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Applications are invited for a self-funded, 3-year full-time or 6-year part time PhD project.

The PhD will be based in the School of Computing and will be supervised by Dr Rinat Khusainov and Dr Eslam Amer.

Large Language Models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable capabilities across a wide range of natural language processing tasks. However, their widespread deployment often raises serious concerns about user privacy, especially in contexts involving sensitive or personally identifiable information. There is also a need to be able to control access to information and knowledge contained within LLMs in application scenarios where LLMs are used as knowledge repositories. There are multiple application domains where privacy and access control are particularly significant, such as healthcare, finance, or public services. This PhD project will explore the privacy risks in LLMs and mechanisms for protecting privacy and controlling access to information within LLMs.

The core aim of the project is to systematically investigate how LLMs can memorise, reproduce, or infer private data, and to design frameworks that enhance privacy protection during both training and inference. The project will also investigate possible approaches to introducing an enforcing flexible and reliable access control policies within LLMs. The research will balance theoretical analysis with empirical evaluation, contributing to our understanding of privacy risks in current-generation LLMs and proposing practical, scalable solutions. The project can also consider how differential privacy, federated learning, or other privacy-enhancing technologies be applied or adapted for LLMs.

The successful candidate will work within a team of academics and researchers with a track record in practical applications of AI and natural language processing. The School boasts excellent computing facilities, including access to the Sciama supercomputer, and a vibrant and supportive research environment.

Fees and funding

Visit the research subject area page for fees and funding information for this project.

Funding availability: Self-funded PhD students only. 

PhD full-time and part-time courses are eligible for the UK  (UK and EU students only).

Bench fees

Some PhD projects may include additional fees – known as bench fees – for equipment and other consumables, and these will be added to your standard tuition fee. Speak to the supervisory team during your interview about any additional fees you may have to pay. Please note, bench fees are not eligible for discounts and are non-refundable.

How to apply

We’d encourage you to contact Dr Rinat Khusainov (rinat.khusainov@port.ac.uk) to discuss your interest before you apply, quoting the project code.

When you are ready to apply, please follow the 'Apply now' link on the Computing PhD subject area page and select the link for the relevant intake. Make sure you submit a personal statement, proof of your degrees and grades, details of two referees, proof of your English language proficiency and an up-to-date CV. Our ‘How to Apply’ page offers further guidance on the PhD application process. 

When applying please quote project code: CMP10261026