• Who is the awarding body for the PhD?

Our postgraduate research degree programmes are validated by the University of Essex, who will be your awarding body. While you will be based at the University of Suffolk and you will be supported and supervised by University of Suffolk staff, the University of Essex will award your degree and be named on your certificate.

• How long does a PhD take?

Full-time PhD programmes take 3-4 years and part-time programmes take 6-8 years. The maximum period of registration is 4 years for full-time students and 8 years for part-time students.

At the end of your standard period of registration (end of third year for full-time students and end of sixth year for part-time students), you will be considered for progression into a completion period, which is known as the 'writing up' period. The completion period can last up to a maximum of one year for full-time students and two years for part-time students. By the end of the completion period, you are expected to submit your thesis for examination.

• Can I work alongside my PhD?

Postgraduate research students are expected to devote on average at least 36 hours per week to their research (full-time students) or at least 12 hours per week (part-time students). 

Some students choose to work part-time to supplement their income. Working during your course can also give you excellent skills and experience to boost your CV. Our Careers, Employability and Enterprise team can help you find part-time work. There are also sometimes opportunities to work in paid jobs on campus.

If you are an international student on a Student visa, you must not exceed limits on the number of hours you are permitted to work by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), as outlined on your immigration document.

• I do not know what to do my PhD in – where can I find out more to help me decide?

We recommend that you look at the PhD subject areas and supervisors section of our website to find out more. This will provide you with information on the subject areas we can support at the University of Suffolk and potential supervisors, so you can see whether any align with your own interests.

Once you have identified your preferred subject area, please complete our initial PhD enquiry form to find out more. In this, you can explain who you are and provide a brief outline of your proposed research. You should also confirm your source of funding for your PhD and, if applicable, whether you meet our English language requirements.

This will enable us to let you know whether we can potentially support your PhD, and provide you with advice and guidance on completing a formal application and writing a research proposal. It is important that you complete this initial enquiry form and wait to hear from us before you make a formal application, to avoid wasting time completing an application if we are unable to support your proposed research area.

• Do I need to identify a potential supervisor before I complete the initial enquiry form?

No, once we receive your initial enquiry form, and if we have the capacity to support your PhD, a potential supervisor with expertise in your discipline will be assigned to support you in completing your formal application and research proposal.

However, if you have a particular member of our staff in mind who you feel could be a good potential supervisor, please feel free to mention this on the initial enquiry form.

• How is a PhD programme structured?

Full-time PhD programmes take three to four years and part-time programmes take six to eight years.

Throughout your studies you will have regular meetings with your supervisory team, usually every month for full-time students and every 6-8 weeks for part-time students. These provide an opportunity to discuss your research schedule and progress, skills and training needs, and tasks or actions that you should aim to complete.

Through our Doctoral Training Programme and our wider Research and Knowledge Exchange Development Programme, you will have access to a year-round programme of workshops and events to help you complete your PhD and prepare you for your future career. We will support you with an initial training needs analysis to help determine a suitable programme of training that meets your needs. 

You will initially be enrolled on an MPhil/PhD. At the end of each year of study, you will have an Annual Progress Review. This will help to evaluate your progress with your research and writing over the previous year, as well as your wider training and skills development and progress. Successful progress review at the end of your first year (full-time students) or second year (part-time students) leads to confirmation of PhD status.

At the end of your standard period of registration (end of third year for full-time students and end of sixth year for part-time students), you will be considered for progression into a completion period, which is known as the 'writing up' period. The completion period can last up to a maximum of one year for full-time students and two years for part-time students. By the end of the completion period, you are expected to submit your thesis for examination.

You will be required to defend your thesis at an oral examination, often known as a viva or viva voce. This will normally take place within 3 months of your thesis submission.

• What support will I receive during my PhD?

You will be supervised by a small team of experienced academic staff. Before you arrive, you will be allocated a lead supervisor and co-supervisor. In some cases there will also be an additional co-supervisor. Having a team approach ensures that you have access to a range of skills and complementary expertise and experience. Collectively, the role of your supervisory team is to provide academic and pastoral guidance throughout your period of study.

During regular meetings with your supervisory team, you will discuss your research schedule and progress, skills and training needs, and tasks or actions that you should aim to complete.

There are also a wide range of student support services within the University, and teams are always happy to help with any queries or support needs you may have. This includes:

• Library and Learning Services support
• Academic Skills Advisors
• Student Life Advisors
• disability and wellbeing support (including counselling service)
• Student Assistance Programme (free 24/7 confidential helpline)
• Careers, Employability and Enterprise team
• financial advice
• accommodation advice
• international student support
• multi-faith chaplaincy
• IT support
• Students’ Union advice service

The Suffolk Doctoral College organises social events for research students throughout the year. These provide great informal opportunities to share ideas, experiences and gain support from your peers. You will also have opportunities to engage with research activities within your academic school and the wider university, including research seminar series, conferences and events.

• How will my progress be monitored?

The University will monitor your progress regularly throughout your period of study. This will occur during your regular meetings with your supervisory team (usually every month for full-time students and every six to eight weeks for part-time students), and more formally through Annual Progress Reviews at the end of each year of study.

Your Annual Progress Review provides an opportunity to explore progress with your research and writing over the previous year, in order to determine whether you have the clear potential to achieve your doctorate within the prescribed period of registration. The process also provides an opportunity to reflect on development activity and consider future training needs.

• How much will the PhD programme cost?

Our current postgraduate research tuition fees are available on the PhD Funding and Scholarships section of our website. Fees are likely to incur a small inflationary rise each year of a research programme.

It is important to recognise possible costs beyond the tuition fees. Research can involve costs, for example travel to campus or conference venues, archives or libraries; copyrighted imagery payments and so on. You will also need to fund normal living costs during your studies.

Overseas students who require a visa to study in the UK must pay a deposit to secure their place on a chosen programme of study in order to receive a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS). The level of deposit will be agreed each year and published on the PhD funding and scholarships section of our website.

• Can I pay my tuition fees in instalments?

International students can apply for a payment plan that allows annual tuition fees to be paid over two instalments. Further information is available in our Tuition Fee Policy.

Payment plans may also be agreed with all other self-funding students. In accordance with our Tuition Fee Policy, payment may be spread over 12 months for home PhD students.

• Are there any fee discounts for alumni of the University or its partner institutions?

If you are a graduate of the University of Suffolk or one of its current or former partner institutions, you may be entitled to benefit from our Alumni Postgraduate Loyalty Scheme, which gives up to a 25% reduction on course fees. You can find out more and see if you are eligible at https://www.uos.ac.uk/postgraduate-loyalty-scheme/.

• Does the University have any scholarships or other sources of funding available?

Any scholarships or other funding opportunities are advertised in the PhD Funding and Scholarships section of our website.

There may also be opportunities to apply for external funding, for example via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) doctoral training schemes, although it is important to note that these are often highly competitive.

• I have no funding – will the University waive my fees?

No, the University is unable to waive your fees. You will need to ensure you have an idea of your funding source before applying, whether from an approved funding source at the University of Suffolk, a third party or self-funded. We are unable to accept speculative applications with no evidence of this. 

• Can I apply for a UK Government Doctoral Loan?

If you normally live in England and are a UK national, have settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme or have indefinite leave to remain, you may be eligible to apply for a Doctoral Loan.

A Doctoral Loan of up to £30,301 (2025-26) is available to help eligible students with the tuition fees and/or living costs of your postgraduate doctoral study. You can apply for the full amount regardless of the actual tuition fee that you will be paying. The loan is paid directly to you in three instalments in each year of study, approximately every four months. You can find out more on the UK Government website at https://www.gov.uk/doctoral-loan.

If eligible, we recommend that you only apply for a doctoral loan once you have received a formal offer of study from us. As our postgraduate research degrees are validated and awarded by the University of Essex, when applying for the loan through Student Finance England, you need to select the University of Essex as your university, using the course title outlined in your offer letter and with the location of study being the University of Suffolk, Ipswich.

• Am I eligible to apply for a PhD?

Our admissions requirements are available on the University website.

Applicants for postgraduate research degrees are expected to hold a first or upper second class Bachelors (Honours) degree, awarded by an institution or body with degree awarding powers in the UK or equivalent from a recognised overseas institution. 

• When can I start my PhD?

We operate a highly flexible rolling intake, so students can start on the first working day of any month throughout the year, following receipt of a formal offer of study from us.

For international students, we recommend that you allow a minimum of three months after you receive a formal offer to commence your studies, to allow time to apply for a Student visa.

We encourage you to accept your offer and provide evidence that you meet any outstanding conditions as soon as possible, so that we can ensure the necessary arrangements are in place for you to start your research degree programme and you have enough time to prepare for your studies.

• When is the deadline to apply?

Our flexible rolling monthly intakes mean that there are no set deadlines for applications. Once we have received and considered your application and made a formal offer of study, you will be permitted to commence your research degree programme from the next available monthly intake point onwards.

• Can I defer my start date?

Yes, if your circumstances change and you wish to defer your start date, this is normally possible. Please get in touch with us as soon as you can to agree an alternative start date.

• How do I apply?

As an important first step, please complete our initial PhD enquiry form, so we can let you know whether we can potentially support your PhD, and provide you with advice and guidance on completing a formal application and writing a research proposal.

You must submit an initial enquiry before making a formal application, so we can provide you with guidance and support, thereby increasing your chances of a successful application.

Once we receive your initial enquiry form, and if we have the capacity to support your PhD, a potential supervisor with expertise in your discipline will be assigned to support you in completing your formal application and research proposal.

• Do I need to identify a potential supervisor before I complete the initial enquiry form?

No, once we receive your initial enquiry form, and if we have the capacity to support your PhD, a potential supervisor with expertise in your discipline will be assigned to support you in completing your formal application and research proposal.

However, if you have a particular member of our staff in mind who you feel could be a good potential supervisor, please feel free to mention this on the initial enquiry form.

• What documents do I need to submit with my application?

The list of documents required to support your application is available on our PhD application process webpage.

This includes certificates and transcripts for prior higher education level study, evidence of English language proficiency (where English is not your first language), your CV, references and a scan of your passport photo page. 

• What happens to my application after I have submitted it?

Your application form and research proposal will be reviewed by the PGR Course Leader within the relevant academic school, and if it is considered to be something we can support, you will be invited to attend an interview (either virtually or in person). If the interview goes well and the supervisory team are happy to support your research, then a formal offer of a place will be made (subject to receipt of all required documents and, for international students, a successful student visa application).

You can find out more on the PhD application process section of our website.

• How long will I have to wait for a decision on my application?
  The amount of time this takes can vary, but we aim to make most decisions within four to six weeks of receiving your application. Please note that applications received in July and August may have longer processing times due to staff availability over the summer period.

For international students, we recommend that you allow a minimum of three months after you receive a formal offer of study from us to commence your studies, to allow time to apply for a student visa.

• What is the format of the interview?

All applicants are required to attend an interview as part of the application process, with information on this available on our PhD application process webpage.

Interviews will normally be held online via Microsoft Teams. You will be contacted prior to the interview to arrange suitable dates and times.

The interview will provide you with an opportunity to meet your potential supervisory team to discuss your research proposal further, assess your ability and potential to succeed and assess whether there are sufficient resources and facilities available to support the project appropriately. The interview will last for approximately an hour.

You will be interviewed by a panel consisting of at least two appropriately trained and research active academic staff who are members of the anticipated supervisory team, and a representative from Suffolk Doctoral College. 

• What does my research proposal need to contain?

You can find guidance on what to include in your research proposal on our research proposal guidance webpage.

The research proposal is an important part of your application, and so please do read the guidelines carefully, and seek advice from your intended academic school if needed.

• How much money do I need to demonstrate for tuition fees and living costs for visa purposes?

As outlined in our Tuition Fee Policy, international students who require a visa are required to provide appropriate evidence that they have sufficient funds to cover tuition fees and living expenses upon application for the first year of their course. This evidence must meet current UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) financial evidence requirements. You can find out more at https://www.gov.uk/student-visa/money.

Generally, applicants must demonstrate that they have their full first year of tuition fees (minus CAS deposit paid) plus 9 months living expenses at a flat rate of £1,136 per month set by the UKVI. The only individual circumstances that the UKVI will consider is if the applicant has been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months on the date of their visa application: then they will not be required to demonstrate these funds in their visa application, though we as a University will still conduct affordability checks to ensure the required funds can be covered.

• What are the English language requirements?

Our English language entry requirements are available on the University website.

To study for a postgraduate research degree, you will need to have a good command of English. If English is not your first language, we require evidence of your ability unless you can demonstrate that your previous education and qualifications have been in the English language medium. The English language requirement for study at postgraduate research level is a minimum IELTS score of 6.5 in each area.

• Do I need an ATAS certificate?

The Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) requires international students from certain countries who are applying to study for a postgraduate qualification in certain sensitive subject areas to obtain an ATAS certificate before applying for their Student visa. This includes subject areas such as science, engineering, medicine and technology where the knowledge gained may have application in the development or delivery of weapons of mass destruction. It will be confirmed in your University of Suffolk offer letter if your programme requires an ATAS certificate, and you will be provided with details of the Common Aggregator Hierarchy (CAH3) code you need to use for your ATAS certificate application. A copy of your ATAS certificate should be uploaded to CAS Shield as soon as you have obtained it.

Please visit the government’s website for further information on ATAS requirements.

• I am an international student – can I study part-time?

While international students can study a part-time PhD under the student visa route, it is not something that we would encourage or recommend. This is because part-time international students cannot work, cannot undertake work placements, and cannot bring dependents with them. These are UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) rules, so not something we can offer flexibility on.

Any part-time student would also need to be academically engaging throughout the duration of their part-time study, with no gaps exceeding 60 days or more.