MPhil/PhD
Politics

You'll research

Registration and study

• Initially, you register for a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) programme to train you in the research methods necessary to complete a PhD.
• You can apply to upgrade to PhD registration when you have satisfactorily completed an agreed part of the research and training programme; this usually happens before 18 months if you are studying full-time, or before 36 months if part-time.
• You should aim to complete and submit your PhD thesis within an agreed period, usually three to four years for full-time students, and four to six years for part-time.
• If you decide not to upgrade to PhD registration, you can submit your thesis for an MPhil after two years if you are studying full-time, or after three years if part-time.
• With the agreement of your supervisor, you can change your registration from full to part-time or vice versa. North American applicants especially should note that the British system does not include preparatory taught classes or examinations as part of the MPhil/PhD programme, except for an initial module in research methods.

Research supervision

You will be assigned members of staff qualified to supervise your research throughout your period of registration. Please see our staff page for details of the teaching staff and their research interests.

You usually have a single supervisor, although in some cases joint supervision is agreed, and two members of staff are involved in the supervision.

Supervision involves regular meetings throughout the period of study, and ideally involves the development of an intensive intellectual relationship between you and your supervisor, from which both parties gain.

Research training

All research students who have not completed an MRes or MPhil degree will have to attend modules on quantitative and qualitative research methods held in their first year of study.

A Goldsmiths-wide programme of research training is also provided, which involves:

• An induction module (which all students should attend)
• Introduction to information technologies and the use of library and bibliographic resources
• Basic training in quantitative research methods
• Sessions on research planning, presentation skills and ethics

Optional elements

There are seminars held within the Department, which you can attend. Also, you may – after consultation with your supervisor – audit the appropriate postgraduate options from any of the taught MA/MRes programmes offered in the Department. This involves participating in seminar discussions and/or writing coursework, but not being formally assessed for the course.

Facilities

You'll have access to Goldsmiths’ Graduate School based in the Whitehead Building. There are PCs and Macs, a kitchen space and a quiet workspace. The School also hosts a series of seminars and other activities during the year, which are open to all postgraduate research students and staff in Goldsmiths.

Staff in the Graduate School oversee research students’ progress and wellbeing, and coordinate the generic training courses for postgraduate research students.

Assessment

Examination of the MPhil and PhD is by a thesis (60,000 words maximum for an MPhil and 100,000 words maximum for a PhD) and a viva voce.

How to apply

You apply directly to Goldsmiths using our online application system.

Before submitting your application you'll need to have:

• Details of your education history, including the dates of all exams/assessments
• The email address of your referee who we can request a reference from, or alternatively an electronic copy of your academic reference
• Contact details of a second referee
• A personal statement – this can either be uploaded as a Word Document or PDF, or completed online
• Details of your research proposal (see below for guidance)
• If available, an electronic copy of your educational transcript (this is particularly important if you have studied outside of the UK, but isn’t mandatory)

You'll be able to save your progress at any point and return to your application by logging in using your username/email and password.

Before you apply for a research programme, we advise you to get in touch with the programme contact, listed above. It may also be possible to arrange an advisory meeting.

Before you start at Goldsmiths, the actual topic of your research has to be agreed with your proposed supervisor, who will be a member of staff active in your general field of research. The choice of topic may be influenced by the current research in the department or the requirements of an external funding body. 

If you wish to study on a part-time basis, you should also indicate how many hours a week you intend to devote to research, whether this will be at evenings or weekends, and for how many hours each day.

Your research proposal

You should upload a research proposal at the point of application. This should be in the form of a 2,000-word statement of your proposed area of research and should include:

• Delineation of the research topic
• Why it has been chosen
• An initial hypothesis (if applicable)
• A brief list of major secondary sources

When to apply

You can make an application to study for an MPhil or PhD with us at any time of the year, for the academic year starting the following October.

We encourage you to complete your application as early as possible, even if you haven't finished your current programme of study. It's very common to be offered a place conditional on you achieving a particular qualification.

If you're applying for external funding from one of the Research Councils, make sure you submit your application by the deadline they've specified.

Selection process

Admission to many programmes is by interview, unless you live outside the UK. Occasionally we'll make candidates an offer of a place on the basis of their application and qualifications alone.

Find out more about applying.