Postgraduate Research Degrees - University of Birmingham

Our research programmes involve the completion of original academic research, or a piece of scholarship, which you will conduct under expert supervision from a Birmingham academic. You will be supported by the University Doctoral school which brings together everything you need to succeed in your research journey. Working alongside internationally renowned research staff and talented research peers, you’ll be researching in a place like no other.

Routes in to Research

There are generally two routes to a Birmingham research degree.

Apply for an 'advertised PhD'

You can apply to an ‘advertised PhD’, which means it is part of an established research project and is usually funded by the University or other funding body. Generally, advertised PhDs are associated with the physical and life sciences subjects. Some advertised PhDs will be pre-defined but some may require you to propose your own research.
Propose your own research

Apply to any of our PhD programmes and propose your own research that is ‘self-funded’ (by you, a sponsor, or other sources not explicitly attached to the PhD on application). Usually you submit a research proposal and identify your proposed supervisor. These are generally associated with the arts and social sciences.