A new Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) for Web Science is part of a £250million investment in the future of UK science and technology, providing funded studentships for 4-year PhD training.

The Web is the largest information environment in the world; although we understand the communication protocols and software that form it, the impact of the Web on society is not well understood. Web Science is a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding the development of Web technology and its impact on the social, legal and economic aspects of human society. By providing a strategic understanding of the operation of the web in society, this four-year PhD in Web Science will equip students to become leaders in the emerging Digital Economy. The course begins with a one-year taught Masters to give a broad basis for understanding the technology of the Web and the social context in which the technology operates. The remaining three year research programme is jointly supervised by the School of Electronics and Computer Science and one other school, as appropriate to the interdisciplinary research interests of the individual student. The Web Science Doctoral Training Centre is part of an international network of Web Science research centres, offering summer schools, workshops and opportunities for international collaboration.



The new DTC in Web Science will train 80 students and is directed by Professors Wendy Hall and Nigel Shadbolt (founding directors of WSRI along with Professor Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the Web), Dr Leslie Carr and Dr Catherine Pope. University Schools which will participate in the interdisciplinary doctoral research and training include Electronics and Computer Science, Health Sciences, Law, Economics, Sociology, Mathematics, Psychology, and Humanities.

Research in Web Science will enable greater understanding of the complex technical, social, economic and cultural inter-relations that are shaping the Web’s growth and diversification, and which are fundamental to its future productive development.


The new Web Science DTC underlines Southampton’s pre-eminence in this newly emerged research discipline. In 2006 Southampton established the Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI) as a joint interdisciplinary research collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and global interest in researching the Web has been growing ever since.

Web Science has an ambitious agenda; it is inherently interdisciplinary – as much about social and organizational behaviour as about the underpinning technology of the World Wide Web. Its research programme targets the Web as a primary focus of attention, adding to our understanding of its architectural principles, its development and growth, its capacity for furthering global knowledge and communication, and its inherent values of trustworthiness, privacy, and respect for social boundaries.

Full four-year studentships (teaching and stipend) available for UK residents. Teaching costs available for EU students. UK component of teaching costs available for worldwide students.


Apply ASAP for one of the few remaining fully funded places on this course, starting October 2010.

Enquiries to: webscienceinfo@ecs.soton.ac.uk