Social and Policy Sciences

Entry requirements

• First or 2:1 Honours degree (or equivalent) in an appropriate subject, from a recognised university.
• A Masters degree or appropriate research training is also normally required. We consider applicants without Masters or appropriate research training on a case by case basis. We might require applicants to satisfactorily complete one of our Masters programmes, or to attend some/all of the units of our MRes programmes while undertaking the MPhil or PhD programme.

Months of entry

October

Course content

Students carry out a supervised programme of research at the leading edge of their chosen subject. From an initial proposal, students design and conduct a research programme under the direction of one or two members of our academic staff. The PhD research is written up as a substantial thesis and assessed in an extensive oral examination. You can choose to study any topic in which we have research expertise. Details of research staff expertise and interests are available on individual staff pages.

Benefits of the MPhil and PhD

• An opportunity to undertake original, in-depth research under expert supervision, within a supportive and vibrant research student community.
• Access to advanced inter-disciplinary training in methodological skills, substantive subjects and additional research and presentation skills at the University of Bath and as part of the South West Doctoral Training Centre (with Universities of Bristol and Exeter).
• The opportunity to present your work and discuss it with other researchers working on similar topics and participate in departmental research centre activities.
• The opportunity to develop skills and a broader knowledge base by contributing to teaching.

The excellence of the research undertaken within the Department of Social & Policy Sciences has been recognised most recently by the award of the prestigious Queen's Anniversary Prize in 2011.