The heart of your application is your research proposal. This proposal should be a document of no more than 4-5 pages. Applicants should also submit a personal statement outlining their reasons for pursuing further research.
We encourage you to contact the African Leadership Centre with a draft research proposal before submitting a complete application through the online system. Find out more about our research interests and ensure your research topic falls within one of these areas. Our research interests include:
Professor Funmi Olonisakin:
• Discourses on the 'edge' of global security
• Transnational security complexes
• Gender and security
• The leadership role of regional organisations and the United Nations in sustaining peace
• Reframing narratives of peace and state building in Africa
Professor Abiodun Alao:
• Emerging powers and global leadership
• The politics of natural resources management
• Religious radicalisation and political violence
• Politics, security and international relations in Africa
Dr Eka Ikpe:
• Developmental states
• Development planning
• Agriculture, mineral resources and industrialisation in development processes
• Regionalism and economic development
• The United Nations/ regional organisations and peacebuilding
• Women, peace and security
• Security sector governance, reform and transformation
Dr Olaf Bachmann:
• African standby force
• Civil–military relations in francophone Africa
• The African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA)
• State-building in Central Africa
Joint PhD: application advice
Applicants for the Joint PhD programme must contact the relevant departments at both universities before submitting an application in order to discuss the suitability of their topic for the joint programme and to locate potential supervisors. Applications should initially be submitted to the proposed home institution only (i.e. where the student will start and finish their programme). Students should note that acceptance into the programme may take slightly longer than for single-institution PhDs because of the additional steps involved. Further details, including FAQs, can be found on the King’s Worldwide web pages.
Applicants who choose King’s as their home institution should apply through the online system, selecting the appropriate joint PhD option from the drop-down list. In addition to the standard supporting documentation, applicants should submit a Travel Plan form indicating how they intend to divide their time between the two partner institutions. Students must spend a specified amount of time in each institution, details of which can be found in the ‘Notes’ section of the Travel Plan form.
It is recommended that students submit applications for the Joint PhD programme by the end of March to begin the following September.
There is also the opportunity to undertake a joint PhD in Leadership and Security Studies with the University of Pretoria. This programme is awarded jointly by King’s College London and the University of Pretoria, and brings together expertise from both institutions in Leadership and Security studies to offer students a rich international research educational experience.
There is a current 'Call for Expressions of Interest' with deadline 23:59 (GMT) 31 July 2019. All relevant information can be found here.
We recommend that you submit your application as soon as possible as we may need to request further information from you to assess your application. This is also important if your application is successful and you are required to meet any offer condition, and/or you need a Student Visa to study here at King's.
The final application deadlines are detailed below; on these dates, the programme will close at 23:59 (UK time) and we will open for the corresponding intake in 2023 soon after the same intake has passed in 2022.
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February 2022 entry – 12 November 2021 for Overseas fee status and 6 December 2021 for Home fee status
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October 2022 entry – 29 July 2022 for Overseas fee status and 26 August 2022 for Home fee status
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February 2023 entry – 21 October 2022 for Overseas fee status and 22 November 2022 for Home fee status
Please note that funding deadlines may be earlier than the application deadlines listed above.