PhD Politics or International Relations
Pursue independent research in politics or international relations, developing specialist expertise and contributing to knowledge in your field.
Key facts
- Duration
- Full time: 1 - 3 years
- Part time: 1 - 4 years
- Level
- PhDs and postgraduate research
- Funding status
- Self-funded
- School
- School of Social Sciences
- Application deadline
International and EU applicants apply 5 months before enrolment date. Applications received less than 5 months before cannot be guaranteed. UK applicants apply 4 months before enrolment date. Applications received less than 4 months before cannot be guaranteed.
Overview
The study of Politics and International Relations in the School of Social Sciences takes place in an environment of critical enquiry and rigorous research. Our innovative and influential research has received international recognition, and we help to change attitudes and inform policy across areas such as African trade policies, conflict and organised crime in the Middle East, the politics of gender and Eastern European politics.
You will be able to conduct thorough and original research on any aspect of domestic or international political life in an active and supportive environment. We offer students close supervision from two supervisors who have research expertise in your research area and plentiful opportunities to present your work and participate in our research training and other research events.
Research expertise
We have research strengths in various areas of domestic and international politics. We strongly recommend that prior to submitting a full application you identify and make contact directly with a potential Director of Studies. Please look at our research group pages and individual staff profiles to help you identify the appropriate member of staff and to find out whether your proposed research focus is one that we can supervise.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
Please see the specific entry requirement details in the degree routes section above.
If you choose to study full-time you must be able to devote a minimum of 35 hours per week over a 44-week year to your research. You should not undertake more than 20 hours per week paid employment or other commitments (including a maximum of six hours per week teaching, demonstrating, or other paid work directly related to your research training).
If you choose to study part-time you must be able to devote a minimum of 15 hours per week over a 44-week year to the programme of research.
You must also meet our residence requirements.
Degree routes
All students enrol as probationer research students. During the first year you will formally register your research proposal for one of the below routes.
The degree for which you register will depend on your academic qualifications and research experience.
Fees and funding
Fees
| Fee types | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Home full-time | £5,338 |
| Home part-time | £2,669 |
| International full-time | £18,300 |
| International part-time | £9,150 |
How and when to pay
Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.
- For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
- For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page.
Questions about fees?
Careers
We are passionate about fostering the careers of our researchers and ensure that they gain research skills training, leadership experience and teaching practice as part of the doctoral programmes we offer.
Bespoke careers advice is also embedded into our programme as we think this is a key element of your personal and professional development during your time with us.
With a PhD in Politics/International Relations, you will be highly valued by employers in public, private and non-government sectors for a range of skills including numeracy, literacy, communication, problem-solving, research methods and being able to engage a comparative perspective. Our PhD students have moved on to jobs in the NGO sector, the civil service, academia and the private sector.
How to apply
It is essential that you first check whether your specific research interests can be adequately supervised before submitting a full application. To do this please email the Research Administrator (hss-researchdegrees@brookes.ac.uk) your provisional research proposal. This should be 1500–2000 words in length and should include a title and a summary of the proposed subject area.
There is no specific format for research proposals but the following areas are usually covered:
- introduction
- evidence of background reading and knowledge/previous experience of research area
- details of research methods proposed to carry out the project
- the aims of the research project and any proposed hypotheses/outcomes
- literature review
- how your research project will make an original and independent contribution to knowledge.
If your area of research can potentially be supervised you will be encouraged to submit a full application via our online application system.
The Research Administrator will acknowledge receipt of your application by email. We strive to make a decision within one month of receiving your application. Please note, however, decisions may take longer during busier periods of the academic year.
Our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, so module availability and course structures may vary from what is listed here. On rare occasions, we may also need to make updates to our course programmes after publication; for full details, please visit our changes to programmes page (opens in a new tab)