Large Scale Complex IT Systems

Description

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The LSCITS EngD is a unique opportunity for you to become a member of a new generation of specialised engineers and scientists dedicated to meeting the challenges inherent in dealing with current and future LSCITS and systems-of-systems. The main aim is to significantly extend your abilities to address current and forthcoming challenges in the science and engineering of LSCITS: from mathematical and formal theoretical methods, to high-integrity systems and software engineering, to socio-technical systems engineering and studies of complexity in organisations. Successful graduates will gain a detailed understanding of technology innovation, development and deployment in applied industrial, organisational and business contexts. This will enable you to create new technology solutions for current problems and innovative uses or business models for existing technologies, improve the state-of-the-art and understand how to analyse and design, deploy and manage LSCITS.

In addition to a taught component you will be working with a sponsoring organisation or your current employer, you will conduct independent research based on a project identified by the organisation, which will lead to the submission of a doctoral thesis.

our graduates are expected to find employement as researchers, research managers or other senior positions in research led organisations, ranging in scale from major blue-chip multinationals or national public sector organisations, through to small or medium sized enterprises, or entrepreneurial start-ups.

Contents

The taught element comprises six bespoke core modules delivered at the University of York and further optional technical modules offered by the Universities of Bristol, Oxford, St Andrews and York.

Core modules include:

* Systems Engineering for LSCITS
* Socio-Technical Systems
* Empirical Methods for LSCITS
* High-Integrity Systems Engineering
* Predictable Software Systems
* Technology Innovation

There is a wide range of optional modules available, allowing you to tailor the course to suit you.

The research component of the programme involves working closely with a sponsoring organisation to conduct independent research based on a project the organisation has identified; the majority of the research project work will be undertaken at the sponsoring organisaion.

The project can be situated anywhere within the wide spectrum of research topics addressed by the LSCITS initiative, which ranges from improving existing technical methods and tools for complex systems and software engineering, to developing new socio-technical approaches which help gain an understanding of the complex interactions between organisations, processes, and systems.

The project starts with the Individual project module conducted in the first year of study, which serves as the literature review and research plan for the research activity, and culminates with the submission of a thesis or portfolio at the end of the fourth year.

The third aspect of the programme is personal skills training, with the emphasis on transferable skills, to enable you to work effectively in an industrial environment.

Requirements

The Engineering Doctorate is suitable for recent graduates in Computer Science or a related discipline, and has been designed to be of particular benefit to those who already have relevant industrial experience and may wish to work with their current employer as their sponsoring organisation.

Applicants will normally have at least an upper second class degree in Computer Science or a cognate discipline (e.g. Electrial Engineering, Physics or Chemistry), or equivalent relevant experience. Applicants will normally have a good knowledge of Computer Science mathematics and programming, such as may be taught in undergraduate degree programmes in Computer Science.

In addition, applicants must meet the specific entry and language requirements of the University of York

English Language Requirements

IMPORTANT NOTE: Since April 2014 the ETS tests (including TOEFL and TOEIC) are no longer accepted for Tier 4 visa applications to the United Kingdom. The university might still accept these tests to admit you to the university, but if you require a Tier 4 visa to enter the UK and begin your degree programme, these tests will not be sufficient to obtain your Visa.

The IELTS test is most widely accepted by universities and is also accepted for Tier 4 visas to the UK- learn more.

Funding

The Programme is supported by a grant of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and by funding from industrial Sponsoring Organisations. The fees for Home/EU students are paid in full by the EPSRC or Sponsoring Organisations. An international student will incur a fee supplement, which will be payable by the student. The actual fee payable will be available to individual applicants on request from the Centre Administrator.

Applicants who are not already in employment with their preferred Sponsoring Organisation and satisfy the funding eligibility requirements below, can apply for an EPSRC studentship, which will be awarded by the EngD Centre on a competitive basis. The studentship will provide a stipend of £16,705 p.a. for the academic year 2011/2012, and will increase annually during active study ; it should be noted that this is an enhancement of approximately £3,000 p.a. over the standard EPSRC PhD stipend. For further information on funding eligibility requirements please refer to the table below.

Eligibility Requirements for Funding
Applicants applying for EPSRC funding must be able to meet the following residence requirements:

To be eligible for a full award (stipend and fees) :

A student must have :

Settled status in the UK, meaning they have no restrictions on how long they can stay

and

Been ordinarily resident in the UK for 3 years prior to the start of the grant. This means they must have been normally residing in the UK (apart from temporary or occasional absences)

and

Not been residing in the UK wholly or mainly for the purpose of full-time education. (This does not apply to UK or EU nationals)

To be eligible for a fees only award :

Students from EU countries other than the UK are generally eligible for a fees-only award. To be eligible for a fees-only award, a student must be ordinarily resident in a member state of the EU, in the same way as UK students must be ordinarily resident in the UK.

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Accreditation

This strategic initiative brings together industrial practitioners with internationally leading researchers of the Universities of Bristol, Leeds, Oxford, St Andrews and York. It is supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the main funding agency for Computer Science in the UK, and sponsoring organisations from industry, commerce, defense and the public sector.