PhD Comparative Politics at University of Kent

Programme overview

A research PhD in comparative politics based at the Canterbury campus, combining individual supervision with formal research training. Most students choose their own research topic and agree a supervisor before refining a research proposal.

Faculty: School of Politics and International Relations | Duration: 3 to 4 years full-time, 6 to 7 years part-time | Intake: September or January | Study mode: full-time or part-time (Canterbury) | Location: Canterbury, England, United Kingdom

What you will study

Supervised research on a topic in comparative politics, with a weekly Graduate Research Training Seminar, an annual postgraduate research conference and skills training from the Graduate and Researcher College. Recent student projects include party system institutionalisation in the post-Soviet region and the impact of new social media on political behaviour.

Career pathways

Graduates have gone on to careers in academia, local and national government and public relations.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

A first or upper-second class (2:1) honours degree in a relevant subject or equivalent; for the PhD, a Master's degree in a relevant subject is preferable. International applicants: this course requires a Good level of English (CEFR B2), for example IELTS 6.0 with at least 5.5 in each component or PTE Academic 63 with at least 59 in each sub-test; a degree from a UK university or a majority English-speaking country is also accepted.

International applicants: GBP 21,950 a year (2027/28). Full-time annual tuition fee from the 2027/28 fee table Source

Intake: September or January

Duration: 3 to 4 years full-time, 6 to 7 years part-time

Apply through the official page: https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/apply

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