PhD Childhood Studies at University of Essex

PhD in Childhood Studies in the Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies at Essex, with supervision in psychoanalytic and psychosocial studies of children and childhood, sociologies and histories of childhood, parenting and families, children's media, disability, refugee studies, trauma, looked after children and therapeutic communities.

Department: Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies  |  Duration: 3-4 years full-time (normal period of study three years; six years part-time or distance learning)  |  Intake: January 2027  |  Study mode: full-time; part-time  |  Location: Colchester, England, United Kingdom

What you will study

Individual supervision is the main mode of teaching. Typically year 1 covers the literature review and refining the research question, year 2 methodology, data collection and analysis, and year 3 final analysis and drafting, ending in a thesis of up to 80,000 words examined by one internal and one external examiner.

Career pathways

Graduates go on to further study and training; many students are professionals who return to their fields with deeper understanding, using it for development, promotion and leadership.

Official programme page