We place great emphasis on the production of high quality research. There are regular Research Students’ Workshops and conferences where you will meet other graduate research students in the School and wider college. Short courses are also available on a range of relevant research techniques, including the Internet as a research tool, bibliographic sources and IT skills.

• Master of Philosophy (MPhil)
  The MPhil has a 24-month registration period and requires a thesis not exceeding 60,000 words, which must be an original work of merit. It is possible to transfer from this programme to the PhD.
• Doctorate (PhD)
  The normal full-time PhD registration period is 36 months and the thesis must be completed within five years. The thesis of not exceeding 80,000 words must be worthy of publication by a learned society. Candidates for the PhD are normally first registered for the MPhil before transferring.

Studying part-time and full-time: We welcome applications from prospective students wishing to study both part-time and full-time. Part-time students should expect to spend the equivalent of 2 days per week on their research. One day per week during the first year will normally involve attendance at postgraduate modules. While full-time students should be able to devote the full working week to their studies. For more information contact: Professor John Raine, Tel: 0121 414 8393 Email: j.w.raine@bham.ac.uk

We particularly welcome applications on the following themes:

Democratic Local Governance

• Citizen and community engagement
• Participation
• Local politics
• Modes of local government working etc

Strategic Public Management

• Public service reform
• Strategic commissioning
• Collaborative partnership working
• Performance management
• Public service outcomes

Support: You will be assigned two supervisors (a first and second supervisor) approximately fortnightly (monthly for part-time students) over the course of your study as well as informally more frequently within the department. Supervisors are experienced in managing the research process and are chosen to complement your area of interest. Staff in INLOGOV have regular contact with a wide range of local authorities and other governmental, voluntary sector and research bodies. Research students thus have access to extensive networks of contacts and access to research sites is rarely difficult.

Fees for subsequent years are likely to rise with inflation.

See also:

• Bursaries
• PhD student profiles
• How to apply

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