Advice on applying to work with Alan Blackwell

If you are interested in working with me as a collaborator, visiting researcher, intern, or graduate student, then please contact me by email - I would like to hear from you!

Please start your email with the words "I have consulted your personal web page," so that I know you have read the advice below, and will be able to give your message proper attention. If you do not do this, I will probably reply as follows:
It appears that you have not yet consulted my personal web page, giving the impression that you do not have any specific interest in my work. Please do follow up if you find anything of interest there.

• How to apply for the PhD in Computer Science
• MPhil (Master's) in Advanced Computer Science
• Job vacancies in Cambridge, including all research opportunities in Computer Science.
• Internships: please note that the Cambridge internships scheme for undergraduates (UROP), is only open to students already registered for a degree in Cambridge. If you are not a student at Cambridge, I will ask you to provide specific details of funding scheme and employment terms.

Note that I expect to be on sabbatical leave in the academic year 2026/27, meaning that I will not be available to supervise research students starting in that year.

How to explain your specific research interests when approaching an academic

• First, read their web page. If you are looking for something specific (an internship, a job, how to apply for a degree programme), there may already be links from their web page giving the information you need. If you want to email them anyway, make sure to say "I read the link on your web page about X", so that they understand you aren't being lazy.
• Second, you should tell them what specific aspect of their research you are interested in. By "specific", I mean something where this person is one of the world experts. If you know of an undergraduate course on this topic, or there is a textbook with the same title, this is not specific enough (unless they wrote the textbook). Look at their list of publications, and refer to something specific that they have written.
• Third, make sure that you have chosen a topic that they are interested in right now. If you refer to something that they did 20 or 30 years ago, it's possible that they are bored by it now. If you refer to something that they have published this year, it makes you look up to date (and it's possible that not many other people have even read it yet, so they will be pleased of the attention).
• (... parenthetical Point 3a, based on my own recent experiences: if they have published a major book, it's likely to be based on 10, 20 or more years of work. Don't just say you like the book (even if you have read it). Refer to a specific chapter of the book as the basis for a more productive conversation)
• Fourth, try to be complimentary. Most academics are in it for glory, not for the money. It's a bad idea to imply that you know more about the topic than they do - but try to explain why you like their work. You need to say which specific aspect you find interesting, not just general flattery - this is an important opportunity to demonstrate your understanding (see below).
• Finally, tell them why you are qualified to contribute to their research. If you don't at least have an undergraduate major in a directly related field, you are probably not qualified. This isn't the end of your dreams - if you really want to work in this specific area, read some books, or take an online course. Ideally, this should be at Master's level. If you can't understand the Master's level material, then read less advanced material until you are ready.

Advice on studying AI

You can now do a PhD "in AI" (in some way) in almost any Faculty in Cambridge. Note that my own book Moral Codes is about designing alternatives to AI. This means I am not an appropriate supervisor for someone who simply wants a qualification in AI. In that case, you could consider applying to the Cambridge MPhil in Machine Learning and Machine Intelligence, the MPhil in Advanced Computer Science, the MPhil in Data Intensive Science, or the MPhil in Scientific Computing. I do teach Human-Centered AI, which is an advanced topic in the field of Human-Computer Interaction, not a kind of machine learning. If you wish to pursue research in this area, I will ask about your qualifications and previous research experience in HCI.

For those who do not want to do technical development in AI, data science or machine learning, but want to study AI from an interdisciplinary perspective, there are many options in Cambridge, including:

• The Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (LCFI)
• The Centre for Human-Inspired AI (CHIA)
• Cambridge Digital Humanities (CDH)

I teach and interact with students on all of these programmes, so if you are interested in AI from an interdisciplinary perspective, and do not want to do technical engineering or mathematical work, you should consider applying to one of those programmes, mentioning in your application that you would like an opportunity to work with me.

Advice for those wishing to pursue a PhD in interdisciplinary design

Although my title is Professor of Interdisciplinary Design, Cambridge does not offer a degree programme in this subject.

For some years, working with David Good and Nathan Crilly, I coordinated the Crucible network for research in interdisciplinary design. Crucible was not an official University department or research institute. The Crucible network included around 100 faculty members in Cambridge, all in different departments, who often made arrangements to jointly supervise PhD students. (There were also several hundred more non-faculty members, who did not supervise PhD students).

The consequence of working that way was that we did not have a mechanism for processing applications for a programme in interdisciplinary design as such. Our students applied for PhD places via conventional disciplinary routes, but then developed a custom programme meeting their own needs and interests, often working closely with a single network member on an apprenticeship model, but sharing in that member of faculty's collaborations with other disciplines.

An important early step in developing an application for a PhD place in Cambridge is to identify a particular university department or faculty member where you would obtain your primary research training, and then work more closely with that person to develop an application for academic admission and potential funding. Typically, this would be a person and department in a field where you have demonstrated excellence as an undergraduate and/or master's student. Entry to Cambridge is extremely competitive, with the result that both funding competitions and allocation of academic places are dominated by students who already have substantial achievements in specific fields.

In recent years, and subsequently to the main period of activity for Crucible, UK government policy for academic funding has emphasised desire for PhD students to undertake "training" in research skills for a practical purpose, rather than critical or creative enquiry that might not lead to immediate commercial opportunities. Most public funding for PhD scholarships is thus directed through "Centres for Doctoral Training" (CDTs). There are many of these in Cambridge, each with a specific instrumental objective. Most are nominally interdisciplinary, and would in principle benefit from the approaches that were developed across the Crucible network. Students considering an application to one of these CDTs, and wondering what opportunity there might be for broader interdisciplinary enquiry beyond the constraints imposed by the CDT structure, are welcome to contact me for advice.

Advice for those early in their research career

If you are reading this page for the first time after already having sent me an email message, it is possible that your previous email may have struck me as rude (perhaps because of your lack of interest in my research). If you think this may have happened to you, then please feel free to offer an explanation or apology, and we can start afresh. Note that the majority of people who are directed to this page never do take any further action - perhaps they don't even read my reply, which is a shame, since I will have taken the trouble to read theirs, however much spam they were sending.

Click to return to Alan Blackwell's home page.