PhD Politics & International Relations at University of Glasgow

Programme overview

PhD research across five subfields: comparative politics, international relations, international political economy and development, political theory and area studies. Doctoral students form an active community with co-supervision by staff with complementary expertise, and the department is part of the ESRC-funded Scottish Doctoral Training Centre.

Duration: 3 years full-time; 5 years part-time | Location: Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

What you will study

Independent research leading to a thesis of 70,000-100,000 words, assessed by an oral examination (viva voce). Supervision topics include authoritarianism, democratisation, elections and voting, and business and politics.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Usual standard of admission is a Master's degree at Merit with a significant component in Politics or another Social Science; candidates are also usually expected to have a 2.1 honours degree. Required documents: academic transcripts and degree certificates, CV, research proposal, two references and named supervisor information. International applicants from non-English-speaking countries: IELTS Academic 7.0 overall with no subtest below 6.5 (one-skill retake accepted; General Training not accepted); TOEFL iBT 96 overall with Reading, Listening and Speaking 23 and Writing 24 for tests taken up to 20 January 2026, or 98 overall for tests taken from 21 January 2026; PTE Academic (test centre) 70 overall with Reading 62, Listening 62, Speaking 75, Writing 68. Tests must be taken within 2 years 5 months of programme start.

Domestic applicants: GBP 5,238 a year (2026/27). UK annual fee for full-time study at 2026/27; the 2027/28 UK fee is to be confirmed; part-time is half the full-time fee Source

International applicants: GBP 28,275 a year (2027/28). International & EU annual fee for full-time study; part-time is half the full-time fee Source

Intake: September

Duration: 3 years full-time; 5 years part-time

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