Slides to accompany FB live session on applying to do a PhD for the Sustainable Education Foundation

1. CC"BY%https://www.flickr.com/photos/davebloggs007/

2. Some%background%…
• Dr. Arosha)K.)Bandara
• Senior)Lecturer)in)Computing
• MEng)(Hons))Information)Systems)Engineering
• PhD)Computing)– Formal)Framework)for)Policy)Analysis)&)Refinement)
….)both)from)Imperial)College)London
• Joined)the)Open)University)in)2006
• Web:)http://academicUmarginalia.org Twitter:)@arosha

3. Centre%for%Research%in%Computing
http://crc.open.ac.uk

4. Social
Psychology
Automated%
Software%Engineering
Engineering%Adaptive%
Software%Systems
Empirical%Studies%of
Software%Dev.
Requirements
Engineering
User%
eXperience%Design
Security,*Privacy*&*Digital*Forensics
Aviation PolicingHealthcare Sustainability
Technical*Infrastructure
Empirical*Infrastructure
Exemplars
Pilot*Projects
People
Policy
RESEARCH'
INSTRUMENTS
Secure,%Adaptive,%Usable%Software%Engineering

5. My%research%…%
• Engineering)Adaptive)Software)Systems.
• Formal)approaches)for)modelling)and)
reasoning)about)system)behaviour.
• Applications)in)diverse)areas)including
• network%performance%and%security
• privacy%in%mobile%applications%&%social%media
• security%for%cloud%computing
• usability%for%enterprise%applications
• smart%homes%for%healthcare

6. So,%what%is%a%PhD?
Source: Prof. Matt%Might,%The%illustrated%guide%to%a%Ph.D.
(http://matt.might.net/articles/phd"school"in"pictures/)
All)Human)Knowledge
Reading)Research)Papers
Master’s)Degree
Bachelor’s)Degree
Secondary)School
Primary)School

7. So,%what%is%a%PhD?
Source: Prof. Matt%Might,%The%illustrated%guide%to%a%Ph.D.
(http://matt.might.net/articles/phd"school"in"pictures/)
Your)PhD!

8. Things%to%know%before%you%start%…%
• PreUrequisites
• UK)– typically)expects)MSc)(but)OU)accepts)with)2.i)Bachelor’s)degree)
• USA)– Bachelors)degree)+)GRE)+)IELTS/TOEFL
• Duration
• UK)– usually)3U4)years,)no)qualifying)courses)but)initial)enrolment)is)for)MPhil
• USA)– usually)5U6)years,)typically)have)to)complete)a)set)of)qualifying)courses
• Topic
• Needs)careful)exploration)based)on)your)interests
• Do)your)homework)by)reading)relevant)research)papers
• Funding
• University)scholarships,)Commonwealth)Scholarship,)++

9. Preparing%to%apply%...%
• Putting)a)proposal)together
• Read)research)papers)related)to)the)area)you)are)interested)in
• Identify)an)unsolved)problem)that)you)would)like)to)work)on
• Write)a)proposal)that)describes)the)following)(see%http://bit.ly/OUPhDProposal)
• the)background to)the)problem)you’d)like)to)work)on,)
• your)understanding)of)the)literature on)what)has)been)done)already,)
• the)aim)of)the)research and)the)methods you)might)use)to)conduct)it
• the)potential)impact)of)the)research)U who)would)benefit)and)it)what)ways?
• Where)should)I)apply?
• Contact)academics)who)are)investigating)the)area)you)are)interested)in

10. What%PhD%admissions%panels%look%for%...%
• Academic)skills)– evidence)that)you)have)the)basic)skills)for)your)topic
• Motivation)– demonstrate)why)you’d)spend)3)years)studying)this
• Ability)to)write)a)thesis)– e.g.,)share)your)MSc)/)BSc)project)report
• Communication)skills)– can)you)explain)and)argue)your)case?
• Prior)research)experience)– published)papers,)internship)work
• Choice)of)topic)and)institution)– why)this)PhD)with)this)university?
• Good)proposal)– demonstrate)understanding)of)the)domain)of)study
Academic'Excellence

11. Useful%preparatory%reading%...%
Petre,)M.)and)Rugg,)G.,)2010.
The%unwritten%rules%of%PhD%research.)
McGrawUHill)Education)(UK).
https://www.findaphd.com https://www.phdcomics.com

12. Any%Questions?%
Source:%http://phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1056