Fully Funded PhD Studentship in Computer Science

Despite the introduction of computing education as a potential pathway to social mobility, underserved communities continue to face disproportionate challenges in accessing high quality computing education, potentially limiting their future opportunities. The Computer Science department at Swansea University invites applications for an EPSRC DTP-funded doctoral research project examining how sustainable computing education ecosystems can create pathways for social mobility.  

The COMPASS project (Computing Opportunity Mapping: Pathways And Sustainable Systems) proposes a fundamental shift in perspective, investigating how sustainable ecosystems of opportunity can be mapped, developed to generate lasting opportunities for social mobility through computing education, and explore the role technologies play in this process. By providing practical insights and identifying effective interventions, this research aims to contribute to narrowing the digital divide and improving life chances for disadvantaged young people in the UK. 

Given the nature of the project and the potential for regular, unsupervised contact with young people, you will be subject to an Enhanced Check through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).  

This project will be undertaken as part of the Education, History and Philosophy Research (EHP) Group within the Computer Science department at Swansea University. EHP has made, and is making, technical contributions that are driving change, but also addressing questions such as these: 

• What education in computing should we offer (i) to school and university students and teachers; (ii) to people working in businesses, public services and the professions, and (iii) to citizens?
• History and heritage. What are the causes of changes? What are the inventions and innovations that are key to our current technologies, ambitions and concerns?
• How do our technologies speak to classic, human philosophical problems of what we can know, what we can do, and who we are?

We take a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to such questions, bringing together knowledge in fields as diverse as, e.g., mathematical logic, the theory of computation, software engineering, artificial intelligence, data science, global and local history, classical philosophy, philosophy of science and technology, social and media studies. Philosophical discourses about epistemology, ethics, identity, etc., underpin current debates and future speculations. Furthermore, our investigations of educational, historical and philosophical questions are often directed at the development of policies in the public and private spheres. 

You will have the opportunity to be based across two locations: the Computational Foundry at Bay Campus - a £32.5 million world-class facility and research beacon backed by £17m from the European Regional Development Fund, situated right on Swansea Bay beach - as well as the Singleton Park Campus, which is set in mature parkland and botanical gardens, and the main location of our EHP research group. 

Funding Details

currently £20,780 for 2025/26

Funding Comment

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £20,780 for 2025/26).

Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available.

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