students should contact the Secretary of the Board of Graduate Studies at the address given below. In addition, the University's Graduate Studies Prospectus, contains a section on sources of funding.

Applications Deadlines

There are a number of different deadlines.

If you wish to apply for funding from the Cambridge Trusts, please refer to the application deadlines in the University's Graduate Studies Prospectus. Your application, either online or on paper, must have been received by the Board of Graduate Studies by these deadlines.

The two Departments also have application deadlines as given on the DAMTP and DPMMS "Key facts & figures" pages in the Graduate Studies Prospectus.

Further Information

The University publishes a Graduate Studies Prospectus that has information on admission as a graduate research student in DAMTP and DPMMS. A paper copy of the prospectus is available from:

Address:

The Board of Graduate Studies,
4 Mill Lane,
Cambridge CB2 1RZ,
United Kingdom.

You may apply online or on paper; for further details see the section on applying in the Graduate Studies Prospectus.

There is also an Alternative Prospectus entry for Mathematics provided by the Graduate Union.

However, if you have any specific queries about the courses, please contact the following addresses: