Start date
1 October 2025
12 January 2026
20 April 2026
Duration
The maximum duration for a PhD is 3 years (36 months) full-time or 6 years (72 months) part-time with an optional submission pending (writing-up) period of 12 months.
Sometimes it may be possible to mix periods of both full-time and part-time study.
If studying on a part-time basis, you must establish close links with the University and spend normally not less than an average of 10 working days per year in the university, excluding participation in activities associated with enrolment, re-registration and progression monitoring. You are also expected to dedicate 17.5 hours per week to the research.
Application deadlines
For September 2025
13 June 2025 for International and Scholarship Students
04 July 2025 for Home Students
For October 2025
13 June 2025 for International and Scholarship Students
04 July 2025 for Home Students
For January 2026
17 October 2025 for International and Scholarship Students
14 November 2025 for Home Students
For April 2026
23 January 2026 for International and Scholarship Students
20 February 2026 for Home Students
About the research degree
A PhD is the highest academic award for which a student can be registered. This programme allows you to explore and pursue a research project built around a substantial piece of work, which has to show evidence of original contribution to knowledge.
Completing a PhD can give you a great sense of personal achievement and help you develop a high level of transferable skills which will be useful in your subsequent career, as well as contributing to the development of knowledge in your chosen field.
Our research degrees are available as full-time, part-time and some are offered distance learning.
You are expected to work to an approved programme of work including appropriate programmes of postgraduate study (which may be drawn from parts of existing postgraduate courses, final year degree programmes, conferences, seminars, masterclasses, guided reading or a combination of study methods).
This programme of research culminates in the production of a large-scale piece of written work in the form of a research thesis that should not normally exceed 80,000 words.
You will be appointed a main supervisor who will normally be part of a supervisory team, comprising of up to three members to advise and support you on your project.
Entry requirements
The normal level of attainment required for consideration for entry is:
- a Master's degree from a UK University or equivalent, normally with a classification of merit or distinction, in a discipline appropriate to the proposed programme to be followed, or
- an upper second class honours degree (2:1 or above) from a UK university in a discipline appropriate to that of the proposed programme to be followed, or
- appropriate research or professional experience at postgraduate level, which has resulted in published work, written reports or other appropriate evidence of accomplishment.
If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.5 overall with no element lower than 6.0, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.
What can I research?
Applications are welcome for a diverse range of specialist topics and areas of expertise. We would, especially welcome applications for topics in which the proposed research is in line with the research priorities of the School of Human and Health Sciences.
There are different ways to find the right research topic for you:
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Find a supervisor and design your own research project – explore the Huddersfield Research Portal to find research and researcher expertise to find the area you’re interested in.
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Browse our listed funded opportunities.
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To find out more about the research we conduct, take a look at our Research, Innovation and Skills webpages, where you will find information on each research area.
Facilities
Student support
At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.
Researcher Environment
Our postgraduate researchers contribute to our thriving research [culture] community at Huddersfield, in return, we provide an experience that enhances your potential and inspires you to think big and become a globally competitive researcher.
Join our community of like-minded people who are passionate about research and gain access to world-leading facilities, advanced research skills training, and expert career advice.
Reduced inequalities
- We recently ranked 6 out of 796 global institutions for reduced inequalities in the Times Higher Impact ratings – this recognises our research on social inequalities, policies on discrimination and commitment to recruitment staff and students from underrepresented groups.**
World-leading
- We are in the top 50 UK universities for research power, and nearly two-thirds of our research environment is classified as world-leading and internationally excellent.***
As a researcher, you’ll gain access to our Researcher Skills Development Programme through The Graduate School, to help broaden your knowledge and access tools and skills to improve your employability. The programme is mapped against Vitae’s Researcher Development Framework (RDF), you’ll benefit from Vitae’s career support as well as our own programme. We also have a team dedicated to improving the academic English needed for research by our international PGRs.
Our training is delivered in a variety of ways to take advantage of online platforms as well as face-to-face workshops and courses. You can access a range of bespoke training opportunities and in-person events that are tailored to each stage of your journey;
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Sessions on PhD thesis writing, publications and journals, post-doctoral opportunities, poster and conference presentations, networking, and international travel opportunities.
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Opportunity to work and study abroad via the Turing Scheme through The Graduate School.
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Externally accredited training programme with Advance HE (HEA) and CMI.
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Online research training support accessed through a dedicated researcher module in Brightspace, the University’s Virtual Learning Environment.
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We also hold a series of PGR focussed events such as 3 Minute Thesis, PGR led research conference and informal events throughout the year.
**THE Impact Rankings 2022
*** REF2021
Important information
We will always try to deliver your course as described on this web page. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below.