Prospective PhDs: join us at PLSE! (2026-2027)
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It’s Ph.D. application season! PLSE is recruiting Ph.D. students for the 2026-2027 cycle. We love working with students from all walks of life, united by a passion for programming languages, software engineering, and how they interact with the real world. If that sounds like you, we want you to apply!
The rest of this post answers some common questions from prospective applicants. Know someone who might be interested? Share this with them and encourage them to apply!
Who’s recruiting?
The Allen School admitting faculty page lists faculty who are considering recruiting Ph.D. students for Autumn 2027. Many faculty entries include recruiting focuses and priorities. We have four PLSE faculty that are considering recruiting this cycle:
Some faculty have additional guidance for prospective students, such as Mike’s information for his prospective students.
How do I apply to PLSE?
Applicants should go through the Allen School’s Ph.D. admissions process. Relevant dates:
- Application Opens: Sept 1 2026 (already open!)
- Application Deadline: December 15 2026
- Decisions Released: Mid-Feb 2027
Keep in mind that applicants list faculty that they would like to work with, and that this information is used to route applicants to reviewers.
For more details, we suggest starting at the Allen School’s Ph.D. Admissions page.
What Ph.D. application resources do you recommend?
First, the Allen School has many resources for applicants. We suggest starting with:
- the virtual Ph.D. information sessions – with upcoming sessions on October 29th, November 9th, and November 23rd (all at 4PM Pacific)
- the Allen School’s How to Apply and Ph.D. FAQ pages
In addition, the Pre-Application Mentorship Service (PAMS) is a wonderful program that supports prospective students. Unfortunately, it has already closed for this year. We highly recommend it for applicants in future cycles!
Interested in seeing what PLSE is up to? Check out:
- the news section of our homepage for recent papers, talks, and award news
- our recent blog posts for a sense of what we’re noodling on (and a bit on our culture)
- our list of faculty and list of Ph.D. students for the wonderful people who make up PLSE (many of which have their own academic websites)
For prospective applicants: good luck with putting your application materials together – we look forward to seeing them!
For non-prospective applicants: know someone who would be a great fit for PLSE? Share this with them and encourage them to apply!