MPhil/PhD at Kings
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The Department is proud of its thriving community of research students. A recent HEFCE study found that King's College London is the most the most successful university in Britain in terms of PhD completion rate. The Department of War Studies is recognised by the British Academy, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council.
More than 100 students are currently undertaking doctoral research. Every year about 30 new students join the programme. They work under the supervision of faculty members from the Department of War Studies and also from the Department of Defence Studies. The Department is especially interested in receiving applications from students planning their research
projects in fields that will enhance the strength of the Department’s research groups, programmes and centres and assumes that normally research students will be attached to one or more of these, and that in all cases will enhance research culture and contribute to the War Studies research strategy.
More than 100 students are currently undertaking doctoral research. Every year about 30 new students join the programme. They work under the supervision of faculty members from the Department of War Studies and also from the Department of Defence Studies. The Department is especially interested in receiving applications from students planning their research
projects in fields that will enhance the strength of the Department’s research groups, programmes and centres and assumes that normally research students will be attached to one or more of these, and that in all cases will enhance research culture and contribute to the War Studies research strategy.
MPhil structure
- Students who move on from the MRes Degree, or who join the Department having taken an MA or MRes at another University will initially be registered as MPhil candidates.
- An MPhil involves a dissertation of 60,000 words, a minimum of 2 years registration and a maximum of 3 (4 years for part time students).
- The MPhil can be a stand alone degree or students can seek to upgrade to PhD after their first year (second year for part time students).
- Students are expected to submit their 100,000 word PhD thesis after three years of full-time registration.
- A thesis for the MPhil degree should be based either on original archival work or on an ordered and critical exposition of existing knowledge in any field covered in the Department. There should be evidence that the field has been surveyed thoroughly.
PhD structure
- The upgrade to a PhD degree from an MPhil is not automatic in the Department.
- Students who wish to be considered for the PhD go through a formal upgrade. This is to ensure that all students have an appropriate research subject which can be completed within the allotted timescale.
- A PhD involves a thesis of 100,000 words and normally a minimum three-year registration and a maximum of four years (four to seven years for part time students).
- A thesis for the PhD degree must form a distinct contribution to knowledge of the subject and afford evidence of originality shown by the discovery of new facts and/or by the exercise of independent critical thought.