Õ¬ÄÐÊÓƵ

The Gatsby Unit and Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour (SWC) have launched a four-year joint PhD programme that aims to bridge the gap between theory and experiments, providing a rigorous preparation for an interdisciplinary research career.

The joint programme is designed to immerse students in both experimental and theoretical thinking, and blends aspects of the Gatsby Unit PhD programmes (in Theoretical Neuroscience and Machine Learning) and the SWC PhD programme (in Systems Neuroscience). Students in the joint programme will be part of the broader trainee cohort across both centres, joining peers for the introductory bootcamp and first-year courses. They will benefit from the vibrant and highly collaborative research environment, interacting and engaging in scientific discussion with SWC and Gatsby Unit researchers with equal emphasis.

Visit here for information on Gatsby Unit faculty and PhD students and for information on SWC faculty and PhD students.

Programme structure

Year 1

As with the Gatsby Unit PhD programme and the SWC PhD programme, the joint programme starts with a year of intensive courses.ÌýNew students are admitted at the start of each academic year in September, and begin by attending Boot Camp, a three-week course covering the fundamentals of neuroscience and technology. Students in the joint programme will then take a tailored syllabus:

• Term 1: Systems neuroscience and theoretical neuroscience (SNTN)
• Term 1: Probabilistic and unsupervised learning; approximate inference and learning in probabilistic models (PUL/AIL)
• Term 1: Experimental neuroscience (EN), lectures and demonstrations only
• Term 2: Theoretical neuroscience (TN)

Students should achieve passing marks on all assignments (SNTN, PUL/AIL and TN) and exams (PUL/AIL and TN). Other courses offered by the Gatsby Unit and SWC will be available but optional. See Teaching and for detailed course information.

Students will complete two rotation projects in the second half of Year 1; each project will be co-supervised by an SWC experimentalist and a Gatsby Unit theorist. One pair of the rotation supervisors will likely go on to co-supervise the PhD.

Students are expected to attend a subset of weekly research activities (including Gatsby Unit research talk, TNJC/CSNJC, external seminar (TN); SWC Lab Meeting and SWC Seminar; Friday Joint Tea Hours), unless the schedule is in direct conflict with the core course activities.

Year 2 onwards

Students will design their PhD project under the guidance of the two supervisors and begin research in close collaboration with both. The project will involve modelling and analysing neural and/or behavioural data from the laboratory of their SWC supervisor.

Students will propose a subset of weekly research activities (i.e., Gatsby Unit research talk, tea talk, TNJC/CSNJC, MLJC and external seminar; SWC Lab Meeting and SWC Seminar) that they will attend and actively participate in; this needs to be approved by their supervisors and both Departmental Graduate Tutors.

At the end of Year 2, students are expected to start writing their MPhil/PhD upgrade report and schedule to give an upgrade presentation to the whole unit by the end of Term 2 in Year 3. Having passed all the upgrade assessments, students will transfer from MPhil to PhD status and devoteÌýtheir remaining tenure to research.

At the end of Year 4, students will transfer toÌýCompleting Research Status (CRS).ÌýThesis should normally be submitted no later than sixÌýmonths into the CRS period.

Across years

Both Gatsby Unit and SWC foster a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary research environment. Students are strongly encouraged to network with peers at CSMLÌýand other UCL departments (such as Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology, Experimental Psychology;ÌýNeuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology; Statistical Science) and attend relevant conferences such as SfN, FENS, COSYNE, ICML, NeurIPS and ICLR.

We are committed to supporting the career and professional development of our students. Students develop communication skills by writing scientific publications and giving regular internal talks and presentations in conferences. Critical thinking is further developed through weekly journal clubs and lab meetings. Students are expected to teach during the second year of the programme and act as a mentor to junior PhDs. In addition, students are encouraged to take advantage of the wide range of research and transferable skills courses available through Ìýand engage in outreach and public engagement activities.

Key differences between the three PhD programmes

You can only apply to one programme at a given year.

Ìý	Gatsby Unit PhD programme	SWC PhD programme	GCNU-SWC joint PhD programme
First-year core courses	Systems & Theoretical Neuroscience (SNTN) Probabilistic and Unsupervised Learning; Approximate Inference and Learning in Probabilistic Models (PUL/AIL) Kernels Methods Theoretical Neuroscience (TN)	SNTN Experimental Neuroscience (EN) Neuroinformatics	SNTN PUL/AIL EN (lectures & demonstrations only) TN
Rotation	Students will complete one rotation in a field different from the field of the PhD thesis i.e. if the thesis work is in TN, the rotation will be in experimental neuroscience or ML.	Students will complete up to three rotations in SWC, Gatsby Unit or SWC-affiliated labs.	Students will complete two rotations, each co-supervised by one SWC experimentalist and one Gatsby Unit theorist. One pair of rotation supervisors will likely go on to co-supervise the PhD.
Supervision	Each student has a Supervisory Panel consisting of Principal and Subsidiary Supervisors. Students work primarily with their Principal Supervisors; regular unit-wide research activities ensure students have ready access to all faculty members.	Each student has one or two Principal and two or more Subsidiary Supervisors who provide additional scientific guidance and support.	Each student is co-supervised by one SWC faculty member and one Gatsby Unit faculty member. The project will involve modelling and analysing data from the lab of their SWC supervisor, in close collaboration with the Gatsby Unit supervisor.
Webpage	See Gatsby Unit PhD programme.		Ìý

Ìý

Entry requirements

Applicants must have a strong analytical and mathematical background, a keen interest in neuroscience, and a relevant first degree (e.g., in Computer Science, Cognitive Psychology, Engineering, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Physics, Statistics).

Candidates offered a place on the joint PhD programme will be required to meet UCL's standard admissions requirements. This includes UCL's English language proficiency requirements; the required English language level for this programme is Level 2. Please review the relevant UCL web pages carefully before applying.

Studentships

Full funding is available to all students, regardless of nationality. The PhD studentships cover UCL tuition fees for both home and international students and include an annual tax-free stipend as well as travel budget for attending conferences and workshops. We also welcomeÌýapplications from students with pre-secured funding or who are currently applying for other scholarships/studentships.

How to apply

Please review information on this page carefully, as you can only apply to one of the three PhD programmes offered by the Gatsby Unit and SWC at a given year.

Applications to the joint programme must be submitted via the Gatsby Recruitment Application Portal; please select 'Gatsby Unit and SWC Joint PhD Programme 2025'. Applications by any other means will not be accepted.

Visit this page to apply and submit your application by Monday 11 November 2024, 23:59 GMT.

If you have additional questions, please see our FAQs.