MPhil/PhD Studentship in Correlation Methods for Inferring Hidden Structure in Spatio-Temporal Crime Data

Investing in excellence: studentship opportunities

The University of Derby has an opportunity for a full-time postgraduate research studentship in Data Science and Public Services areas of research in the College of Science and Engineering (SE).

The successful applicant will receive a maintenance stipend (based on the minimum stipend defined by UKRI, currently £21,805 for the academic year 2026/27) and home MPhil/PhD tuition fees (£5,238 - subject to amendment) only up to the target submission date.

The intended intake period is January 2027.

International applicants may need to defer to March 2027 to allow sufficient time for CAS issuance and visa processing.

Please note: If your application is successful and you are assessed as international for fees purposes, you will need to pay the difference between the home fees and the international fees.

The successful applicant will be expected to complete their MPhil/PhD within 3 years on the MPhil/PhD route, contribute to the College REF submission and get involved in the wider research activities of the College.

Applicants will become part of a friendly and welcoming team and will be supported and managed by their supervisors.

The vacancy details are as follows:

Project description

Crime is not randomly distributed. Offences cluster in particular places and at particular times, but these patterns may contain information about the processes that generate crime that conventional hotspot analyses cannot reveal.

This interdisciplinary PhD will develop new mathematical and computational methods for investigating the spatial and temporal structure of crime. The project will develop spatial and temporal correlation methods and apply them to large-scale and potentially near-real-time crime data, with the aim of extracting information about underlying crime-generating processes.

You will investigate how these ideas can be adapted to spatial and spatio-temporal event data and apply them to large-scale UK police-recorded crime datasets. Starting with spatial correlation and anti-correlation, the project will examine the characteristic distances over which crime events are statistically related before extending the theory to temporal and spatio-temporal patterns.

A particularly exciting aspect of the project will be investigating whether observed crime patterns can reveal properties of the underlying processes generating them, potentially providing new ways to understand repeat offending, crime-generating mechanisms and latent offender populations.

The project combines data science, complex systems, statistical modelling and policing, with opportunities to work with academic and policing collaborators.

Purpose/objectives 

The purpose of this PhD is to develop a new correlation-based framework for understanding how crime events are related across space and time, and to establish what these relationships can reveal about the processes generating observed crime patterns. The project will move beyond describing where crime is concentrated to investigate the statistical dependencies between individual events.

The project will:

• Develop new theory and computational methods for analysing correlations and anti-correlations in spatial and spatio-temporal crime data
• Apply these methods to UK crime data to identify characteristic spatial and temporal scales over which crime events are related or become statistically independent
• Determine which properties of underlying crime-generating processes can be reliably inferred from observed correlation structures, using simulations in which the generating mechanisms are known
• Validate and benchmark the framework using simulated and real-world data, comparing its performance and insights with established approaches to spatial crime analysis

Potential project impact 

This project has the potential to create both methodological and societal impact by developing new ways of extracting information from complex event data.

• Policing and crime prevention: New measures of the spatial and temporal organisation of crime could provide police partners with additional evidence for understanding crime patterns, targeting resources and developing evidence-informed interventions
• Data science and complex systems: The project will develop a generalisable analytical framework with potential applications beyond policing wherever discrete events occur across space and time
• Research and policy: Working with academic, data and policing partners will create opportunities to translate methodological developments into practical tools and evidence, while establishing foundations for future collaborative research and external funding

No prior background in criminology or fluorescence spectroscopy is required; the project is particularly suited to candidates interested in mathematical modelling, statistics, data science or complex systems.

To apply

Please review our entry requirements before submitting your application and check out the 'Getting Started' section below.

Completed applications should be submitted via our online application system. It is important that you quote the funding reference: QR_SE_CRIME_2627

Apply online

Closing dates for applications: Sunday 8 November 2026.

Interviews: Friday 20 November 2026 to Thursday 26 November 2026.

If you have not been invited for an interview by the interview date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful.

For other enquiries which are subject-specific please contact:

Dr Jack Sutton - j.sutton@derby.ac.uk

Dr Ovidiu Bagdasar - o.bagdasar@derby.ac.uk

Getting started

Before you begin your application, make sure you have the following:

Studentship funding reference code

It is important that you quote the funding reference: QR_SE_CRIME_2627 in your application, at the top of your personal statement.

Required Documents

Before submitting your application, please ensure you upload all required documents to enable us to assess your application fully. References may be provided at a later stage.

Personal statement

A 500-word personal statement outlining your suitability for the studentship project. This is a mandatory requirement and you must upload it into your application. You should include your reasons for applying for the studentship, your experience in the field, how you feel you would benefit from studying and relevant information about your previous studies.

Your CV

A CV outlining your academic and professional experience.

Qualifications

Your qualification details including grades and dates taken. You will have the opportunity to upload scanned copies of your qualification certificates and transcripts in the application. If you have no formal qualifications, you can also state this in your application.

Photo ID

A scanned copy of your photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence. This will help us verify your application to study with us.

Academic references

Two signed academic references. This is optional at application stage but highly encouraged. If successful in your application, two academic references will be a mandatory requirement of admission. The references should be in written format, signed and dated from either a supervisor or tutor from your most recent studies.

For international applicants

The University of Derby has a network of international agents and representatives in different regions. For postgraduate research degree applications, depending on your country of origin, you may need to apply through an agent. You can contact any of our agents and apply to study with us through them.

Some agents may charge for provision of services so please check this directly with the agent. Please be aware that, if you apply directly to the University without going through an agent, we may contact you and you will be required to re-apply through an agent or representative before your application can be considered.