Vision, Speech and Signal Processing PhD

What you will study

Our PhD programme takes a maximum of four years of full-time study to complete. After 12 months, you’ll write a confirmation report, which is assessed by two independent examiners. After that, you’ll submit a written PhD thesis after a minimum of three years of full-time study.

You’ll be allocated two Surrey-based academic supervisors, in addition to any external collaborative supervisors. Your principal supervisor will be an expert in your area of research and they will monitor your research progress on a regular basis. Your supervisors will help you define the initial objective and scope of your research, and to refine these as your project evolves. They’ll direct you to resources and they’ll be able to advise you on how to complete your PhD and your thesis. We often appoint external collaborative supervisors to contribute specific expertise or to allow access to external resources or organisations.

You’ll also be assigned to a research group that includes a team of academics, postdoctoral researchers, guest scientists and fellows. Lots of our research at CVSSP is interdisciplinary and you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with scientists at universities, research establishments and industries around the world. We encourage active interaction with your peers and our researchers and academics, and we offer a friendly environment that nurtures openness and collaboration. You’ll be encouraged to present your research at renowned national and international conferences to gain experience and establish networks with leading researchers.

Our monthly seminars are open to all postgraduate researchers and we host leading experts from other institutions within the UK and from overseas, who give talks to members of CVSSP in specific areas of research. In addition, our postgraduate researchers also attend regular internal seminars, where you’ll be able to present your individual research or practice presentations you’d like to give at conferences or events.

The University also holds an annual postgraduate researcher conference on campus, where you’ll be able to showcase your work and network with other researchers and academics.

You may be eligible to apply for membership with the British Machine Vision Association, the Audio Engineering Society, the British Computer Society and the Institute of Engineering and Technology. You may also apply for chartered engineer status with the Engineering Council UK and with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Assessment

Your final assessment will be based on the presentation of your research in a written thesis, which will be discussed in a viva examination with at least two examiners.

You have the option of preparing your thesis as a monograph (one large volume in chapter form) or in publication format (including chapters written for publication), subject to the approval of your supervisors.

Location

This course is based at Stag Hill campus. Stag Hill is the University's main campus and where the majority of our courses are taught. 

IELTS Academic: 6.5 or above (or equivalent) with 6.0 in each individual category.

These are the English language qualifications and levels that we can accept. 

If you do not currently meet the level required for your programme, we offer intensive pre-sessional English language courses, designed to take you to the level of English ability and skill required for your studies here.