| Qualifications |
Duration |
Start dates |
Application period |
| PhD or Professional doctorate |
PhD:
Full-time: 3–4 years
Part-time: 6–8 years
Professional doctorate:
Part-time: 4–8 years |
October |
November to January |
Qualifications
PhD or Professional doctorate |
Duration
PhD:
Full-time: 3–4 years
Part-time: 6–8 years
Professional doctorate:
Part-time: 4–8 years |
Start dates
October |
Application period
November to January |
We conduct applied research into social work and social care services, including professional identities, service user involvement in social work education and practice, the provision of social work education through distance learning, mental health, learning disabilities, digital literacies, and social work history.
Our research is recognised for its innovative approach and academic rigour, with many of our academics internationally renowned as subject experts. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), our submission under the unit of assessment for Social Work and Social Policy was judged world-leading or internationally excellent, a testament to both the world-class research by colleagues and the impact of our research on practice. We contribute to policy debates and developments through the Social Work History Network and NIHR (SSCR).
Entry requirements
Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) and an MA or research methods training at MA level (or equivalent). If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your .
Potential research projects
- Social work and mental health
- Service user and carer involvement
- Values and Ethics of practice
- Legal Literacy
- the Social Model of Disability
- Rights Based Practice
- Professional Identity
- Social Work and Criminal Justice
- being a practitioner-researcher
- Methodologies: Ethnography, Observational Methods, Reflexive Thematic analysis, Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), critical realism
Current/recent research projects
- Preparation of students in education for social work practice in an inter-professional setting
- Decolonising the social work curriculum
- Hosting students in social care and social work
- Social workers’ lived experiences of learning in the workplace
- Social work students&/postgraduate/research-degrees/topic/social-work/39; readiness for practice in the placement or work setting
- Decision making under mental health legislation
- Interpreter-mediation in social work
- Carer&/postgraduate/research-degrees/topic/social-work/39;s experiences supporting adults with learning disabilities.
- The wellbeing of foster carers
- Methodological approaches including participatory action and IPA
- Co-production in social work education
Potential supervisors
Fees and funding
PhD fees
| UK fee |
International fee |
| Full-time: £4,786 per year |
Full-time: £12,146 per year |
| Part-time: £2,393 per year |
Part-time: £6,073 per year |
Professional doctorate fees
| UK fee |
International fee |
| Part time: £3,643 per year |
Part time: £9,250 per year |
Some of our research students are funded via The Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership; others are self-funded.
For detailed information about fees and funding, visit Fees and studentships.
To see current funded studentship vacancies across all research areas, see .
Links