PhD Politics

Programme description

Our Politics PhD programme is a three-year (full-time) or six-year (part-time) course of study that enables you to carry out a piece of in-depth research in the area that most interests you.

You will benefit from a global reputation, lively PhD student body, multiple research seminar series, and expertise in a diverse set of areas of politics grouped in our five research clusters .

Politics is the biggest postgraduate community in our School and we welcome students from all around the world, forming a vibrant community both socially and academically.

Politics at The University of Manchester is one of the top politics departments in the country and globally, offering many career opportunities for our PhD students, such as:

• networking, internally and externally;
• support for diverse research methods and approaches;
• overseas and fieldwork visits;
• internships;
• career development.

Teaching and learning

When you become a postgraduate researcher, you'll join a diverse and vibrant community of doctoral students from nearly 100 different countries, all studying within the Faculty of Humanities.

You'll be assigned to a specific research grouping that complements your research interests and have access to a variety of interdisciplinary research institutes.

Our working environments are often spacious and open-plan, giving you plenty of opportunities to communicate with colleagues and staff within the School, and you will have your own desk space as well as access to our fantastic range of libraries on campus.

All of our academic supervisors are research active and will support you to work on challenging research problems and develop rigorous, creative and original research.

You can expect to meet with your supervisor at least once a month to discuss progress on your project.

As a postgraduate researcher, you'll have access to a large and diverse community of internationally recognised academic experts offering an environment that will stimulate intellectual debate and development.

Career opportunities

The University has its own dedicated Careers Service that you would have full access to as a student and for two years after you graduate. At Manchester you will have access to a number of opportunities to help support you with your goals for the future.

Our programme aims to enable you to become more aware of your developing researcher identity, equipping you with the skills you need during your PhD and prepare you to integrate into the researcher community.

We offer training sessions to build your skills and confidence in writing and presenting, with specific sessions on viva preparation, thesis submission and preparing for your Review Panel.