Students work alongside staff researchers, are supervised by at least two members of academic staff and overseen by divisional research co-ordinators. Students benefit from the extension range of training and support provided both within the institute, with a strong research development programme and throughout King's College London.

Through our educational programmes we equip our students to become experts and apply the latest global evidence and guidance to healthcare.  This is made possible through our education and research programmes and our local, national and global partnerships. Find out more about our international connections.

All students are regularly notified about skills development opportunities through a monthly Postgraduate Research newsletter and are expected to undertake 10 days of training a year. Participation in departmental and Faculty wide programmes is compulsory for all students and provides an opportunity to improve science communication and presentation skills. Presentation of students' research work at national and international research conferences is actively encouraged.

Support for Postgraduate Research Students within the Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care

• A model of three-supervisors has been introduced to improve students’ support and access to clinical and methodological expertise. Where appropriate and required, MPhil/PhD students within the Faculty will be provided with a team of three supervisors.
• Research methods training modules offered by the Faculty itself include Advanced Quantitative Research Methods; Advanced Qualitative Research Methods; Evidence Based Decision Making in Healthcare; Research Methods and Statistics; and Epidemiology.
• Our own Nightingale-Saunders Clinical Trials & Epidemiology Unit offers an advanced level of expertise on quantitative topics of which students can avail.
• In addition, our MPhil/PhD students have access to a wide range of supplementary courses and activities, including workshops, symposia and funding offered by Centre of Doctoral Studies, the Health Sciences Doctoral Training Centre (HSDTC) and the London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (LISS DTP).
• The Faculty also runs three Journal Clubs (for Nursing & Midwifery, Mental Health and the Cecily Saunders Institute of Palliative Care respectively) and students have an opportunity to participate in fortnightly research seminar programmes delivered by one of the research divisions. Students’ active involvement in developing the range of activities and their delivery is strongly encouraged.

Meet our students and learn more about the great work they are doing.

On- and off-campus studying

We understand the diverse needs and backgrounds of our doctoral candidates and some projects offer flexibility for our students to be located both on- or off-campus during their PhD studies (for example, when field work abroad is required). Our approach is designed to support both academic excellence and personal circumstances:

• If the project permits off-campus study, then PhD students are only required to be physically present in London/the UK for a total of six months over the course of their PhD programme.
• These six months do not need to be consecutive, but the scheduling of off campus periods should be agreed upon with the supervisory team and approved by the Associate Dean for Doctoral Studies.
• Off-campus supervisory meetings and some teaching can take place online on university digital platforms, such as Teams.
• For students sponsored under the Student visa route, the expectation remains that the majority of the programme is undertaken in the UK, with any time spent overseas limited to temporary, programme-related activity such as fieldwork.