What you will study
Our PhD programme takes around three to four years of full-time study. You’ll take on a structured, supervised programme of scholarly research, leading to a thesis that makes an original contribution to the field and is suitable to be published in a series of high-quality, refereed journal articles.
You’ll be assigned two supervisors with expertise in your area; normally one will be an expert in your subject, and one who is an expert in methodology. Your supervisors will guide you through your PhD, from developing your project through to your analysis and writing your thesis. You’ll normally meet with your supervisor every four to six weeks.
There’s no formal teaching as part of your PhD programme, but you’ll benefit from a range of support and learning opportunities in addition to your supervision meetings. These include a tailored weekly programme of formal research training in research methodology and career development. You’ll have the chance to present and discuss your research at our weekly research seminars.
You’ll also be able to take any of our MSc modules and join our range of interactive workshops that run throughout the year, exploring topics such as personal effectiveness, information skills, presenting research and job skills. You’ll also be able to qualify as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy by completing the Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching.
We encourage our students to attend international conferences and training courses. We can support your travel costs to these events.
Assessment
Your final assessment will be based on the presentation of your research in a written thesis, which will be discussed in a viva examination with at least two examiners.
You have the option of preparing your thesis as a monograph (one large volume in chapter form) or in publication format (including chapters written for publication), subject to the approval of your supervisors.
Location
This course is based at Stag Hill campus. Stag Hill is the University's main campus and where the majority of our courses are taught.
