Four-year PhD Doctoral Fellow positions in Computational Psychiatry and Ageing at UCL

The International Max Planck Research School on Computational Methods in Psychiatry and Ageing Research (IMPRS COMP2PSYCH) seeks applicants for a four-year PhD Fellow position to be based at the Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing, London UK.

The IMPRS COMP2PSYCH is an international doctoral program of the Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, with sites in London and Berlin. The participating institutions are the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and University College London. The goal of IMPRS COMP2PSYCH is to learn, apply, and develop computational and statistical methods that foster our understanding of individual development from childhood to old age, with an emphasis on mental illness and healthy cognitive ageing.

The IMPRS COMP2PSYCH is strongly interdisciplinary and invites applications from graduate students with a background in applied mathematics, computer science, cognitive neuroscience, psychiatry, or psychology. The program offers unique training in concepts and methods from computer science and statistics in relation to substantive research questions in psychiatry and lifespan psychology. The training program involves seminars, methods workshops, participation in summer schools, and collaborative supervision of research training.

The main focus of the London site is to apply cognitive and theoretical neuroscience methods to understand the computation and neural basis of mental illness, as well as to understand changes in cognition that occur as a function of ageing. Methods include neuroimaging, computational modelling of behaviour and brain, and large-scale behavioural and neural data collection. Students will have a primary supervisor within the Centre and will be enrolled on the UCL PhD programme run by the Institute of Neurology and will be subject to eligibility, admission and progression rules of the programme. We are particularly keen to receive applications from candidates who have an interest in pursuing work that spans systems and circuit levels of analysis.

We are able to offer one funded place on the programme (supporting UK home fees, and a 4-year stipend), as well as research expenses and travel funding to conferences or courses. Students will participate in our international summer schools, seminars and workshops, and may have an opportunity to conduct a research project of up to 6 months in Berlin.

Entry requirements

Applicants should hold, or will hold at time of enrolment (September 2025) as shown in supporting documents, a bachelor’s degree (minimum level 2:1) a master’s degree, diploma or overseas qualification of an equivalent standard in one of the relevant fields mentioned above. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive. We therefore particularly welcome applications from candidates with unconventional career path, disadvantaged backgrounds and those underrepresented at UCL.

Funding

We offer a three-year studentship that covers stipend of £24,000 (UK tax-free) per annum, PhD registration fees (home fees only, currently £6,035 starting academic year 24-25 fulltime), research expenses, and funds for travel to conferences or courses. The studentship can be extended, subject to successful progression, by up to one year of completing research status (CRS) to enable thesis writing and completion of papers arising from the studentship. Due to constraints attached to this funding, we are only able to offer this studentship on a fulltime basis and for entry in September 2025 (academic year 2025-26).

The successful candidate is expected to devote themselves exclusively to the studentship and will work under the supervision of Prof Ray Dolan. We are particularly interested in applications from students with experience in human neurophysiological data, such as EEG/MEG, and who have computational skills.

Application

Please send your application as follows:

1. a CV,
2. a statement of why you want to do the PhD (no more than 1 page),
3. a copy of your strongest piece of academic work (e.g., thesis, publication).

Please also arrange for two reference letters to be sent to us by referees. Your surname should be the first word in the subject line of these emails.

Please ensure that your surname is the first word in the subject line of the email and that all documents are clearly labelled with your surname and the type of document. All documents and references should be sent to MaxPlanckPhD@ucl.ac.uk by 13th October 2024 at midnight. Questions about the programme can be directed to MaxPlanckPhD@ucl.ac.uk.

Deadline: October 13th, 2024.

. Interviews will be conducted in October/November and a decision about admission is scheduled for the end of 2024. Students admitted to the programme will start in September 2025 (academic year 2025-26).

*Letters of recommendation can be emailed separately by referees by October 13th, 2024.