Traditional PhD

Our traditional academic PhD option provides you with the opportunity to pursue your own research project in an area related to our supervision expertise, produce a doctoral thesis and become an expert in your chosen topic.

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You will learn all the academic skills that you need to provide an in-depth argument and detailed analysis. You'll also be trained in academic writing skills, as well as methodology – and you get to pick the training that suits you from the departmental and Faculty training offer! You will be supervised by a team of two and sometimes even three supervisors in order to ensure that you are supported in the best way possible on the journey towards your doctoral title. The supervision team will support and guide you to produce a high-quality PhD thesis of 80,000-100,000 words! 

Entry requirements:

  • MA degree (or working towards one at the time of application) with an overall grade
    of 60% from a UK institution (or equivalent from an overseas university) and a minimum of 60% in your MA research project/dissertation. 
  • If you completed a postgraduate degree without an independent study component (such a project/dissertation), you should include a written sample of work in your application, demonstrating your ability to research a topic and write critically about it. This might be a piece of coursework submitted for an assessment, a published article, or some other extended piece of written work.
  • For non-native speakers: You must have either completed a degree within the last five years from a country classed as ‘majority English speaking’ by UK Visas and Immigration; or hold an IELTS qualification scoring at least 6.5 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in each component (or equivalent). 

To apply, please make sure that:

  • your intended research project falls into our supervision expertise – check here for individual supervisors
  • you fulfil the entry requirements listed above
  • you fill in the proposal form that we require. Once your proposal has been reviewed, we will contact you to either invite you to revise it, or to invite you to fill in a full application.

We have two annual intake dates: 1 October and 1 February.

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Our outstanding reputation for journalism

We're ranked as one of the top 5 universities to study journalism in the Guardian and the Complete University Guide - we're also 1st in the Russell Group for learning resources, student voice and learning opportunities according to the National Student Survey. 

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International Merit Scholarships

We offer a generous package of financial support for international students including 75 undergraduate scholarships worth £10,000 towards the annual tuition fee and 125 postgraduate taught scholarships worth £5,000 towards the tuition fee. Applications are now open for existing offer holders.