Applicants should normally hold a Masters degree from a UK university (or the equivalent) in addition to a minimum of a 2.1 undergraduate Honours degree (or the equivalent). International applicants whose first language is not English are required either to have completed a degree where the main language of instruction was English or to achieve a score of at least 6.5 overall with no band lower than 6.0 in IELTS (or the equivalent), with a score of at least 6.5 in writing. Further information for international students wishing to apply is available from the University International Office.
Before applying to undertake MPhil/PhD studies in SPAIS, prospective students should explore whether their proposed field of research is a 'good fit' with the SPAIS research areas and individual staff interests. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Dr Brad West or Dr Torsten Michel, who are the academic coordinators of MPhil/PhD admissions for SPAIS.
Dr Brad West (Sociology)
Office: 3G2, 12 Woodland Road
Dr Torsten Michel (Politics, International Relations, and East Asian Studies)
Office: 3.03, 34 Tyndalls Park Road
Postal address:
School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies,
4 Priory Road,
Clifton,
Bristol.
BS8 1TY
Tel: +44 (0) 117 954 5594
E-mail: spais-phdenquiries@bristol.ac.uk
Your completed application should contain:
Applications will be processed on a rolling basis as soon as we have received all required documents. For applicants who wish to commence their studies in September a complete application should be submitted no later than 1 August (or the first working day thereafter). Applicants aiming at January entry should submit a completed application by 1 November (or the first working day thereafter). Separate deadlines apply for funding applications (for full details please see the section on 'Fees and Funding for PhD/MPhil students'). Please note that your application is not considered complete until all of the above has been received. Once we have all the required application materials, we will make a decision and notify you informally whether we plan to offer you a place. Please note that only the Faculty Administrator, on behalf of the Graduate Dean of the Faculty, makes formal offers of admission.
You can access the online application and referee forms here.
Applicants wishing to apply for SWDTC ESRC-funding should apply online by selecting the relevant MPhil/PhD programme (Politics, Sociology or the relevant interdisciplinary pathway) and not the MSc Social Science Research Methods. This ensures that a research proposal is included in your application and we are able to consider whether we can offer suitable supervision. You should then indicate under the 'Research Details' section that you are applying in response to a specific studentship advert, and in the free text box should indicate ESRC-funded 1+3 programme (or +3, if relevant). All 1+3 and +3 offer holders who have indicated they would like to be considered for funding will be contacted by email with details and further guidance (this only applies to offer holders, not applicants in general).
If you are unable to apply online we will also accept paper applications
The criteria for assessing the research proposal include the following:
The criteria we use to assess applications and to decide whether or not to make a offer of a place include:
There is no formal interview process, but the School welcomes you to arrange a visit to see the Director of MPhil / PhD research, the Director of postgraduate admissions, and your potential supervisors if you wish.
If you are admitted, we strongly recommend that you do visit the School and meet with your proposed supervisors and the Director of MPhil and PhD Programmes prior to commencing study.