PhD

at Hartpury University

For a supervised PhD, we normally expect that applicants will hold at least a 2:1 or a Masters qualification from a UK university or a degree of comparable standing from a university outside the UK. We also require a recognised English language qualification prior to making an unconditional offer.

For international applicants an IELTS score of 7.0 overall, or equivalent qualification, is required. If you require a Student Visa to undertake your research degree, you must apply for an academic place at least three months in advance of your proposed start date so you can obtain an offer in time to apply for your visa.

Your application

We accept PhD students at three points during the year: 1st October, 1st January and 1st April. You should submit your application a minimum of three months before your targeted entry date. We strongly encourage you to discuss your proposed programme of research with either an academic staff member or the relevant Research Centre Lead, prior to submitting an application. If you're unsure who to approach, you can explore our staff and their research interests on Hartpury’s PURE repository.

Your application should contain the following:

• Completed application form including an outline of your proposed programme of study: title, research aims and objectives, brief rationale outlining why your project is required and a summary of the studies planned to complete your project. You should also identify any resource requirements which the project will require and identify the potential academic and/or industry impact of your project.
• An example of critical writing: this could be a published paper you've been involved with, a previous piece of academic work or if returning to study, you may wish to write a short critical review of a topic related to your proposed programme of study.
• Two referees to support your application.
• Proof of qualifications: copies of transcripts of your qualifications.

Please note, applications which do not meet the minimum criteria will not be considered.

PhD study is usually self-funded and doctoral loans are available, subject to eligibility, to support your study. We offer limited funded full time PhD studentships in our priority research areas annually.

If you're a prospective UK doctoral student, and you normally live in England, you may be able to apply for a UK Government Postgraduate Doctoral Loan to support your PhD study at Hartpury. Loans are available up to £25,000, payable across the whole, or part, of your doctoral studies.

We also offer a Research Bursary to support doctoral study. Students can apply for funding for up to £1000 full-time or £500 part-time per annum to fund costs directly associated with their research, e.g. laboratory consumables, specialist data analysis techniques or conference attendance to disseminate their research.