Postgraduate Research Degrees

The Faculty has a thriving community of PhD Researchers. We are committed to supporting research students through comprehensive training, designed to support your research and professional development, which is integrated into our broader research environment.   

If you study with us full time, the PhD is a three-year programme, during which you will come to work at the highest level in your subject, with the aim of producing an extended thesis (of not more than 100,000 words) which will make a significant and lasting contribution to the field.  

As part of your PhD:  

• Departments assign all PhD researchers a supervisory team of at least two supervisors with one staff member acting as principal supervisor. Supervisors can be from different Departments.  
• Your supervisor(s) will support your research and discuss your progress throughout the academic year.  
• During your first year, we ask all PhD researchers to produce a piece of work of up to 5,000 words (during your second year for part-time students) which will be read by a member of staff other than your supervisor(s) to monitor progress. 
• We offer training and teaching opportunities for all researchers to support career development 
• We invite you to join research centres and networks to increase your research collaboration and to foster a community of critical and cutting-edge research scholarship   
• We will encourage you to work towards your goals to achieve PhD completion within 3 years  
• After you have submitted your thesis, it will be examined by an internal and external examiner.  

If you intend to study for the PhD and do not already hold a Masters degree (or equivalent), you will normally be required to register for one of our Taught MA or Research MA programmes, which are designed to function as research training degrees, and offer the best possible introduction to higher research in the Faculty and our Departments.  

Applications and entry requirements  

You will normally need a good honours degree (at least a 2:1) or its equivalent from a recognised University, and (for the MLitt or PhD) a Master’s degree from a recognised University.  

If you intend to study for the PhD and do not already hold a Master’s degree (or equivalent), you will normally be required to register for one of our Taught MA or Research MA programmes, which are designed to function as research training degrees, and offer the best possible introduction to higher research in the Faculty and our Departments. 

When submitting your application for one of our research programmes you will need to include a piece of written work approximately 1,200 words in length. This can be any piece of work you have completed during the last year or two.  

We welcome applications from overseas students, who should be proficient in spoken and written English: normally a minimum of 7.0 in IELTS (with no component less than 7.0) or equivalent in other language tests accepted by Durham. You can find further information here English Language Requirements - Durham University

Professional doctorates 

Some departments within the faculty also offer the opportunity to study towards a professional doctorate or PhD with integrated studies, which combines a (somewhat shorter) doctoral thesis with a significant taught element. The Department of Theology & Religion offers such a doctorate called a Doctor of Theology and Ministry (DThM)

Research training 

All research students will have the opportunity to develop their research and transferable skills. We encourage research students to attend conferences and to present papers, and the Department will provide some financial support for such activities whenever possible.