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A PhD at London Met is conducted purely by research. Each PhD is the unique development of a student’s individual research project, performed under the guidance of at least two supervisory members of staff with expertise in the research area. A PhD can be pursued in any area of research within the University where suitable expertise is available to support the proposed research. The University provides a supportive framework for research and each student’s work is carefully overseen. It is also possible to study a PhD via distance learning at London Met.
Each PhD is an individual and unique project. The research may be conducted in any of the University’s disciplines (or across disciplines) where there is appropriate research expertise.
Although the degree is awarded for research with no taught component, research students are provided with research training and have access to any master's level modules that may facilitate their research.
Your progress will be closely supported by your supervisors and School. You will be encouraged to attend conferences, write papers and publish while pursuing your research.
The University has strong links with industry, businesses, the legal profession and governmental and non-governmental organisations that may impact your research and future career.
Research students are important members of the academic community at London Metropolitan University and are included in all conferences, lecture series and research seminar series.
The University has a large number of specialist research areas, many (although not all) of our research students are associated with one of these. These include: The Global Policy Institute, The Centre for Communications Technology, The Intelligent Systems Research Centre, Statistics Operational research and Mathematics and The Cellular and Molecular Immunology Research Centre, to name a few.
Staff undertake research and offer supervision in areas including:
For a full list of our research centres, visit our research section.
To obtain a PhD the candidate is expected to investigate a topic and make an original contribution to knowledge.
During the course of the research, each student’s work is assessed annually by a Research Student Progress Group in order to ensure that good progress is being made and that adequate guidance is available.
The degree Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is awarded by the University after the successful presentation of a thesis based on an original piece of research, completed under the supervision of University staff, and the successful defence of the thesis at an oral examination.
We are planning to return to our usual ways of teaching this autumn including on-campus activities for your course. However, it's still unclear what the government requirements on social distancing and other restrictions might be, so please keep an eye on our Covid-19 pages for further updates as we get closer to the start of the autumn term.
You will be required to have:
Candidates with other qualifications are considered on their merits.
The University only offers supervision to candidates if there is adequate available supervisory expertise in the area of the research project.
Any university-level qualifications or relevant experience you gain prior to starting university could count towards your course at London Met. Find out more about applying for Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL).
To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Student visa you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. For more information about English qualifications please see our English language requirements.
If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require.
"The supervisory team was excellent - they had first rate knowledge and research expertise, were highly supportive and always willing to help. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at London Met and would recommend studying here for a doctorate."
Dr Deborah Butcher
Many people with an PhD become lecturers, teachers or researchers, but these are by no means the only destinations.
Depending on your discipline, you may go into industry (this is frequently the case for graduates in biological or computer science), the City (business and law graduates), public sector management and/or policy-making (social science and business graduates), international governmental organisations (social science and business graduates), the social professions or non-governmental organisations.
Many of our graduates are mid-career and use their degree for career enhancement in areas such as social services, education, counselling, health and social care, or diplomacy.
There is a distance learning option available.
The University will award the degrees of Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) to registered students who successfully complete approved programmes. All proposed research programmes will be considered for research degree registration on their academic merits.
A PhD by prior output allows students who don't have traditional qualifications but have produced research and developed their knowledge to a doctoral level to gain academic recognition.
The publications of the student must be accessible to scholars or other interested persons. The work submitted must have been subjected to peer review by the relevant academic community and also provide evidence of an independent, original and significant contribution to knowledge and critical judgement. All work should have been published in the last 10 years and be traceable in publicly available databases, catalogues etc.
Programmes of research may be proposed in any field of study, as long as the proposed programme is capable of leading to scholarly research. The written thesis may be supplemented by material other than written form, if special provision has been made and agreed.
Research students at London Met can work towards a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). To obtain a PhD you’re expected to investigate a topic and make an original contribution to knowledge. At MPhil level, your research should represent an extension of existing knowledge, although the demands of originality and sustained enquiry are less than those required for a PhD.
Please note, in addition to the tuition fee there may be additional costs for things like equipment, materials, printing, textbooks, trips, fieldwork, specialist conferences or professional body fees.
Additionally, there may be other activities that are not formally part of your course and not required to complete your course, but which you may find helpful (for example, optional field trips). The costs of these are additional to your tuition fee and the fees set out above and will be notified when the activity is being arranged.
Use the apply button to begin your application.
If you require a Student visa and wish to study a postgraduate course on a part-time basis, please read our how to apply information for international students to ensure you have all the details you need about the application process.
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