MPhil/PhD research degrees

The CRMEP has a research degree community of 30 PhD students of whom about one quarter study part-time. Research students are encouraged to attend regular research seminars, and to participate in student-led reading groups that take place each year. Students are welcome to attend classes, events or courses in other Kingston programmes in Kingston School of Art.

Structure

Research degrees (full-time or part-time) mainly involve independent study and preparation of a dissertation. In the case of a PhD, the dissertation should qualify as an independent and original contribution to scholarship, in principle worthy of publication in either complete or abridged form. A PhD dissertation should run to around 80,000 words (maximum), and normally takes three to four years of full-time study to complete, or around six years part-time. An MPhil thesis is normally around half the length of a PhD thesis, and is less bound by the criteria of originality.

Research students prepare their dissertations under the supervision of a Director of Studies, with the additional support of a second supervisor. The emphasis in the first year is usually on background reading and further development of the research proposal. After the first year, supervision meetings usually begin with discussion of a piece of the student's written work, e.g. a draft or partial draft of a dissertation chapter.

There are no taught components for the PhD or MPhil programmes, though new research students are encouraged (and often required) to sit in on MA modules which might be relevant to their projects. All students are required to attend a number of research skills workshops, normally in their first year of enrolment.

At the end of each academic year, in late May or early June, all research students in CRMEP are required to attend a collective annual review, to discuss the development of their work over the course of the year.

Find out more

Deadlines for applications

  • Applications to start in October 2024 open on 1 November 2023.
  • Non-UK students are recommended to apply by the end of January 2024.
  • AHRC TECHNE Consortium PhD funding has a KU deadline for Philosophy in late November each year. Draft research proposals should be sent to the prospective supervisor along with the Philosophy research coordinator (Professor Peter Osborne) by 6 November 2023.
  • Other UK applications have a 'first' deadline of 1 March 2024.
  • If any places remain available, the deadline for further applications is the end of May each year.

CRMEP research degrees