Overview
About the Program
100% Online & Flexible
Study at the doctoral level from anywhere in the world. The program supports theory-driven and ethnographic research through personalized supervision, small seminars, and a global intellectual community.
Rigorous & Research-Driven
Grounded in sustained reading, disciplined writing, and original inquiry. Students work under close supervision by a world-leading expert in their field.
Debt-Free Education
Pursue advanced research without tuition debt. Many students save on relocation and living costs, and many PhD candidates are paid to teach courses.
Global Community
Join a global intellectual community spanning continents and disciplines. Build lasting scholarly networks through seminars, research groups, and conferences.
Program Structure
Curriculum
The GCAS PhD is structured as a focused three-year research program, requiring approximately 1,500 research hours per year.
Year 1
Literature review, research architecture, methodology development. Paired with world-leading expert.
Year 2
Sustained dissertation writing with regular supervisory meetings and feedback.
Year 3
Complete dissertation, prepare manuscript, and defend before academic committee.
Supervision
How Doctoral Supervision Works at GCAS
Most doctoral programs assign you a supervisor and expect your research to fit their agenda. GCAS reverses that order: your research question comes first, and we find the expert who fits it.
Year One
Narrowing the question
In your first year you work with Dr. Fernando Tohmé, Director of the PhD Natural Science Programme, who supervises every incoming researcher through the foundational stage. His job is to help you narrow your topic and bring your literature review to the standard required to proceed—establishing what has already been established in your field, and where the opening is for you to contribute.
You move on to Years 2 and 3 once that groundwork is secure—not before.
Years Two and Three
Choosing your dissertation supervisor
Years 2 and 3 are given over to the dissertation itself, and you help choose the supervisor who will guide it. That supervisor may be a GCAS researcher, or may be based at another institution entirely—what matters is that they are a genuine expert in your specific research area, not that they happen to sit on our staff list.
The right supervisor gives you rigorous guidance on the thesis and, just as importantly, opens a professional network that carries into your working life after the PhD.
Mentorship
Learn from World-Class Faculty
Our supervisors are working researchers in mathematics, physics, and engineering, publishing at the frontier of their fields.
Fernando Tohmé is a mathematical economist working on the foundations of game-theoretic and economic formalisms and their extension into artificial intelligence, engineering, and the computational sciences. His research centres on decision problems, game theory, social choice, and optimisation in socio-economic settings, with further work on abductive cognition, argumentation systems, and evolutionary models of economic development.
He is a Principal Researcher of CONICET, Argentina’s National Research Council, and Full Professor in the Department of Economics at the Universidad Nacional del Sur in Bahía Blanca, where he has taught game theory and microeconomic theory since 1993. He holds an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and a PhD in Economics, and is a former Fulbright Scholar who has held visiting positions at UC Berkeley, Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Luxembourg, and the British University in Dubai. His work appears in Artificial Intelligence, Theory and Decision, Mathematical Social Sciences, Annals of Operations Research, and Omega, among others.
At GCAS he directs the doctoral programme in the natural, mathematical, and computational sciences, supervising researchers across the sciences and mathematics.
Muhammad Hamza Waseem is a Research Scientist at Quantinuum. His current research focuses on quantum foundations, quantum science education, applied category theory, mathematical linguistics, and quantum natural language processing. Hamza completed his DPhil in Physics at the University of Oxford, funded by the Rhodes Trust and Magdalen College. His thesis explored applied process-relational philosophy and employed string diagrams to study interpretations of quantum theory, constructor theory, wave-based logic, quantum computing, and natural language processing.
During his undergraduate studies in electrical engineering at UET Lahore, Hamza helped establish Pakistan’s first laboratory for single-photon quantum physics. He also co-authored the book Quantum Mechanics in the Single-Photon Laboratory, published by the Institute of Physics (IOP), UK, now in its second edition. Passionate about public engagement with science, Hamza has played a key role in organising the Lahore Science Mela, the largest annual science festival in Pakistan, and co-founded Spectra, an online magazine dedicated to training popular science writers in Pakistan. For his contributions to science popularisation he has been awarded the 2021 Diana Award, a High Commendation at the 2021 SEPnet Public Engagement Awards, and the 2024 MPLS Public Engagement with Research Impact Award.
At Oxford, Hamza teaches mathematics and physics at Magdalen College, the Mathematical Institute, and the Department of Computer Science, and has served as a Lecturer in Physics at Magdalen College. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Global Centre for Advanced Studies in Dublin.
Dr Brian Tyrrell-Nic Dhonncha was awarded his DPhil in mathematics from the University of Oxford in 2023, with a specialisation in mathematical logic. After a year at Oxford as a postdoctoral researcher and stipendiary lecturer, he joined California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where he lectures core mathematics courses in calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations.
His research interests are split between mathematical logic and mathematics education. His PhD and postdoctoral research focused on undecidability results — such as Gödel’s First Incompleteness Theorem — applied to specific problems in number theory and algebraic geometry, with implications for automated theorem proving and Hilbert’s axiomatisation of mathematics programme. His recent research at Cal Poly focuses on the theory of embodied cognition — that thought is physically rooted in the body, and that abstraction, including mathematical reasoning, becomes grounded by bodily actions such as hand gestures — applied to the teaching and learning of undergraduate students, especially those with communication disorders.
Juan Felipe Miranda Medina is a Peruvian researcher and artist who integrates different knowledge fields: engineering, music-dance, and philosophy. As an engineer, Miranda holds a PhD in telecommunications and specialises in microwave design and analysis, with a strong background in signal processing. In music and dance, Juan is the first Peruvian to graduate from the prestigious Choreomundus Programme in Dance Knowledge, Practice and Heritage, and holds an undergraduate degree in musicology.
Juan has conducted fieldwork with the Afro-Peruvian community since 2013, which led to the publication of the book Freedom, Laughter and the Void (2022). In philosophy, Juan is interested in topics regarding philosophy of mind and cognition in relation to the production of meaning at the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic levels. He is currently applying the philosophical framework of hylomorphism to the study of zapateo dance battles known as contrapuntos.
Outcomes
Your Career
A doctorate in the natural, mathematical, and computational sciences is a research credential first — and it opens doors well beyond the university. Graduates move into academic posts, industrial research labs, public science, and technical leadership.
Academic Research & Faculty Positions
Pursue postdoctoral fellowships and tenure-track appointments at research universities and colleges. A completed dissertation, peer-reviewed publications, and a supervisor who is active in your field are the three things hiring committees look for — and the programme is built to produce all three.
Industrial R&D & Deep Tech
Join research teams at technology firms, quantum computing companies, pharmaceutical and biotech laboratories, materials and semiconductor manufacturers, and engineering consultancies — settings where a doctorate is often the entry requirement rather than an advantage.
Data Science, AI & Quantitative Modelling
Apply advanced mathematics, statistics, and computational methods in machine learning research, algorithm design, quantitative finance, operations research, and risk modelling. Doctoral training in formal reasoning transfers directly to problems where the modelling itself is the hard part.
National Laboratories & Public Science
Conduct research at government laboratories, space and defence agencies, meteorological and geological surveys, public health institutes, and international scientific bodies — institutions where independent, publishable research is the core of the role.
Climate, Energy & Agricultural Science
Work on the problems that will define the century: climate modelling and adaptation, renewable energy systems, sustainable agriculture, water and food security. These fields need researchers who can build defensible models and communicate what the models actually show.
Science Policy & Technical Advisory
Advise governments, regulators, NGOs, and standards bodies on questions where technical judgement carries real consequences — emerging technology regulation, research funding, public health, environmental standards. Evidence-based reasoning is the qualification.
Entrepreneurship & Technology Transfer
Take research from laboratory to venture. Doctoral projects in deep tech can produce patentable methods, and graduates go on to found start-ups, join technical leadership at early-stage companies, or work in technology transfer and scientific venture capital.
Teaching & Scientific Communication
Teach at university and secondary level, or work in scientific publishing, editing, and public engagement. At a moment when scientific expertise is widely contested, the ability to explain difficult material honestly is a public good in short supply.
Find out if this PhD program is a good fit for you.
Schedule a meeting with one of our PhD researchers or graduates.
Track Record
So far all GCAS PhD Graduates have either a job placement at University or have advanced their careers via promotion.
100%
have secured university teaching positions or received promotions.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the admission requirements?
Applicants should hold a Master’s degree in a relevant field (or equivalent). We consider applicants from diverse academic backgrounds, and admission is based on your research proposal, academic record, and fit with our faculty expertise.
How long does the program take to complete?
The PhD program is designed to be completed in 3 years of full-time study, requiring approximately 1,500 research hours per year. Part-time options may be available for students who need additional flexibility.
Is the program fully online?
Yes, the program is 100% online, allowing you to study from anywhere in the world. You will have regular virtual meetings with your supervisor, participate in online seminars, and have the option to attend in-person intensives in locations like Florence, Paris, and Berlin.
What is the total cost of the program?
The total tuition for the 3-year PhD program is €18,000 before your scholarship. On average the total cost for the PhD program is about 12,000€. Every accepted student receives tuition reduction scholarships, and many PhD candidates may have opportunities to teach courses for additional income or tuition credit.
How do I choose a supervisor?
During your first year, you will be paired with a world-leading expert in your field based on your research interests and proposal. We work closely with you to ensure the best possible match for your academic goals.
Is the degree accredited?
Yes, GCAS offers EU-accredited degrees recognized across the European Higher Education Area through our partnership with Woolf. Our graduates have gone on to teach at universities worldwide.
When can I apply?
Applications are open year-round. We review applications on a rolling basis, so you can apply whenever you’re ready to begin your doctoral journey.
Still have questions?
We’re here to help. Reach out to us or schedule a meeting.
Tuition
Investment
Tuition for Each Year Before Scholarship
€6,000
💡 Financial Aid Available
Every accepted student receives tuition reduction scholarships. We are committed to making education accessible.
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Ready to Begin?
Applications are open year-round. Start your journey today.
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