PhD studentships in Machine Learning (Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, UCL)
I-Chun
Jump studentships in the Gatsby Unit
Deadline: 17:00 GMT, Monday 9 November 2026
We have two PhD studentships for postgraduate research in artificial intelligence with potential for application in finance. The successful candidates (’the Jump-UCL Scholars') will join the Gatsby Unit PhD programme cohort and study toward a PhD in machine learning, with minor emphasis in theoretical neuroscience. First-year courses provide a solid foundation in machine learning, theoretical neuroscience and systems neuroscience. Students benefit from close interaction with researchers at the ELLIS Unit at UCL and the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, alongside strong links with other research groups across UCL and beyond.
Full funding is available regardless of nationality. The Jump studentship covers UCL tuition fees for both home and international students and includes an annual tax-free stipend as well as travel budget for attending conferences and workshops. In addition to the studentship, the Scholars will be eligible for employment opportunities with Jump Trading Group in London during the course of their PhD.
The applicant should have a strong analytical and mathematical background, a keen interest in machine learning, and a relevant first degree, for example in Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Engineering, or Physics.
Applications should be submitted directly to us through the Gatsby Recruitment Portal under "Gatsby Unit PhD Programme 2027". Please review the information on the Gatsby Unit PhD programme webpage (www.ucl.ac.uk/life-sciences/gatsby/study-and-work/gatsby-unit-phd-programme) before starting your application. In your statement of research interest, please include the line “I would like to be considered for the Jump studentship in the Gatsby Unit”.
About the Unit
The Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit is a leading research centre focused on theoretical neuroscience and machine learning. Our research focuses on the mathematical principles of learning, perception, cognition and action in brains and machines. We study causality; neural systems; neural representations; neural data analysis; computation and dynamics; learning; theory of deep learning; reinforcement learning; kernel methods; graphical models; Bayesian statistics; network and relational data. For more information on our research, visit www.ucl.ac.uk/life-sciences/gatsby/research.
We are a community of around 50 academic, research and support staff, and students, committed to building an inclusive and supportive research environment. We function as far as possible as a single research group, with strong cohesion fostered via unit-wide activities such as tea hours, external seminars and journal clubs. Many leading researchers in machine learning and theoretical neuroscience have studied or worked in the Unit, including two Nobel Prize winners. Over 40% of our PhD and postdoctoral alumni hold faculty positions, while around 30% work in research development roles at companies such as Google DeepMind (itself founded by two of our alumni), Meta and Anthropic. Find out more about our faculty members and network of alumni at www.ucl.ac.uk/life-sciences/gatsby/people.
About the studentship
UCL has partnered with international quantitative trading firm, Jump Trading Group, to provide PhD studentships at the Gatsby Unit. This philanthropic partnership aims to nurture emerging research talent working at the interface of neuroscience, machine learning and AI. The studentships will provide the next generation of talent access to world-class training in machine learning and theoretical neuroscience and allow them to undertake high-impact research with potential for application in finance.