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Key information
Award:
MPhil
PhD
Study mode:
Full time
Part time
Campus:
Waterloo Campus
Duration:
2-4 years FT, 6-7 years PT. There are two entry points for the programme each academic year in October and February
Overview
The Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) welcomes applications for the PhD in Interdisciplinary Policy Studies. The MPhil/PhD programme offers you the chance to undertake a critical piece of research that is worthy of publication and which makes an original contribution to interdisciplinary social science and policy studies.
The Centre is housed in the School of Education, Communication and Society (ECS) at King’s College London. The School offers rigorous research training and supervision on a wide range of social science and policy topics centred around social justice and social transformation, including: race and racism; labour and work; gender and sexuality; migration and borders; education; inequality and class; social movements; and distributive, environmental and epistemic justice. There is a particular emphasis on interdisciplinary and critical perspectives with staff and students working in and across a range of disciplines.
Interdisciplinary Policy Studies doctoral students are members of and supervised by academic staff in the Centre for Public Policy Research. We recommend that prospective students read through the CPPR webpages to find their preferred area of research and potential supervisors.
Course Detail
The PhD in Interdisciplinary Policy Studies aims to foster your scholarly and career interests and to prepare you for the world of academic research and policy work. The programme is interdisciplinary and focuses on questions of social justice and social transformation. Students are invited to draw on a range of social science and humanities perspectives and methodologies including sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, history and applied philosophy as well as participatory, creative and arts-based methodologies.
The programme is designed for students who are interested in approaches to social and policy analysis that are both critical and problem-solving. Our interest in and interpretation of policy is rooted in a conception of policy as felt, made and remade in everyday life; that is, as co-constitutive of social worlds, subjectivities and identities. Our research illuminates social and policy processes and effects in a range of global and local contexts.
Current and former PhD students have worked on topics as diverse as gendered and intersectional approaches to humanitarianism; the visual politics of whiteness; the creation of queer communities through voluntary work; radical democratic approaches to pedagogy; the lived experience of intersex people; the care practices of adult nurses; the relationship between Blackness and emotions; social determinants of health for medical professionalism; the role of young people in government policy making and the implications of the social determinants of health for medical professionalism.
Head of group/division
Professor Sharon Gewirtz and Professor John Owens
1. Application Procedure
First identify a potential supervisor who will be able to support the application, by searching our Research Centre pages. You will need to complete a case for support, the specific nature of this will vary according to the supervisor.
After you have applied
Your application will be considered carefully. Applicants may be invited for an interview (either in person or via phone/skype). We try to process all applications within six weeks of the receipt of a completed application form.
We strongly encourage you to apply well in advance of the time when you would like to begin your study. Starting an MPhil/PhD can involve a lot of organisation, arranging accommodation, financial support etc.
For more guidance see our Application FAQs.
2. Personal statement and supporting information
You will be asked to submit the following documents in order for your application to be considered:
| Interdisciplinary Policy Studies 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 |
This requires a research proposal of about 1,000 words covering the research aims or questions, the theoretical background to the proposed research and its relationship to previous work in the relevant field(s), the significance of the proposed research, the likely methodological approach and why it is appropriate to the aims of the project, the timescale of the project, and how your proposed research complements your previous experience and anticipates possible future research work. |
| 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 |
This would usually be an extended piece of writing such as a dissertation/thesis from masters or undergraduate study, or perhaps a research paper if you have been involved in more recent research (and you are the sole author). The writing sample should be in English. |
| Other | Optional |
You may also wish to include a CV (Resume) or evidence of professional registration as part of your application. |
3. Course Intake
No set number.
4. Application Closing Date
We encourage you to apply as early as possible so that there is sufficient time for your application to be assessed. We may need to request further information from you during the application process.
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 2025 soon after the same intake has passed in 2024.
- February 2024 entry – 20 October 2023 for Overseas fee status and 20 November 2023 for Home fee status
- October 2024 entry – 26 July 2024 for Overseas fee status and 26 August 2024 for Home fee status
- February 2025 entry – 20 October 2024 for Overseas fee status and 20 November 2024 for Home fee status
Please note that funding deadlines may be earlier than the application deadlines listed above.
UK Tuition Fees 2024/25
Full time tuition fees: £6,936 per year
Part time tuition fees: £3,468 per year
International Tuition Fees 2024/25
Full time tuition fees: £26,070 per year
Part time tuition fees: £13,035 per year
UK Tuition Fees 2025/26
Full time tuition fees: £7,500 per year
Part time tuition fees: £3,750 per year
International Tuition Fees 2025/26
Full time tuition fees: £28,000 per year
Part time tuition fees: £14,000 per year
These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King's terms and conditions.
Base campus
Waterloo Campus
Waterloo campus is home of the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery and facilities for other faculties
Study Environment
The School is located on the Waterloo Campus right in the heart of London, next to London's South Bank Centre which includes the British Film Institute (BFI), Hayward Gallery, and the National Theatre. The Waterloo campus is home to the Franklin Wilkins library, with the Strand campus and the Maughan Library only a short walk away across the river.
The School offers a supportive, lively and outward-looking intellectual environment. There are plenty of opportunities for informal interaction and designated study rooms for doctoral students. As part of the Faculty of Public Policy and Social Sciences, students also have the opportunity to build ties across the social sciences and humanities, as well as active cross-institutional links.
Postgraduate Training
Our extensive research training for MPhil/PhD students consists of an initial foundation programme which covers different approaches in the social sciences. It gives you a firm grounding in key social science theories and methodologies and invites students to grapple with experimental and innovative epistemologies. There is a strong focus on critical, feminist, queer, materialist, postcolonial and anti-racist theories as well as participatory, creative and engaged methodologies in CPPR. Graduate students and faculty discuss these in regular Theory and Methods seminars.
Student Destinations
The degree provides a good grounding for an academic career, as well as personal enrichment and career enhancement opportunities for students already working in, or interested in moving into, a wide range of policy-related fields, e.g. health, social care, education and the arts.
UK requirements
|
A minimum 2:1 first degree, in addition to a Masters degree with at least a high Merit showing evidence of capacity to work at distinction level. Applicants will also need to provide a piece of independently produced academic work (e.g. a Master’s essay/dissertation or published or unpublished paper) that has been assessed by the supervisor and admissions tutor as showing potential for doctoral level work. Note: An approved professional qualification and extensive practical experience in the relevant field may be taken into account when evaluating an application. |
Equivalent International qualifications
English language requirements
English language band:
B
To study at King's, it is essential that you can communicate in English effectively in an academic environment. You are usually required to provide certification of your competence in English before starting your studies.
Nationals of majority English speaking countries (as defined by the UKVI) who have permanently resided in this country are not usually required to complete an additional English language test. This is also the case for applicants who have successfully completed an undergraduate degree (of at least three years duration), a postgraduate taught degree (of at least one year), or a PhD in a majority English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI) within five years of the course start date.
For information on our English language requirements and whether you need to complete an English language test, please see our English Language requirements page.
1. Application Procedure
First identify a potential supervisor who will be able to support the application, by searching our Research Centre pages. You will need to complete a case for support, the specific nature of this will vary according to the supervisor.
After you have applied
Your application will be considered carefully. Applicants may be invited for an interview (either in person or via phone/skype). We try to process all applications within six weeks of the receipt of a completed application form.
We strongly encourage you to apply well in advance of the time when you would like to begin your study. Starting an MPhil/PhD can involve a lot of organisation, arranging accommodation, financial support etc.
For more guidance see our Application FAQs.
2. Personal statement and supporting information
You will be asked to submit the following documents in order for your application to be considered:
| Interdisciplinary Policy Studies 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 |
This requires a research proposal of about 1,000 words covering the research aims or questions, the theoretical background to the proposed research and its relationship to previous work in the relevant field(s), the significance of the proposed research, the likely methodological approach and why it is appropriate to the aims of the project, the timescale of the project, and how your proposed research complements your previous experience and anticipates possible future research work. |
| 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 |
This would usually be an extended piece of writing such as a dissertation/thesis from masters or undergraduate study, or perhaps a research paper if you have been involved in more recent research (and you are the sole author). The writing sample should be in English. |
| Other | Optional |
You may also wish to include a CV (Resume) or evidence of professional registration as part of your application. |
3. Course Intake
No set number.
4. Application Closing Date
We encourage you to apply as early as possible so that there is sufficient time for your application to be assessed. We may need to request further information from you during the application process.
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 2025 soon after the same intake has passed in 2024.
- February 2024 entry – 20 October 2023 for Overseas fee status and 20 November 2023 for Home fee status
- October 2024 entry – 26 July 2024 for Overseas fee status and 26 August 2024 for Home fee status
- February 2025 entry – 20 October 2024 for Overseas fee status and 20 November 2024 for Home fee status
Please note that funding deadlines may be earlier than the application deadlines listed above.
UK Tuition Fees 2024/25
Full time tuition fees: £6,936 per year
Part time tuition fees: £3,468 per year
International Tuition Fees 2024/25
Full time tuition fees: £26,070 per year
Part time tuition fees: £13,035 per year
UK Tuition Fees 2025/26
Full time tuition fees: £7,500 per year
Part time tuition fees: £3,750 per year
International Tuition Fees 2025/26
Full time tuition fees: £28,000 per year
Part time tuition fees: £14,000 per year
These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King's terms and conditions.
Base campus
Waterloo Campus
Waterloo campus is home of the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery and facilities for other faculties
Study Environment
The School is located on the Waterloo Campus right in the heart of London, next to London's South Bank Centre which includes the British Film Institute (BFI), Hayward Gallery, and the National Theatre. The Waterloo campus is home to the Franklin Wilkins library, with the Strand campus and the Maughan Library only a short walk away across the river.
The School offers a supportive, lively and outward-looking intellectual environment. There are plenty of opportunities for informal interaction and designated study rooms for doctoral students. As part of the Faculty of Public Policy and Social Sciences, students also have the opportunity to build ties across the social sciences and humanities, as well as active cross-institutional links.
Postgraduate Training
Our extensive research training for MPhil/PhD students consists of an initial foundation programme which covers different approaches in the social sciences. It gives you a firm grounding in key social science theories and methodologies and invites students to grapple with experimental and innovative epistemologies. There is a strong focus on critical, feminist, queer, materialist, postcolonial and anti-racist theories as well as participatory, creative and engaged methodologies in CPPR. Graduate students and faculty discuss these in regular Theory and Methods seminars.
Student Destinations
The degree provides a good grounding for an academic career, as well as personal enrichment and career enhancement opportunities for students already working in, or interested in moving into, a wide range of policy-related fields, e.g. health, social care, education and the arts.
UK requirements
|
A minimum 2:1 first degree, in addition to a Masters degree with at least a high Merit showing evidence of capacity to work at distinction level. Applicants will also need to provide a piece of independently produced academic work (e.g. a Master’s essay/dissertation or published or unpublished paper) that has been assessed by the supervisor and admissions tutor as showing potential for doctoral level work. Note: An approved professional qualification and extensive practical experience in the relevant field may be taken into account when evaluating an application. |
Equivalent International qualifications
English language requirements
English language band:
B
To study at King's, it is essential that you can communicate in English effectively in an academic environment. You are usually required to provide certification of your competence in English before starting your studies.
Nationals of majority English speaking countries (as defined by the UKVI) who have permanently resided in this country are not usually required to complete an additional English language test. This is also the case for applicants who have successfully completed an undergraduate degree (of at least three years duration), a postgraduate taught degree (of at least one year), or a PhD in a majority English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI) within five years of the course start date.
For information on our English language requirements and whether you need to complete an English language test, please see our English Language requirements page.
Key information
Award:
MPhil
PhD
Study mode:
Full time
Part time
Campus:
Waterloo Campus
Duration:
2-4 years FT, 6-7 years PT. There are two entry points for the programme each academic year in October and February
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