PhD Studentship: Agentic AI and Intelligent Autonomous Systems

Applications are invited for a PhD studentship in the Department of Computer Science at City, University of London. The successful candidate will work on Agentic Artificial Intelligence—the next generation of AI systems capable of reasoning, autonomous decision-making, task orchestration, and multi-agent collaboration. The successful candidate will work alongside an active research group specialising in AI, blockchain, federated learning, trust frameworks, and intelligent systems.

This fully funded studentship provides an outstanding opportunity for a technically strong candidate to contribute to cutting-edge research and develop the foundations of trustworthy, adaptive, and self-improving agentic systems.

This PhD research will contribute to the field by:

• Autonomous multi-agent systems for real-world decision-making
• Agentic LLMs with planning, tool use, and self-evaluation capabilities
• Cognitive architectures for self-reflective, self-improving AI
• Data-driven agents for reasoning, forecasting, and knowledge integration
• Safe, transparent, and privacy-preserving agent-based AI

Eligibility and requirements 

The candidate should have a first or upper second-class BEng and MEng (or equivalent, or higher) degree in Computer Science or a related course. They should demonstrate aptitude for original research.

Scholarship: The studentship is for 3 years and will provide an annual tax-free stipend of £22,780 and tuition fees. Start date February or April 2026.

Additional income: Each student may also have the opportunity to earn around £2,200/year on an average (max. is around £4,300/year) through a teaching assistantship.

The ideal candidate will have a strong foundation in Python programming and hands-on experience with deep learning frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch. Applicants with a background in Natural Language Processing (NLP)—including model development, fine-tuning, or evaluation—will be given special consideration. Preference may also be given to candidates who have:

• Demonstrated research experience in AI, machine learning, or NLP
• Published work in reputable conferences or journals
• Outstanding academic performance in relevant modules or degrees
• A strong motivation to work on cutting-edge research in Agentic AI

If you are interested in applying, I will be happy to address any initial informal enquiries: sujit.biswas@citystgeorges.ac.uk

How to apply

Submit your application via Apply now;

Note: No formal approval from a supervisor is required prior to applying. If you believe you meet the essential criteria, you are encouraged to submit your application directly.

A research proposal is not required, instead upload a copy of the  project name as a word file.

For queries regarding the application process, please contact pgr.sst.enquire@citystgeorges.ac.uk

City, University of London is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in all its activities, processes, and culture for our whole community, including staff, students and visitors.

We welcome applications regardless of age, caring responsibilities, disability, gender identity, gender reassignment, marital status, nationality, pregnancy, race and ethnic origin, religion and belief, sex, sexual orientation and socio-economic background. City operates a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants.

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