War Studies Research MPhil / PhD, option of joint PhD with HKU/NUS

Overview

The Department is proud of its thriving community of research students. A recent HEFCE study found that King's College London is 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.

Nearly 200 students are currently undertaking doctoral research. Every year, about 60 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.

During the first year of study it is College policy that both full and part time students will have their progress reviewed within 3 months of initial registration and again after a period of nine months registration. Thereafter, the progress of all students will be reviewed at every six months. A comprehensive programme of individual research training is offered to ensure that students develop the skills necessary to complete their research programme and fulfil their career goals. In Year one, students will draw up a programme of research training and personal development in consultation with their supervisors. Ongoing research training needs are assessed in years two and three. The department offer additional training as required.

Students receive support from their supervisors in the following areas relating to their PhD:

Structure & Plan
Direction & Training
Monitoring
Advice & Guidance
Support & Encouragement
Pastoral Responsibility
Future career guidance

Information is current, but staff members can change.

Key information

Duration Expected to be: MPhil, two years FT, four years PT; PhD. three years FT, six years PT.

Study mode Distance Learning, Full-time, Part-time

Further details

Awarding institution King's College London/King's and HKU/NUS for joint programme

Faculty Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy

Department Department of War Studies

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Course detail

Description

A comprehensive programme of individual research training is offered to ensure that students develop the skills necessary to complete their research programme and fulfil their career goals. In year one, students will draw up a programme of research training and personal development in consultation with their supervisors. Ongoing research training needs are assessed in years two and three. The department offer additional training as required.

All MPhil/PhD candidates undertake a tailored programme of research training and development through all three years of the programme. 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, centres and programmes. Details of these can be found on the War Studies website, www.kcl.ac.uk/warstudies. The department assumes that normally research students will be attached to one or more of these and that in all cases will enhance research culture and be consistent with the War Studies research strategy. In addition to the staff listed, there are academic staff for research supervision based at the Defence Studies Department (DSD) at the Joint Services Command and Staff College. For a full staff list and their research interests please access the DSD website at www.kcl.ac.uk/dsd

Joint PhD programme
Exciting opportunities are now available to undertake a joint PhD programme either with the National University of Singapore or Hong Kong University. The joint programme will foster links across a range of subject areas including: history of warfare, international relations, strategic studies, counterinsurgency warfare, post-conflict reconstruction and development, intelligence studies, conflict peace and development, and war and psychiatry.

Research degrees by blended distance learning

War Studies also offers a distance learning War Studies MPhil/PhD programme. This pathway is intended for well qualified students whose professional commitments prevent their fulfilling the normal residency requirement of the MPhil/PhD programme at King’s. Supervision will normally be at a distance, and students will be expected to participate in the six-monthly formal progress reviews which manage study on the programme. The programme will be supported by the online learning resources of the Doctoral Training Programme. If it is necessary to support a student's progress he/she may also audit modules from the War Studies Online MA programmes.

Attendance

It is expected that most students will study the distance learning programme on a part-time basis. Minimum attendance requirements on this pathway require the student to attend in London at three key points:

Enrolment and Induction (late September or mid-January, depending on start date). All students must enrol (register) in person at the start of their course, and attend the programme induction. This is a good opportunity to meet other students on your course and to arrange a meeting with your supervisor.
Formal upgrade from MPhil to PhD status (after around two years part-time registration or one year of full-time). As with other PhD programmes within in the department, 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.
Final Examination for the degree (at the end of your course). Students are also encouraged and expected to participate in the academic activity of the department as their other commitments allow, although there is no formal period of residency required to gain the degree.

Most facilities on campus for postgraduate research students remain at the disposal of distance-learning students visiting London, and beyond the formal attendance requirements of the programme set out above students are welcome to visit King's and engage personally with supervisors and other research students as often as their schedule permits (international students should note the student visa information below for requirements of their visits to London).

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must meet the same academic entry requirements as for the standard MPhil/PhD programme. Further to those requirements, please note that the Blended Distance Learning option is intended for mid-career professionals whose work commitments prevent them from fulfilling the normal residency requirement of the MPhil/PhD programme at King’s. Students will usually be working in an area relevant to this area of study, and be based outside of the UK. As this is a distance learning programme requiring only short visits to the UK, many of our students need to enter the UK as a ‘Student Visitor’. Find out about VISA requirements

Course study environment

MPhil/PhD students are allocated a primary and secondary supervisor. Research students have access to a small workspace in the Department of War Studies, this workspace contains PCs with internet connections and printers. Students have access to the collections in the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives and at IISS, RUSI, Chatham House, and RCDS. There is a programme of research training workshop attended by years one to three. Students organise occasional informal research colloquiums and there are frequent departmental public lectures and seminars.

Postgraduate training

The following research training is offered to ensure that students develop the skills necessary to complete their research programme and fulfil their career goals. In Year one, students will draw up a programme of research training and personal development in consultation with their supervisors. Ongoing research training needs are assessed in years two and three. The department offer additional training as required.

Head of group/division

Dr Frank Foley

Contact for information

Admissions Office: tel: +44 (0) 20 7848 7000

Contact email

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/enquiry-form.aspx

Course website

Find out more by visiting the course website

Entry requirements

War Studies Research Entry Requirements
Minimum UK requirements		A Master's degree with high merit, and a 2.1 honours degree at the bachelor's level. It is not essential to have taken courses in this field at postgraduate level but we advise students to consider taking our MA or a similar course elsewhere before undertaking research work in the Department of War Studies. Extensive practical experience in the relevant field (e.g. military, diplomatic, journalistic, humanitarian or developmental) may be taken into account when evaluating an application.
International requirements		Visit our admissions webpages to view our International entry requirements.
English Language requirements	Band B	Visit our admissions webpages to view our English language entry requirements.

Application procedure

A College online application form must be completed along with two academic references and copies of supporting documents. Applications should include a research proposal, outlining the intended area of research. Guidelines for applicants (including guidance about how to write a research proposal) are available on the department's website. Admission requires a supervisor willing to oversee your research. All applicants are urged to familiarise themselves with our faculty - names and specialisations are accessible on the department website - and contact possible supervisors. Do not apply until you have found a faculty member willing to supervise your research.

Personal statement and supporting information

Please include the name of your proposed supervisor at King's. To identify a supervisor please see: https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/

You will be asked to submit the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

War Studies Research checklist
Personal Statement	Yes	A personal statement is required. This can be entered directly into the online application form (maximum 4,000 characters) or uploaded as an attachment to the online application form (maximum 2 pages).
Research Proposal	Yes	The proposal should explain in some detail precisely the field of study that you want to contribute to and current research gaps, what you want to do and how you propose to do it. For advice on how to write a winning application, please visit the following page.
Previous Academic Study	Yes	A copy (or copies) of your official academic transcript(s), showing the subjects studied and marks obtained. If you have already completed your degree, copies of your official degree certificate will also be required. Applicants with academic documents issued in a language other than English, will need to submit both the original and official translation of their documents.
References	Yes	One academic reference is required. A professional reference will be accepted if you have completed your qualifications over five years ago.
Writing Sample	Yes	Please include a sample of your previous written work (typically, your MA dissertation) as part of your application.
Travel Plan	Yes (Joint programme only)	If applying for the joint programme, please include the names of your supervisors from both institutions and include a completed travel plan form.
Other	Optional	You may also wish to include a CV (Resume) or evidence of professional registration as part of your application

Course intake

Varies.

Joint PhDs - 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, ie where the student will start and finish their programme. Students should note that acceptance onto 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.

Application closing date

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.

February 2022 entry – 12 November 2021 for Overseas fee status and 6 December 2021 for Home fee status
October 2022 entry – 29 July 2022 for Overseas fee status and 26 August 2022 for Home fee status
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.

Help and support

If you don't have a suitable qualification for direct entry to a UK university, or if English isn't your first language, our academic preparation courses can help you get ready for study in the UK.

International Foundation

Fees and funding

UK Tuition Fees 2021/22

Full time tuition fees:

£5,820 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies)

£5,820 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies via Distance Learning)

£5,820 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies with National University of Singapore or University of Hong Kong)

Part time tuition fees:

£2,910 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies)

£2,910 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies via Distance Learning)

£2,910 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies with National University of Singapore)

International Tuition Fees 2021/22

Full time tuition fees:

£21,870 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies)

£21,870 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies via Distance Learning)

£21,870 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies with National University of Singapore or University of Hong Kong)

Part time tuition fees:

£10,935 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies)

£10,935 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies via Distance Learning)

£10,935 per year (MPhil/PhD War Studies with National University of Singapore)

UK Tuition Fees 2022/23

Full time tuition fees:

£6,120 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies)

£6,120 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies via Distance Learning)

£6,120 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies with National University of Singapore or University of Hong Kong)

Part time tuition fees:

£3,060 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies)

£3,060 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies via Distance Learning)

£3,060 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies with National University of Singapore)

International Tuition Fees 2022/23

Full time tuition fees:

£22,980 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies)

£22,980 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies via Distance Learning)

£22,980 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies with National University of Singapore or University of Hong Kong)

Part time tuition fees:

£11,490 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies)

£11,490 per year (MPhil/PhD, War Studies via Distance Learning)

£11,490 per year (MPhil/PhD War Studies with National University of Singapore)

EU Students starting their programme in the academic year 2021/22 will pay international tuition fees.

These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King's terms and conditions.

Financial help and support

Visit the fees and funding webpages to find out more about bursaries, scholarships, grants, tuition fees, living expenses, student loans and other financial help available at King's.

Testimonials

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