We have prepared this page to help you go through the application process for the CDT and so that you know what documents should be submitted as part of your application.
Where To Submit
All applications need to be submitted via the University of Edinburgh EUCLID application portal. The button below will take you to the official application page for the programme “PhD Artificial Intelligence for Biomedical Innovation – 4 Years” starting in 2024.
Submission Deadline
We are currently only accepting applications for the industry project Improving digital healthcare solutions with data interoperability and large language models. The deadline for applications is 7 August 2024.
Applications for 2025 intake will open in October.
Minimum Entry Requirements
Our minimum entry requirements are detailed on our application portal page, but in summary we require:
A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in an area related to the topic of the CDT, for example, computer science, AI, cognitive science, mathematics, physics, engineering, biomedical science, biological science, and clinical & public health sciences.
We also welcome applicants who do not meet these requirements, but who can demonstrate suitability for the training programme based on extensive professional experience or from working in research posts.
There are also standard University English language requirements that are explained in detail on the application portal page.
How to Complete Your Application
When you go to the application portal and start a new application, you will be guided through a series of sections with questions for you to complete. We advise you read the information alongside our School of Informatics Guidance Document – but please bear in mind that the requirements for applying to the CDT are slightly different. These are detailed below.
Sections 1 and 2 – your personal and contact details, complete these as you would for any application.
Section 3 – will ask you to complete several mandatory or optional boxes related to the Programme you are applying for – such as Personal Statements and Relevant Training / Skills. When applying to our CDT programme, in most of these boxes you just need to enter “Not Applicable – see uploaded documents” (the required application documents are detailed below). You do not need to enter information in the box “Name of proposed supervisor (if known)” unless you would like to. We have a list of potential supervisors available here, but this will evolve over time so if there is someone not on the list please feel free to suggest them. Please note: that contact with any potential supervisors prior to application is not necessary. Should your application be successful the supervisory team will be confirmed through discussions with the CDT management team.
Sections 4, 5, 6, and 7 ask for additional information on your Qualifications, Previous Employment, Finance and for you to indicate two Academic Referees. Please complete these parts of the form as requested. Regarding Finance, we assume applicants to the CDT will be applying for our funded studentships.
The final section before submitting is to Upload Documents. Here there are several documents you need to upload, including documents that are specific to the CDT programme application process. These are listed and described below. All documents should be uploaded to the University of Edinburgh applicant portal as part of your application as separate files. You can use any software of your preference to develop these materials, but we ask that they are exported and uploaded as PDF files.
We will be unable to consider an application for the CDT if any of these files are missing.
Required Documents
Degree Certificate(s) and transcript(s)
We require you submit official documents that confirm any degrees or qualifications you have been awarded.
A degree certificate is the official document which you usually receive at your graduation ceremony and confirms that the degree has been awarded to you. A transcript is an additional document which comes with your certificate and details the grades you have achieved per course/module per semester/academic year. Please ensure that your transcript includes information for the total duration of your studies.
Please also provide additional transcripts from Institutions you have studied in as a visiting student or as part of an exchange programme. If you wish, you can upload additional documents to explain any other gaps in your studies. Please read this detailed guidance on providing official certificates.
Supporting Document
Instead of submitting a traditional research proposal and personal statement, we would like you to submit a document that covers background information about you and explains your motivation and suitability to join the programme. This should be submitted as a single PDF file with font size no smaller than 10pt divided into sections as detailed below. This should be uploaded in the “Research Proposal” section of the application portal, instead of the traditional research proposal document.
Background & Motivation (up to 1000 words)
Please tell us a little bit about your background and interests and your motivation for coming to Edinburgh and applying to our CDT in particular. We recommend you also cover the following points:
– your educational background
– any relevant work and/or volunteering experience
– your academic and research interests
– your career/development goals and how the PhD and CDT will help you to achieve those
– what you are hoping to learn if you join the programme
– which of our training themes would you say you are most capable in currently: AI, biomedical science, or health. Please feel free to mention other areas if neither of these suit well.
– why you want to make a contribution to the translation of AI methods into real-world applications in Biomedicine & Health?
– what would success look like for you in your PhD studies?
Suitability for the Programme (up to 1500 words)
Please tell us why you think you are suited to the programme (and why we are suited to you). We recommend you also cover the following points:
– any skills, experience, and attributes do you have that make you well suited to PhD study in this academic domain
– any experience you have working with biomedical or clinical data and/or challenges you’ve encountered
– your thoughts on the ethical and societal issues surrounding the use of AI methods in clinical settings and working with sensitive data
– any experience you have of interdisciplinary working and what you think the challenges/opportunities are
– what could you bring to the cohort that would support and enrich the research environment and culture in the CDT?
– how your skills, experience and interests align with the current industry project “Improving digital healthcare solutions with data interoperability and large language models“
We encourage applicants, if they would like to, to let us know of any challenges or barriers that they may have experienced that they feel has impacted their academic progression, ability to gain relevant experience, or indeed any other aspect they think is relevant to our consideration of their application.
Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Applicants are required to provide an up-to-date CV, which details information on their education (including all degrees completed and in progress), experience, skills and interests, achievements, etc.
English language certificate(s)
If your degree was not recently completed in a majority English-speaking country (as defined by the UK Home Office, Visa & Immigration) you will need to provide documentation alongside your application to evidence your English language skills. This guidance page provides information on what evidence is accepted at the University.
Academic References
You need to specify two referees, which should ordinarily be written by academics and teachers that can provide good quality and authentic assessments of your academic skills, achievements, and potential. When you submit your application the system will automatically request a reference from your referees, but if you have already obtained references you can upload these directly.