Course summary
The School of Education has a national and international reputation as a centre of excellence and provides wide and varied opportunities for students to undertake full or part-time research. The School of Education has a national and international standing as a centre of excellence for research in education which is recognised by consistently scoring high in the national assessment of the research (REF) which takes place across all UK universities approximately every 6 years. The results of the latest 2021 Research Excellent Framework (REF) show that the School of Education is ranked 3rd in the UK for its research. The original Department of Education was founded in 1896 and became the School of Education in 1947. It is one of the largest research-led schools of education in the UK employing over 100 academic staff who teach more than 2,500 students. It is also home to a number of departments and research centres. The university also has a Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) which has been accredited by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Our strategy towards research and research degrees is centred on three key principles:
- Research should seek to combine scholarly and empirical work on fundamental issues with a concern for development work linked to practice; a dialogue between fundamental study and development work can enrich both
- Research should recognise the importance of professional practice and be pursued through active collaboration with schools, colleges, local authorities, and voluntary and other professional bodies in the UK and internationally
- Research is often a multidisciplinary activity and strong links across specialisms must be encouraged and supported
Entry requirements
A good Honours degree (normally a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree) awarded by an approved University in an appropriate subject, or the equivalent thereof; or an alternative qualification or qualifications and/or evidence of experience judged by the School as indicating a student’s potential for research and as satisfactory for the purpose of entry to a research degree programme. When you apply, the application system will ask you to upload a research proposal for submission together with your application. In addition to our standard academic and English language requirements, applications to study a PhD in Education are judged on the quality of the research proposal submitted and we advise you to carefully read the information outlined below before applying. Your research proposal should illustrate your ability to plan an independent research study in Education and the relevance of your topic to the research interests and expertise of staff in the School of Education. You need to demonstrate that you understand the field that you plan to research, identify an interesting and original research question, develop a tentative plan of study and connect your work with our research in the School. It is critical that your research proposal is written according to the guidelines. Please visit https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/courses/research/edu/education.aspx?OpenSection=EntryRequirements for more details.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
No fee information has been provided for this course
Additional fee information
Provider information
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT