Social Sciences PhD

Overview

The School of Social Sciences is an environment of critical enquiry and rigorous research. Our innovative and influential research has received international recognition; changing attitudes and informing policy across areas as diverse as primatology, biodiversity conservation and wildlife trade, gendered practices in family and work lives, and Eastern European politics.

We offer students close supervision from experts with research expertise in your research area and plentiful opportunities to present your work and participate in our research training and other research events.

You may have the opportunity to develop your teaching, mentoring and assessment skills by undertaking paid teaching activities for up to six hours a week.

The School comprises a number of collaborative research clusters supporting our doctoral students and encouraging wide participation both through our partnerships and our full programme of conferences, public events and lectures. Some of our research clusters are grouped together within the three research centres within the school.

Research expertise

Our school comprises a number of collaborative research clusters which support the work of researchers and doctoral students. We encourage wide participation through partnerships and our busy programme of conferences, public events and lectures.

We strongly recommend that prior to submitting a full application you identify and make contact directly with a potential Director of Studies. Please look at our research group pages and individual staff profiles to help you identify the appropriate member of staff and to find out whether your proposed research focus is one that we can supervise.

Some of our research clusters are grouped together within the three research centres within the school.

PhD

There are two routes toward obtaining a PhD.

MPhil/PhD route

By far the most popular and common is the MPhil/PhD route. This entails students initially registering for the degree of MPhil/PhD, before transferring to full PhD status, should sufficient progress have been made with their work. Transfer to full PhD status normally happens after 18 months for full time students and after roughly 24-26 months for part time students.

Thesis: 80,000 - 100,000 words.

Length of study: minimum of three years full time and four years part time.

Career prospects

We are passionate about fostering the careers of our researchers and ensure that they gain research skills training, leadership experience and teaching practice as part of the doctoral programmes we offer.

Bespoke careers advice is also embedded into our programme as we think this is a key element of your personal and professional development during your time with us.

Social science graduates are highly-valued by employers in public, private and non-government sectors for a range of skills including numeracy, literacy, communication, problem-solving, research methods and being able to engage a comparative perspective. Social sciences graduates have gone on to enjoy varied careers in a number of NGO, public and commercial settings.

Entry requirement: the minimum entry requirement for the MPhil/PhD route is: a first-class or upper second-class UK honours degree; a relevant master’s qualification or an equivalent qualification.