Information for prospective PhD students
Application
Informal application: Candidates intersted in pursuing a PhD in Software Engineering at the University of Canterbury can contact Matthias Galster. Informal applications before the official application for admission should include:
- CV (including publications, if any)
- Contact information of references
- Most recent academic transcripts (undergraduate and post-graduate, i.e., BSc/BE and MSc/ME)
- One-page statement outlining a potential research idea, the research problem, potential research questions, motivation and relevance
- Funding plan (self, government, external, scholarship, etc.)
Formal application: Based on the discussion with a supervisor, students can apply for admission. Potential students will find details of the precedure for applying for admission at postgraduate admissions at University of Canterbury. The application form and supporting documents must be submitted directly to the admission office. Applicants will be required to include a short preliminary research proposal with their application material. The proposal is mainly intended to demonstrate research interests and knowledge in a specific field. Once applications have been approved by UC Admissions, they will be forwarded to our department to confirm admission. After completing enrolment, students will have 3-6 months to work on a formal research proposal and thus will have sufficient time for discussing and identifying research goals and also to carry out a comprehensive literature survey and initial research.
In considering a potential student for a PhD programme, UC considers three factors.
- Is there a suitable supervisor available for the student's planned area of research? You must identify a potential supervisor before submitting a formal application to enrol in a PhD.
- Does the student have the suitable background for PhD study? Our International Office, in consultation with the Computer Science and Software Engineering department, looks at a student's qualifications and transcripts and compares them to those that students complete here in order to see whether the student has the background that is required to completing a PhD (details).
- Does the student meet the English Language competency requirements for entry to postgraduate study (details)?
More details on admission for international students are available here. Decisions about admitting candidates with degrees from overseas are usually made on a case-by-case basis.
Financial support
Potential students should thinkabout how to fund their degree. There are several positions for teaching assistantships / tutors. Furthermore, the University of Canterbury offers PhD scholarships for high caliber domestic and international students:
- University of Canterbury (International) Doctoral Scholarship (details)
- New Zealand International Doctoral Research Scholarship (details)
- Other scholarships at the University of Canterbury (details)
- Scholarships at UC for international students (details)
- Fees-only scholarships for eligible candidates
Useful links
Below we list links which potential students may find useful.
