Skip to main content
KBS_Icon_questionmark link-ico
Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience

Go to…

 

Student placements and visiting schemes

How to apply for student placements and visiting schemes

The PhD and MD(Res) application process is the same for all programmes at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience. Please read the following information and guidance to find out how the process works and what you need to do. 

Please read this page in addition to the What Happens Next webpage.

Please note that applications to studentships may differ - you should read the advert carefully and follow the instructions on the advert. 

Key people to remember

There are a few people involved in the application process. Here we explain who to contact and what they do:

%26lt;ul%26gt;%26lt;li%26gt;Miss Olivia Rees, Education Support Team, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology %26amp; Neuroscience%26lt;/li%26gt; %26lt;li%26gt;Please email %26lt;a href="mailto:olivia.1.rees@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;olivia.1.rees@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/li%26gt; %26lt;li%26gt;Manages all IoPPN PhD and MD(Res) applications and is your key contact prior to making an application, once you have submitted your project approval form and for any other ad hoc queries.%26lt;/li%26gt;%26lt;/ul%26gt;

%26lt;ul%26gt;%26lt;li%26gt;Manages all online applications and is your key contact for any online application queries, English language queries and Visa/CAS queries.%26lt;/li%26gt; %26lt;li%26gt;Prior to application, Admissions can be contacted %26lt;a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/contact-us.aspx"%26gt;here%26lt;/a%26gt;.%26lt;/li%26gt; %26lt;li%26gt;Once you have made an application, you can contact Admissions directly through the messaging function on %26lt;a href="https://apply.kcl.ac.uk/"%26gt;King%26apos;s Apply%26lt;/a%26gt;.%26lt;/li%26gt;%26lt;/ul%26gt;

%26lt;ul%26gt;%26lt;li%26gt;Each department has their own admissions tutor - please see below.%26lt;/li%26gt; %26lt;li%26gt;Assess the online application and interview prospective students. %26lt;/li%26gt; %26lt;li%26gt;Admissions tutors can offer advice and guidance on eligibility, looking for funding and selecting supervisors.%26lt;/li%26gt;%26lt;/ul%26gt; %26lt;table%26gt; %26lt;tbody%26gt; %26lt;tr%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;strong%26gt;Department%26lt;/strong%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;strong%26gt;Name%26lt;/strong%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;strong%26gt;Email%26lt;/strong%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;/tr%26gt; %26lt;tr%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Addictions%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Dr Gail Gilchrist%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;a title="Dr Gail Gilchrist" href="mailto:gail.gilchrist@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;gail.gilchrist@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;/tr%26gt; %26lt;tr%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Biostatistics%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Dr Raquel Iniesta%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;a title="Dr Raquel Iniesta" href="mailto:raquel.iniesta@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;raquel.iniesta@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;/tr%26gt; %26lt;tr%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Child and Adolescent Psychiatry%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Prof Katya Rubia%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;a title="Prof Katya Rubia" href="mailto:katya.rubia@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;katya.rubia@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;/tr%26gt; %26lt;tr%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Basic %26amp; Clinical Neuroscience%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Dr Maria Jimenez-Sanchez and Dr Sarah Mizielinska%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt; %26lt;p%26gt;%26lt;a href="mailto:maria.jimenez_sanchez@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;maria.jimenez_sanchez@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/p%26gt; %26lt;p%26gt;%26lt;a title="Dr Sarah Mizielinska" href="mailto:sarah.mizielinska@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;sarah.mizielinska@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/p%26gt; %26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;/tr%26gt; %26lt;tr%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Forensic %26amp; Neurodevelopmental Science%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Dr Vaheshta Sethna%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;a href="mailto:vaheshta.sethna@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;vaheshta.sethna@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;/tr%26gt; %26lt;tr%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Health Services and Population Research%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Dr Sian Oram%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;a title="Dr Sian Oram" href="mailto:sian.oram@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;sian.oram@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;/tr%26gt; %26lt;tr%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;MD(Res) all departments%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Dr Gareth Owen%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;a title="Dr Gareth Owen" href="mailto:gareth.1.owen@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;gareth.1.owen@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;/tr%26gt; %26lt;tr%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Department of Developmental Neurobiology%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Dr Matthew Grubb%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;a title="mailto:matthew.grubb@kcl.ac.uk" href="mailto:matthew.grubb@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;matthew.grubb@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;/tr%26gt; %26lt;tr%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Neuroimaging%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Dr Po-Wah So%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;a title="Dr Po-Wah So" href="mailto:po-wah.so@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;po-wah.so@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;/tr%26gt; %26lt;tr%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Old Age Psychiatry%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Dr Jayati Das-Munshi%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;a href="mailto:jayati.das-munshi@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;jayati.das-munshi@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;/tr%26gt; %26lt;tr%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Psychological Medicine%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Dr Jayati Das-Munshi%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;a href="mailto:jayati.das-munshi@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;jayati.das-munshi@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;/tr%26gt; %26lt;tr%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Psychology%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Dr Ted Barker%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;a href="mailto:ted.barker@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;ted.barker@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;/tr%26gt; %26lt;tr%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Psychosis%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt; %26lt;p%26gt;Prof Oliver Howes%26lt;/p%26gt; %26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;a title="Prof Oliver Howes" href="mailto:oliver.howes@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;oliver.howes@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;/tr%26gt; %26lt;tr%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt; %26lt;p%26gt;Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry%26lt;/p%26gt; %26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Prof Jonna Kuntsi%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;a href="mailto:jonna.kuntsi@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;jonna.kuntsi@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;/tr%26gt; %26lt;tr%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Wolfson Centre for Age Related Diseases%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;Dr Nicola Hamilton-Whitaker%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;td%26gt;%26lt;a title="Nicola Hamilton-Whitaker" href="mailto:nicola.hamilton-whitaker@kcl.ac.uk"%26gt;nicola.hamilton-whitaker@kcl.ac.uk%26lt;/a%26gt;%26lt;/td%26gt; %26lt;/tr%26gt; %26lt;/tbody%26gt; %26lt;/table%26gt;

 

 

How to Apply

Before you make any application, you need to find 2 academics willing to supervise you. You can look for supervisors by:

  • Searching for academics via our Research Portal. You can search by name, area of interest or key words.
  • Browsing the departmental webpages and contact information.
  • Speaking to the relevant admissions tutor for suitable academics that may be worth approaching
You will need to make sure that your chosen academics meet the supervisor eligibility criteria before they agree to supervise you. When completing your online application, you will also need to provide a letter of support from your supervisors, which should be uploaded as an attachment. Applications without this letter will not be considered. A formal letter (with supervisor signatures) or email confirmation is acceptable.

Make your online application via myApplication. The online application is used by the Health Schools Admissions Centre to assess your eligibility against the general Kings College London criteria. It is also used to check your references and to assess your fee status.
Your application is also considered by the admissions tutor, to assess your eligibility in terms of education and experience in accordance to departmental eligibility guidance.
When choosing which programme to apply for on the admissions portal, you must select the programme that relates to the department that your first supervisor is based in. If you are unsure, please check with either your supervisor the Postgraduate Research Administration Assistant.
It is essential that the following information is provided before a decision can be made in regards to your general eligibility:

  • Two academic references
  • Degree transcripts
  • English Language test certificates (if appropriate)
  • Personal statement and supporting information
  • Letter of support from your supervisors
In the Project Proposal section, write a short description of your proposed work. There is no need to attach your project approval form.
It is worth at this point contacting the Postgraduate Research Administration Assistant to inform them that you will be submitting your project approval form in due course.
Once your application has been received, an acknowledgement email will be sent to you. If you do not meet the basic King's eligibility criteria, you will be contacted by the central Health Schools admissions team. If you are not contacted, you can assume that you are eligible.

We have three intakes a year; the online application and project approval form should be submitted by the following deadlines. Please note that these deadlines are earlier than those shown on King's Apply:th

Registration Date Application and PAF Deadline
1st October%26nbsp; 1st June%26nbsp;
1st February%26nbsp;

1st November*

*Please note that for admission to the

February 2020%26nbsp;intake,%26nbsp;Overseas students

must apply and submit a PAF%26nbsp;by 25th

October 2019.
1st June%26nbsp; 1st March

 

 

Other information

Applicants from outside the UK must satisfy the Kings English Language requirements before an unconditional offer can be made: Candidates should possess an adequate level of English competence. Candidates for whom English is not the first language will be required to provide proof that they possess an adequate level of English competence. The minimum entry requirements can be found on the Admissions webpages. It is possible for a conditional offer to be made after the approval of a project approval form, but we cannot give an unconditional offer before we have confirmation of your English Language. Please bare this in mind when making funding applications and book your English Language tests in plenty of time. In some cases, English Language may be waived, however this is only in exceptional circumstances and requires support from your supervisors, your last place of study and written proof of your English Language competency. For any queries, please contact the Health Schools Admissions Centre. You may also want to have a look at our Academic Preparation Courses which offers courses to non UK citizens.

It may be that you wish to spend some of your time abroad during the course of your PhD, for example, during data collection. If this is the case for you, then you must complete the Off Campus Study Form and submit this to the Postgraduate Research Administration Assistant with your project approval form. This forms asks you to outline when you will be abroad, what you will doing and how you will be supervised during this time. All students are required to spend at least 1 year full-time equivalent at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience during their studies. Usually this includes 6 months at the beginning and 6 months at the end of your studies. For any queries, please contact the Postgraduate Research Administration Assistant.

Please note that Visa applications can take anything from 2 weeks to 2 months to be processed and you will need an unconditional offer to go with your visa application. Please bear this in mind when applying for a PhD or MD(Res).

The application process differs slightly when you are applying for a studentship. You will still need to make an online application (unless otherwise stated in the advert) but it is likely that a project approval form would have already been completed by the supervisors. If you are successful, all you will need to do is sign the project approval form to confirm you are happy with the project. When applying for a studentship, make sure you follow the studentship advert carefully, so you apply to the correct department and with the correct funding code. You do not need to complete the Project Proposal section of the application, other than making a note of which studentship/project you are applying to. For more information and for a list of our current opportunities, please see our studentship webpage.

 

 

What Happens Next

We know the application procedure for research degrees can be a little confusing, so here we break down what happens once you have made your application, right the way through to your first day at the IoPPN:

I have submitted my application, what happens next?

Your online application is assessed by the Health Schools Admissions Team against the King's eligibility criteria. If you meet the standard required, they notify the relevant departmental admissions tutor. If you meet the criteria, the next person to contact you should be the admissions tutor. If you do not meet the criteria, the admissions team will notify you.

The admissions tutor will assess your online application and if they think you have the relevant experience and qualifications to study for a PhD or MD(Res), they will contact you to arrange an interview. Even if you have already been interviewed by your supervisors, it is likely that the admissions tutor will want to meet with you. Interviews differ between departments in terms of format and interviewers so any specific questions should be directed to the admissions tutor. We aim for admissions tutors to interview applicants approximately 2-4 weeks after the online application is made. If you have not heard from anyone 6 weeks after making your application, please contact the Postgraduate Research Administration Assistant. Please see the application pages for contact details of all admissions tutors.

After you have been interviewed, the admissions tutor will make a recommendation to either accept or reject the application. If your application is rejected at this stage, you will be notified by the Health Schools Admissions Team. If you are successful at interview, your project approval form will now be reviewed. In some departments, the project approval form is reviewed in conjunction with the organisation of the interview and you may discuss your project form at the interview. Any comments or requests for amendments will usually come to you via the Postgraduate Research Administration Assistant and you should amend your project form and return to the Administration Assistant for further review as soon as possible. The review process can take anything from 2 days - 6 weeks, depending on the nature of the research project and the availability of suitable academics to review the project.

Only once your project approval form has been approved by the Chair of the relevant progress sub-committee and the Head of Department, can an unconditional offer of a place be made. You will be notified by email to check your online application, where you will then be able to view and download your offer letter. You will also be sent a hard copy of the offer letter through the post.

 

 

 

 

Non UK students

Once you have been given an unconditional offer, the admissions team will process a CAS number for you to make a visa application. This CAS number will be stored in your application area of myApplication, but you should also receive an email notifying you of this. Please be aware that visa applications can take anything from 2 days to 4 weeks to process, on average. It is therefore important that you complete your application in plenty of time, so that you are able to attend the enrolment, registration and induction events. You can contact the admissions team at any time to check on the progress of your CAS number. If you have any problems with your Visa application, please let the Postgraduate Research Administration Assistant know as soon as possible.

There are a number of accommodation options for Postgraduate students, whether it be a King's residence, intercollegiate halls or private residences. There are no King's residence halls on the Denmark Hill campus, but all campus' are a bus ride away from each other. For more information on accommodation options and help in finding something suitable, whether that be for you alone or for you and your family, please see the Kings Accommodation webpages.

 

Queries

For any queries on enrolment or registration, please contact the Postgraduate Research Officer.
For any queries on the Institute induction events, please contact the Postgraduate Research Administrator.

 

 

Study at King’s

Sign up for further information

Receive email updates about our courses, events, fees and funding, studying in London, how to apply and more.

Sign up