As a research student you will work under a supervisor who will assist you in your research and thesis design. Principal supervisors will normally be members of the School but secondary supervisors may be drawn from other schools in the Faculty, from staff in the School of Politics and International Relations in the UK,or the Division of International Studies in Ningbo, China.

MRes

MRes degrees last one year and are assessed through course work and a dissertation.

Progression onto MPhil/PhD

You can progress and be enrolled on the MPhil degree first and then progress on to the PhD. The minimum registration period for a PhD is two years full-time, though students invariably take three years research with a further year to write up the 100,000 word thesis. Final assessment is via the written thesis and a viva voce (oral) examination. Progress is assessed on an annual basis:failure to pass the annual review will result in either a termination of the degree, or its down-grading from PhD to MPhil. 

PhD students may apply to study at one of the University’s other campuses for periods of between 3-12 months. You are typically required to take a module in Research Methods and Design, and either audit or sit modules which complement your particular research interest. You are also encouraged to take courses offered by the Graduate School, and are required to attend faculty and school research seminars and the fortnightly meetings of the Early Career Research Network.

From Year 2, you may be allowed to undertake a small amount of paid work in the school, typically as a research or teaching assistant. You are also allocated funds for research, dissemination and resources costs.

Current research areas

• development
• Europe and the wider world
• international governance
• international relations theory
• political and social theory
• security and conflict resolution
• Southeast Asia: politics, society and international relations
• the Malay world
• the politics of the Middle East
• transnationalism

How to apply for the MRes (and MPhil/PhD)

Only applicants with strong academic records and a proven aptitude for research will be considered. Applicants may be invited to take the MRes first, particularly if they have no graduate qualifications in politics or a related discipline.

If you are interested in applying please contact the Director of Postgraduate Research – Dr Sumit Mandal – to discuss your application. He will make a preliminary judgement on whether your interests complement the school’s research agenda, and then allocate a potential supervisor for your research and work with you to refine a full research proposal. This process can take up to several months.

A final decision will only be made after a full application has been received. Visit our applications pages to find out how to apply.

Entry requirements for MPhil/Mres

Entry requirements are at the discretion of the School but would normally be a relevant second class honours degree or equivalent professional experience/prior learning. Non-UK qualifications will be assessed against this standard.

Entry requirements for PhD

Entry requirements are at the discretion of the School but would normally be a masters degree or equivalent professional experience/prior learning. Non-UK qualifications will be assessed against this standard.

Other equivalent qualifications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
 

English language requirements

IELTS: 7.0 (with no less than 6.0 in each element)

TOEFL (iBT): 100 (minimum 20 in Speaking and 19 in all other elements)

PTE (Academic): 67 (with no less than 55 in each element)

MUET: Band 5

IELTS, TOEFL and PTE (Academic) test results must be less than two years old and all IELTS must be the academic version of the test. MUET results are valid for five years from the date of the release of results.

February, April, July and September