PhD by Supervised Research [PhD SR]

Male student on pc Students who are admitted for PhD SR study will be registered for a standard minimum period (three years for full-time students; six years for part-time students) with an initial registration status as an MPhil/PhD student. Students will be supervised as PhD students, but PhD status will need to be confirmed during the second year (end of the third year for part-time students).

At the start of this degree you need to have a good, workable, research proposal which one of our supervisors can accept, and more or less all the training you need to carry out your research project (typically from having already performed well on a relevant MA). Your training needs will be regularly assessed, however, and commonly you may be required to sit in unassessed on some of our taught modules to top up your training. You are expected to be able to work independently though there are many forms of support such as the research groups as well as your supervisor to help you. Professional Development Training is available, aimed at facilitating the student's transition to independent postgraduate scholarship, to participating in the dissemination of research findings and to subsequent life as a professional academic.

Every six months your progress is formally checked by a Supervisory Board consisting of your supervisor, an adviser, and a chairperson. You all fill in a form answering questions about your progress, and there may be a face to face meeting to discuss how you are getting on.

The thesis which you work towards completing has a maximum length of 80,000 words. No minimum is stated, and examiners could well be happy with 60,000 words of write up of good quality research.

For students doing an MA or MPhil by supervised research, the period of study and the maximum length of the dissertation are correspondingly shorter (see Graduate Pathways for details).

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