The British Computer Society‘s distinguished PhD dissertations competition is now accepting nominations for 2013. The Conference of Professors and Heads of Computing (CPHC), in conjunction with BCS and the BCS Academy of Computing, annually selects for publication the best British PhD/DPhil dissertations in computer science and publishes the winning dissertation and runner up submission on the BCS website. Whenever possible, the prize winner receives his/her award at the prestigious BCS Roger Needham Lecture, which takes place annually at the Royal Society in the autumn. After a rigorous review process involving international experts, the judging panel selects a small number of dissertations that are regarded as exemplary, and one overall winner from the submissions. Over forty theses have been selected for publication since the scheme began in 1990. More details, including links to some past winners, can be found on the competition web site. The closing date for nominations is 1 April 2o13.  

As part of St Andrews’ 600th anniversary, the University is funding six scholarships in computer science (and all our other Schools, for that matter). Details are on our web site. There’s no special application process, and the studentships are open to all qualified applicants. You’d be well advised to research potential research supervisors and discuss things with them ahead of applying. Most staff — including me — will be accepting students under this scheme.