Doctor of PhilosophyMPhil / Phd

You will be required to have:

• a good honours degree from a UK university or equivalent (first or upper-second class), although applicants will usually tend to have obtained a master's degree before entry

Candidates with other qualifications are considered on their merits.

As a part of the application process, you are required to submit a research proposal outlining how you intend to investigate your topic of interest. In the proposal, you will need to clearly state your research questions, aims and objectives, as well as your review of the literature on the topic and the corresponding research design. The document needs to specify what your original contribution to the knowledge will be. You can find more information about the structure and content of the research proposal. Please note that your application cannot be processed without the proposal and you will be able to upload it, once you click 'Apply now' and start the application process.

The University only offers supervision to candidates if there is adequate available supervisory expertise in the area of the research project.

Accreditation of Prior Learning

Any university-level qualifications or relevant experience you gain prior to starting university could count towards your course at London Met. Find out more about applying for Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL).

English language requirements

To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Student visa (previously Tier 4) you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. This course requires you to meet our standard requirements.

If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require.

To obtain a PhD, you're expected to identify a research gap in your chosen subject area and make an original contribution to knowledge.

During the course of the research, your work is assessed annually by a Research Student Progress Group. This ensures that good progress is being made and that adequate guidance is available.

The degree Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is awarded by the University after the successful presentation of a thesis based on an original piece of research, completed under the supervision of University staff, and the successful defence of the thesis at an oral examination.

Many people with an PhD become lecturers, teachers or researchers, but these are by no means the only destinations.

Depending on your discipline, you may go into industry (this is frequently the case for graduates in biological or computer science), the City (business and law graduates), public sector management and/or policy-making (social science and business graduates), international governmental organisations (social science and business graduates), the social professions or non-governmental organisations.

Many of our graduates are mid-career and use their degree for career enhancement in areas such as social services, education, counselling, health and social care, or diplomacy.

If you've already studied your undergraduate degree with us, as a graduate of London Met, you'll be entitled to a 20% discount on any further study with us.
* exclusions apply

There is a distance learning option available. 

The University will award the degrees of Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) to registered students who successfully complete approved programmes. All proposed research programmes will be considered for research degree registration on their academic merits.

A PhD by prior output allows students who don't have traditional qualifications but have produced research and developed their knowledge to a doctoral level to gain academic recognition.

The publications of the student must be accessible to scholars or other interested persons. The work submitted must have been subjected to peer review by the relevant academic community and also provide evidence of an independent, original and significant contribution to knowledge and critical judgement. All work should have been published in the last 10 years and be traceable in publicly available databases, catalogues etc.

Programmes of research may be proposed in any field of study, as long as the proposed programme is capable of leading to scholarly research. The written thesis may be supplemented by material other than written form, if special provision has been made and agreed.

Research students at London Met can work towards a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). To obtain a PhD you’re expected to investigate a topic and make an original contribution to knowledge. At MPhil level, your research should represent an extension of existing knowledge, although the demands of originality and sustained enquiry are less than those required for a PhD.

Please note, in addition to the tuition fee there may be additional costs for things like equipment, materials, printing, textbooks, trips, fieldwork, specialist conferences or professional body fees.

Additionally, there may be other activities that are not formally part of your course and not required to complete your course, but which you may find helpful (for example, optional field trips). The costs of these are additional to your tuition fee and the fees set out above and will be notified when the activity is being arranged.