About the degree programme

The Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Designing Responsible Natural Language Processing (NLP) aims to develop doctoral graduates that represent a new paradigm of interdisciplinary NLP researcher: individuals who can harness the full potential of NLP-based systems and create richer interactions between humans and AI

Our training will give you foundational knowledge across five fundamental skills domains, along with expertise in at least one of these areas. The training programme aims to create an NLP practitioner culture of responsibility, with graduates who are confident in combining technical expertise with:

  • ethics
  • governance
  • consideration of users and use contexts

You will train together in cohorts formed from various disciplines and background experiences. You will be supported to collaborate on 'team science' applied NLP projects. Through these projects, you will also get the chance to work with some of our 70+ partners in the following sectors:

  • industry
  • public
  • non-profit
  • research

Study options

This programme offers:

  • a full-time option (4 years of study)
  • a part-time option (6 years of study, available to students not requiring visa sponsorship only)

If you are interested in part-time study, we highly recommend contacting the CDT Team to discuss specifics and ensure we can plan appropriate support.

How to apply

You must submit an application through the EUCLID application portal and provide the required information and documentation by the application deadline. 

Carefully read the details provided in the 'What you need to apply' section before you start your online application.

We only progress forward complete applications to the selection panel.

Read more about the application process on the CDT website

When to apply

The deadline for applications for September 2026 entry is 7 January 2026.

Application fee

There is no fee to apply to this programme.

What you need to apply

All postgraduate research applications must include all degree certificates, and transcripts to date, including English translations where relevant, as well as an accepted proof of English proficiency where required. 

In addition, the following guidance is specific to the CDT in Designing Responsible NLP:

 

In the box named 'Name of proposed supervisor (if known)', list a minimum of two and a maximum of five potential supervisors you have identified from the list of potential supervisors on the CDT website.

List of potential supervisors on CDT site

You do not need to contact potential supervisors prior to applying, but it is encouraged.

Instead of a traditional research proposal and personal statement, we want you to submit a Statement of Intent and a Statement of Alignment with the CDT. This should be submitted as a single PDF document, but divided into two sections. 

This should be uploaded in the 'Research Proposal' section on the application portal, instead of the traditional research proposal document.

Statement of Intent

The Statement of Intent should tell us a little bit about your background and interests, and should convey to us why you are interested in studying for a PhD and how this might fit into your longer term career ambitions and goals. We recommend that your Statement of Intent covers the following content:

  • your educational background
  • any work or volunteer experience that is relevant to the PhD
  • your academic and research interests
  • your long-term goals and how you see the PhD and CDT in supporting you to achieve those

This section of this document should be a maximum of 1000 words long (and shorter than this is fine).

Statement of Alignment

The Statement of Alignment with the CDT should tell us how well you align with the topics and ethos of the CDT. 

Unlike more traditional PhD programmes, we are not assessing you based on a well-defined research proposal, but assessing applicants based on your alignment to:

  • the five skills domains of the CDT
  • your interest and aptitude for collaborating with researchers in different disciplines
  • your research interests and ideas in relation to these

The Statement of Alignment with the CDT is the document where you can express your research interests and ideas and how you see them aligning with the ethos and vision of the CDT.

We recommend that your Statement of Alignment covers the following content:

  • Which of the Skills Domains you feel you most align to, and why. This could be the Skills Domain you’d like to focus on developing your expertise in most during the CDT.
  • What ideas you have for a topic for a research project that is relevant to this Skills Domain, and why it would be novel and of relevance to the CDT. You could include references here to research that inspires or motivates your own ideas, or refer to your own prior work that is relevant.
  • Which of the other Skills Domains you would like to develop new skills in, and why. This could be areas you’d like to develop some more rounded skills, and grow your expertise slightly beyond just a single area.
  • How you would work with students from disciplinary backgrounds different from your own, and/or work with industry partners, as part of your training.

This section of the document should be a maximum of 1500 words long (again, shorter than this is fine).

You are required to provide an up-to-date CV, which details information on your:

  • education (including all degrees completed and in progress)
  • experience
  • skills
  • interests
  • achievements (and so on)

You need to include two academic reference letters, which should be written by academics and teachers that can provide good quality and authentic assessments of your academic skills, achievements and potential. 

The reference letters can be submitted directly by you – but we strongly recommend that your referees submit the letters directly themselves (they will receive a notification from our system once you enter their details into the Referees tab).

Interview

If your application is shortlisted, you will be invited to join an online interview with two academic colleagues involved in the CDT. 

We will provide further information about the format of the interview in the invitation, and you will have an opportunity to ask for any reasonable adjustments.

Apply

Select the award, duration and delivery mode you want to study. Then select the start date you want to apply for.

After you apply

We receive a very high number of applications, and we need to rely on you to be proactive in keeping up to date with your application’s lifecycle. 

You will only be notified of any missing documents through your Applicant Hub.

Once you submit your application:

  • Look out for an email to your correspondence email address from ‘University_of_Edinburgh’ from an email called ‘EUCLID_Support’ which will contain your login credentials to access your Applicant Hub. This can happen either immediately after you submit your application, or at any point up to 5 working days afterwards.
  • Check your spam folder if you cannot locate this email. It will be sent to the email you input in the 'Correspondence address' part of your EUCLID application.
  • Log in to create your account and check whether any documents are missing (and read the notes our Admissions Team write to explain any missing elements).  

Consult our FAQs for further information.

FAQs for Postgraduate Research applicants

Academic Technology Approval Scheme

If you need to apply for a student visa, you may need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme clearance certificate in order to study this programme.

Academic Technology Approval Scheme

Funding

Tuition fees

Tuition fees by award and duration

Tuition fees for full-time and part-time options are listed for one academic year.

Part-time
Full-time

Costs

Accommodation and living costs

You need to cover your accommodation and living costs for the duration of your programme.

We estimate that you might spend £1,167 to £2,330 per month if you are a single student.

Living costs include:

  • food
  • utility bills
  • travel, clothes, books and stationery
  • recreational costs (for example, TV subscriptions and social events)

Living costs

Accommodation costs depend on where you live while studying and the type of accommodation you choose.

University postgraduate accommodation options and costs

These entry requirements are for the 2026-27 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2027-28 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2026.

Qualifications

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in an area related to the topic of the CDT, for example informatics, computer science, AI, cognitive science, mathematics, design, linguistics, psychology, philosophy, law, and social and political science.

International qualifications

To find international equivalent qualifications, select where you studied from the country or region list.

English language requirements

You must prove that your English language abilities are at a high enough level to study this degree programme.

This is the case for all applicants, including UK nationals.

You can meet our English language requirements with one of the following:

  • an English language test
  • a degree that was taught and assessed in English
  • certain professional qualifications

English language tests we accept

We accept any of the following English language tests, at the specified grade or higher:

  • IELTS Academic: total 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 92 with at least 20 in each component We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 176 with at least 169 in each component.
  • Trinity ISE: ISE II with distinctions in all four components.
  • Oxford ELLT: total 7 with at least 6 in each component.
  • Oxford Test of English Advanced: total 145 with at least 135 in each component.
How old your English language tests can be
Tests no more than two years old

The following English language tests must be no more than two years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts, regardless of your nationality:

  • IELTS Academic
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition)
  • Trinity ISE
  • Oxford ELLT
  • Oxford Test of English Advanced
Tests no more than three and a half years old

All other English language tests must be no more than three and a half years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts, regardless of your nationality.   

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English-speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration.

UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English-speaking countries (non-MESC).

Approved universities in non-MESC

How old your degree can be

If you are not a national of a majority English-speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts.

This time limit does not apply to your degree if you are a national of a majority English-speaking country.

Find out more about our English language requirements

Find out about other English language qualifications we accept, including professional qualifications.

English language requirements

Programme structure

As part of the structure of our PhD with integrated studies, you must study taught courses while completing the research elements of the traditional PhD programme. We have designed the programme to be flexible in the way credits are acquired. 

However, all students must successfully complete 180 taught credits over the first 2 years, plus the equivalent of 3 years of PhD research, spread over the 4-year programme. Out of the 180 credits, you will achieve 110 through mandatory courses that all CDT students take, and the remaining 70 credits from optional courses at the appropriate SCQF level.

Find out the aims and structure for each year of study on this programme.

Part-time
Full-time

We link to the latest information available. This may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

Work placements and internships

Every student will have a placement, no more than 3 months long, during Years 2 or 3. The placements will involve you working in our partner’s teams, gaining hands-on industry experience and using skills developed through their training. 

We expect around two-thirds of placements to be with industry or in international research labs.

Support

You will gain the skills, knowledge and experience to study and design real-world applications of NLP in an interdisciplinary training environment, hosted by the Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI).

Edinburgh Futures Institute

The training programme brings together world-leading researchers at our University to supervise students and guide them in their training and learning. Their expertise covers a range of subjects, including:

  • informatics
  • design
  • linguistics
  • speech science
  • psychology
  • law
  • philosophy
  • information science
  • digital humanities

As well as the formal credit-bearing courses all CDT students will be enrolled on, we have a variety of other training initiatives and activities within the CDT to:

  • enhance the learning opportunities for students
  • build links between students across different cohorts
  • personalise student’s training plans

Examples include:

  • entrepreneurship and innovation-oriented training
  • the Annual CDT Festival where students present their work
  • annual Partners' Summit
  • placements with partners
  • policy workshops and fellowships
  • responsible NLP speakers and masterclasses
  • support for student-led training

Facilities

You will be involved in the vibrant world-class and interdisciplinary research community at the EFI, with access to cutting-edge computational, design, fabrication and testing facilities across:

  • the School of Informatics
  • Edinburgh College of Art
  • the EPCC

This includes access to multiple state-of-the-art GPU clusters that enable work with large language models.

Career opportunities

We expect many students will seek diverse career pathways after their PhD such as in:

  • academia
  • industrial research and development
  • entrepreneurship and social innovation
  • creating start-ups

Each cohort of students will participate in Fast-Track Impact training for PhD students in Year 1.

You will also be able to participate in various events designed to foster both an intra- and an entrepreneurial mindset, delivered in collaboration with:

Additionally, the Bayes Centre and Edinburgh Innovations will provide students with access to University support to facilitate the commercialisation of their research. The support will include:

  • mentoring
  • access to business advisors
  • incubators
  • accelerators
  • a network of investors and peers

Careers Service

Our Careers Service can help you to fully develop your potential and achieve your future goals. 

The Careers Service supports you not only while you are studying at the University, but also for up to two years after you finish your studies. 

With the Careers Service, you can: 

  • access digital resources to help you understand your skills and strengths
  • try different types of experiences and reflect on how and what you develop
  • get help finding work, including part-time jobs, vacation work, internships and graduate jobs
  • attend careers events and practice interviews
  • get information and advice to help you make informed decisions 

What our students say

Hear from Informatics students and staff as they share their experiences of studying on Central Campus.

Hear from Informatics students and staff as they share their experiences of the School community.

Accommodation

We guarantee an offer of University accommodation for all new, single postgraduate taught students from outside the UK and new, single postgraduate research (typically PhD) students who:

  • apply for accommodation by 31 July in the year when you start your programme
  • accept an unconditional firm offer to study at the University by 31 July
  • study at the University for the whole of the academic year starting in September

University accommodation website

Accommodation guarantee criteria

We also offer accommodation options for couples and families.

Accommodation for couples and families

If you prefer to live elsewhere, we can offer you advice on finding accommodation in Edinburgh.

Accommodation information from the Edinburgh University Students' Association Advice Place

Societies and clubs

Our societies and sports clubs will help you develop your interests, meet like-minded people, find a new hobby or simply socialise.

Societies

Sport Clubs

The city of Edinburgh

Scotland's inspiring capital will form the background to your studies — a city with an irresistible blend of history, natural beauty and modern city life. 

Find out more about living in Edinburgh

Hear from Informatics students and staff as they share their experiences of living in Edinburgh.

Health and wellbeing support

You will have access to free health and wellbeing services throughout your time at university if you need them.

The support services we offer include: 

  • a student counselling service
  • a health centre (doctor's surgery)
  • support if you're living in University accommodation
  • dedicated help and support if you have a disability or need adjustments

Health and wellbeing support services 

Disability and Learning Support