Connectionists: Closing soon! Apply by Nov 3rd for 2026 entry to Gatsby Unit PhD programme / joint PhD programme

[Lin, I-Chun]

4-Year PhD Programme in Theoretical Neuroscience and Machine Learning
Deadline: 17:00 GMT, Monday 3 November 2025

We welcome applications for 2026 entry to the Gatsby Unit PhD programme at University College London (UCL).

Our research focuses on the mathematical principles of learning, perception and action in brains and machines. Ours is one of the original programmes to bring together neuroscience and machine learning, creating a critical mass for interaction amongst theoreticians in related fields. First-year courses provide training in machine learning as well as theoretical and systems neuroscience, after which PhD project may specialise in machine learning, theoretical neuroscience or encompass both. Students are encouraged to work closely with colleagues in the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour and/or the ELLIS Unit at UCL; and we have strong links to many world-class research groups at UCL and beyond.

Applicants should have a very strong analytical and mathematical background, a keen interest in neuroscience, machine learning or both, and a relevant first degree, for example in Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Neuroscience or Cognitive Psychology.

Full funding is available regardless of nationality. The unit also welcomes applicants who have secured or are seeking funding from other sources.

See http://www.ucl.ac.uk/life-sciences/gatsby/study-and-work/gatsby-unit-phd-programme for details on how to apply.



4-Year Gatsby Unit and Sainsbury Wellcome Centre Joint PhD Programme

Deadline: 17:00 GMT, Monday 3 November 2025



The Gatsby Unit (GCNU) and Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour (SWC) have launched a 4-year joint PhD programme that aims to bridge the gap between theory and experiments. This PhD programme is designed to immerse students in both experimental and theoretical thinking, providing a rigorous preparation for an interdisciplinary research career. Courses in the first year provide a comprehensive introduction to systems neuroscience, theoretical/computational neuroscience, and machine learning. Students will be part of the broader trainee cohort across both centres, interacting and engaging in scientific discussion with both SWC and GCNU researchers with equal emphasis.



GCNU and SWC provide a unique opportunity for a critical mass of theoreticians and experimentalists to interact closely with one another and with researchers at the ELLIS Unit at UCL and related UCL departments/domains such as UCL Neuroscience Domain; Artificial Intelligence; Computer Science; Statistical Science; and the nearby Francis Crick and Alan Turing Institutes.

Applicants should have a strong analytical and mathematical background, a keen interest in neuroscience, and a relevant first degree (e.g., in Computer Science, Cognitive Psychology, Engineering, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Physics, Statistics).



Full funding is available regardless of nationality. We also welcome applicants who have secured or are seeking funding from other sources.



For programme details (including the key differences between the Gatsby Unit PhD programme, the SWC PhD programme, and the joint programme) and how to apply, see https://www.ucl.ac.uk/life-sciences/gatsby/study-and-work/gcnu-swc-joint-phd-programme.




Further information on the Gatsby Unit:
The Gatsby Unit is a leading research centre focused on theoretical neuroscience and machine learning. We study (un)supervised and reinforcement learning in brains and machines; inference, coding and neural dynamics; Bayesian and kernel methods, and deep learning; with applications to the analysis of perceptual processing and cognition, neural data, signal and image processing, machine vision, network data and nonparametric hypothesis testing. We are a community of around 50 academic and research staff, students and support staff. We function as far as possible as a single large research group, interacting closely through regular unit-wide research activities. Many leading researchers in both machine learning and neuroscience have studied or worked in the Unit. Over 40% of our PhD and postdoctoral alumni hold a faculty position and about 30% work in research development in companies such as Google DeepMind (itself founded by two of our alumni), Meta and Anthropic.
* Information on our research: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/life-sciences/gatsby/research
* Read more about our faculty members: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/life-sciences/gatsby/people
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