PhD scholarship (International/Home) on Programming languages for Design Computation (3.5 years)

Overview

This doctoral opportunity focuses on the intersection of programming languages and Design Computation. Design Computation applies computation in architecture, engineering, and construction to generate building designs, handle associated data, and assess decisions, differing from traditional CAD where designers manually create geometry using interactive applications. Instead, Design Computation involves writing programs that produce designs directly as output, explicitly coding the logic and realization methods. The project investigates how new forms of programming languages, systems, and tools can support collaborative thinking and reasoning in the multi-disciplinary design of physical architecture and building engineering. The research is supported by an industrial partner, Buro Happold, allowing the candidate to collaborate with advanced industrial practice, gain insights from engineers, and explore routes to impact and deployment.

What you get

The studentship covers tuition fees for the full-time duration at either the standard postgraduate Home rate or the International rate, depending on the student fee status. It provides a combined maintenance grant equivalent to the Research Councils UK National Minimum Doctoral Stipend for a duration of 3.5 years, which includes yearly inflationary uplifts. Additionally, the funding package incorporates a travel budget totalling and contingency funding.

Who can apply

The scholarship is open to both Home and Overseas, including EU, students for a duration of 3.5 years. Candidates must demonstrate academic excellence and outstanding research potential. Applicants are required to hold, or expect to obtain, a first or upper second-class honours degree in a relevant subject, and ideally possess a Master’s degree or equivalent. Suitable candidates need to exhibit an interest, knowledge, and experience in programming language design, a strong mathematical background or training, and a desire to engage in interdisciplinary projects.

Requirements

Applicants must apply for a Computer Science PhD and explicitly state on their application that they wish to be considered for the PL4DC PhD studentship. The application requires a research proposal of roughly 4 to 5 pages outlining a vision for the PhD, alongside details and evidence of qualifications, two academic references, and other personal information and supporting documentation. Applicants have the option to contact the supervisor, Dr. Dominic Orchard, prior to applying to discuss research proposal ideas.

Key dates

The application deadline for a 2027 April start is 22nd December 2026 at 23:59 GMT.