Submitting your application

Applicants must hold/achieve a minimum of an upper-second class honours degree (or international equivalent) in a relevant discipline including (but not limited to): computer science, psychology, management, electrical and electronics engineering, civil engineering, criminology and social sciences.

The most critical requirement is a passion for cyber security and the desire to make our connected world secure and hence safe.

Candidates should be willing to work across disciplinary boundaries and inform their research from different disciplinary perspectives.

 Your personal statement (one A4 page) should:

• explain your motivation for applying to the programme and how it relates to your plans for the future
• explain why you should be offered a place on the programme
• highlight elements of your academic record which align with the theme of the programme, such as project work or courses you have taken (these are not required to be in cyber security or STEM disciplines)
• highlight any other relevant skills or experience that would bring an interesting unique perspective to discussions with fellow students in the programme

To submit your application via the online system the following documents must be included:

• Personal Statement
• Case Study - submit as  Research Statement
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Academic transcripts 
• Degree certificates (if graduated)
• References 
• English language certificate (if required)

Please note that your case study must be submitted in the system as a Research Statement.

You are required to submit at least two references for us to consider your application. References should be submitted electronically by the referee, using the online reference form. Alternatively, scanned copies of the original reference can be uploaded.

References must be written, signed and dated on official headed paper from the referee's organisation. They must include the referee’s full contact details, i.e. postal address, telephone number and organisation email address. A reference template is available to show the required format. References supplied with a personal email address can only be accepted under exceptional circumstances, which must be explained within the reference. All references should be dated within the last two years.  

If you graduated more than two years ago, or if professional experience is relevant to the application, professional references will be accepted in lieu of one academic reference. At least one referee should be familiar with the your academic work.

If you are currently studying, we require your university degree transcripts to date (transcripts are documents showing your grades for individual units or essays and exams throughout your degree).

If you have completed your degree(s), please  provide colour scans of university degree certificate(s) and final transcripts confirming completion. In exceptional circumstances, an official letter from your university confirming completion of your award and final grade may be accepted in place of a certificate

Applicants should complete the online application form, uploading all required documents directly. Guidance on uploading documents can be found in the guidance for online applications. Paper documents received by post, or electronic documents received by email, are only considered in exceptional circumstances.

Applications may not be considered until all required documents have been uploaded. If you have already submitted an application, you can upload additional documents into the ‘Post-submission uploads’ section of the application form. The personal statement and case study can also be uploaded into the 'Post-submissions uploads' section.

If you have any queries about what you need to submit with your application, please contact us at enquiries@cybersecurity-cdt.ac.uk  

All applicants are considered on an equal basis in line with the University’s Equality and Diversity Policy.

Equality, diversity and inclusion are embedded into the ethos of the CDT; we believe a diverse cohort leads to creativity, exciting research, and increased impact. For the Cybersecurity CDT, diversity is not solely achieved by recruiting a diverse student cohort but developed from an inclusive and supportive culture which makes everyone feel welcome. This is integral to the expectation we have that our cohort will not only support each other, but learn from each other and respect differences. The CDT, alongside both the Universities of Bristol and Bath, are actively promoting real change in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion, and will actively monitor and support the CDT reaching its equality, diversity and inclusivity goals.

Once a complete application has been submitted with all required supporting documents, it is considered for shortlisting for the recruitment workshop by two members of staff using the following criteria:

• Academic achievement (50%)
• Motivation, case study and fit to cohort (30%)
• References (20%)

Applicants are considered holistically on their own merit and in competition with the rest of the applicant cohort during that academic cycle.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a recruitment workshop with members of the CDT leadership and supervisory team as well as industry partners. The recruitment workshop is a fundamental part of the selection process and only candidates shortlisted following the application selection will be invited.  Shortlisted candidates based overseas  will normally be interviewed by Zoom.

Our recruitment workshop involves:

1. A group task developed in collaboration with industry partners to assess the applicant’s ability to problem-solve and work with others from different backgrounds and perspectives
2. An individual interview with a panel from academic and industry representatives to further explore motivation, passion for the subject and ability to engage in interdisciplinary thinking.
3. During their visit, applicants will have the opportunity to meet with current PhD Supervisors and CDT students and  you will be taken on a tour of the offices and labs by a student or postdoctoral researcher.

All interviews are conducted by members of staff, who will have been trained in equality, diversity and inclusion with respect to recruitment techniques. All interviews are undertaken in accordance with the University's policy on equal opportunities. Industry members of the panel will be provided with the CDT’s equality, diversity and inclusion statement and will be expected to commit to it prior to the interview.

We provide funding towards travel costs for in-person recruitment workshop attendance.

If you have attended a recruitment workshop, you will be informed by panel when to expect to receive a decision regarding your application.

Academic Offer

If you are successful, you will receive a formal academic offer from the University. 

The University makes two types of offer:

• Unconditional offer: you are guaranteed entry.
• Conditional offer: your entry to the University depends on meeting the requirements specified in your offer. These could include meeting the English language requirement, completing your degree at a specific level, or providing further information.

You will receive an email from us when a decision has been made on your application. Log in to the applicant portal to see the decision and download your offer letter (if applicable).

Funding Offer

If you receive a formal academic offer, you will be automatically considered by the CDT Leadership team for a funded position. Funded positions are very competitive and  your ranked suitability is assessed against our application selection criteria and recruitment workshop performance  as detailed above. 

If you are successful in securing a funded position, you will receive a separate funding offer letter specifying the amount and the duration of funding offered by the CDT.

If any additional funded positions become available during the year, all unfunded academic offer holders are automatically considered.