PhD Data Science

Overview

The PhD in Data Science is a research doctorate for candidates who will advance methods or applications of data science under faculty supervision. Year 1 builds advanced statistical learning, causal inference, computational methods and research ethics; candidacy examination follows; subsequent years centre on original dissertation research contributing new knowledge. Research clusters include fairness-aware learning, causal ML for policy, large-scale inference and scientific machine learning.

Candidates with a Edinburgh MSc Data Science or MSc Artificial Intelligence distinction may streamline coursework by agreement with supervisors. GPU compute and research seminar series support experimental work.

Who This Programme Is For

• ✦MSc graduates pursuing academic research careers
• ✦Industrial researchers deepening methodological contribution
• ✦Statisticians and computer scientists targeting faculty pathways
• ✦Policy researchers specialising in causal data science

Programme Structure & Delivery

Learning Outcomes

• ✦Contribute original methods or rigorous applications at publication standard
• ✦Design experiments and identification strategies for complex data problems
• ✦Build scalable computational approaches for large datasets
• ✦Uphold research ethics and responsible communication of uncertainty
• ✦Mentor junior researchers and teach foundational methods

Career Pathways

• ✦University Faculty / Research Fellow
• ✦Research Scientist (Industry Lab)
• ✦Principal Data Scientist
• ✦Quantitative Researcher
• ✦Science Policy Advisor (Data & AI)

Curriculum