Politics

Entry requirements

Bachelor's degree: 2:1 Hons degree (UK or equivalent) in a relevant social science subject

Master's degree: a good Master's degree in a social science background.

We may also consider non-standard applicants, please contact us for information.

If you have studied outside of the UK, we would advise you to check our list of international qualifications before submitting your application.

Additional Requirements

As part of your application you will also need to provide a viable research proposal. Guidance can be found on our writing a research proposal webpage.

Months of entry

January, April, July, October

Course content

We welcome disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and post-disciplinary research proposals from those seeking to undertake a PhD research programme in Politics. We would encourage you to explore the research interests of our academic colleagues to ensure that your proposal relates to our areas of research.

Our aim is to support you throughout your studies, whether through reading groups, research methods study classes, opportunities to present and review research projects or links with external presenters. Further support is offered by the library and seminar programmes. We enjoy good working relationships with related departments and research centres, and joint supervision arrangements, across different disciplines, are sometimes possible.

Information for international students

We may ask you to provide a recognised English language qualification, dependent upon your nationality and where you have studied previously.

We normally require an IELTS (Academic) Test with an overall score of at least 6.5, and a minimum of 5.5 in each element of the test. We also consider other English language qualifications.

If your score is below our requirements, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.

Contact: Admissions Team +44 (0) 1524 592032 or email pgadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk

Fees and funding

Learn more at our fees and funding page