Politics PhD
Politics prides itself on its vibrant research environment in which our PGRs are fully integrated.
Politics at Manchester is one of Europe's top centres for research and teaching, bringing together one of the largest groupings of politics staff in the UK and covering almost all areas of the discipline.
Politics is based in the Arthur Lewis Building together with Sociology, Economics, Philosophy, Social Anthropology and Social Statistics and offers PGRs excellent resources and the opportunity to become part of the research culture in Politics alongside academic members of staff.
You are expected to play an active part in the various research activities within the School, which will also assist your own personal development.
Programme structure
The PhD programme is a three-year full-time programme or a six-year part-time programme. The letter you received from the University offering you a place on the PhD programme specifies your registration period and the deadline for submission of your thesis. During the PhD, you are expected to produce an original thesis of 80,000 words in length.
Besides the formal requirements, we hope that you feel inspired to take advantage of our department’s vibrant research environment. Depending on your research interests, you will be associated with one of the five research clusters.
A PhD degree is awarded by the University for 'research and training'. Training is, therefore, mandatory for all PGR students. This training should comprise general research methods training, specialist research training and transferable or generic skills training. Your research training requirements will be assessed in consultation with your supervisors at the start of your degree programme and regularly thereafter.
If you do not already hold a research route Masters, you are encourage to take Qualitative Research Methods (QRM), Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods (SOCS70511) and Philosophy of Social Science.
Compulsory course units
All of our PhD students are required to take the following two courses:
- POLI 80081 PhD Research Design – compulsory for PhD students in their first year and designed to help you fine-tune your research programme
- POLI 80092 − PhD Seminar - compulsory for all students throughout the duration of their studies, providing a forum for the identification and development of skills necessary for the successful completion of the PhD and beyond
Years 1, 2 and 3 Full-time and 4, 5, 6 Part-time
Mid-Year Progress Review
Usually 5 months into their academic session, students and supervisors will be required to complete a Mid Year review form covering aspects such as progress to date, satisfaction with supervision, obstacles to research and objectives for the future. This report will be signed by the student, supervisors and PGR Director.
Annual Review
Approximately 8-9 months into their academic session, each student will have an Annual Review, conducted by an Independent Reviewer(s). Via eProg each student and their supervisors will fill out Part I of the Annual Review form on eProg and upload:
- a research proposal that includes a timeline for submission
- one chapter or equivalent (e.g. a literature review)
- The Independent Reviewer(s) will evaluate the student’s work, provide constructive written feedback on the work reviewed, and decide whether progression/upgrade is recommended.
- The review meeting will not normally exceed 60 minutes where the reviewer(s) can ask substantive questions with regard to the work submitted.
- The supervisory team will be present for this component but not involved in the Q&A.
- The reviewer(s) and supervisory team will then confer and decide progression and/or any remedial action such as the resubmission of work.
- The annual review is an opportunity to develop oral communication skills, viva training, and to ensure supervisors, reviewer(s), and students have a structured forum for communication.
Following the above, supervisors and students will hold a meeting and will consider:
- the recommendations of the independent reviewer;
- progress on the student’s research training to date;
- outcomes of any taught components of their programme;
- the student’s PDP (including skills audit) and/or CV (CV required in Year 2) [On Personal Development Training (PDP) please consult the School of Social Sciences Postgraduate Research Student Handbook];
- milestones for the next academic year, which will be agreed.
The student and supervisors will complete the final section of the Annual Review Form on eProg which will be reviewed by the PGR Director, who will make a decision on the student’s continuation on the research degree programme.
Formal requirements for progress into Year 3 will normally include a compulsory presentation to a relevant research group in Politics. If such a presentation is not feasible, for example because the student is on extended fieldwork or on an institutional exchange in Year 2, the PGR Director must be informed of this and this requirement must be fulfilled in Year 3.
Students who fail to achieve the required standard will be offered one opportunity to revise the work and resubmit according to regulations but will not be permitted to register for the following year until the Annual Review panels are satisfied that the student has made adequate progress.
Your research community
Politics prides itself on its vibrant research environment in which our PGRs are fully integrated. You will find a wide range of activities and events which will be of interest to you, both within Politics and outside it. PGR students are expected to play an active part in the various research activities within the School. This will also assist your personal development as part of the PDP process.
As with many things, you are likely to get more out of your PGR training the more you put in. We, therefore, urge you to participate in the activities on offer. We require you to give one paper during your second year (normally to your research cluster), but we would strongly recommend that you make use of the many other opportunities to present your work, meet people with shared research interests and discuss their and your work and experiences. Participation in research clusters or other research groups is an invaluable means of learning about what goes into a formal presentation and of receiving additional feedback on your research.
Accessing expertise
Your supervisors (and your Annual Review Panel) will give you detailed and constructive feedback, but you can also talk to other PGR students and the academics working in your field.
The sooner you start participating in seminars and workshops, the easier it will be to figure out how to engage in research activities, learn additional skills and obtain useful feedback on your own research.
We also believe that taking part in these research activities is a lot of fun. Writing a PhD thesis can be a lonely process. Workshops and seminars will bring you into contact with like-minded individuals and can be stimulating even when they are not on your precise research topic.
If you are planning a career in academia being a part of the research environment is particularly crucial. You will need to show that you are able to present papers at conferences and that you are able to publish your work. Contacts within academia will also be vital. Your supervisors will be happy to give you advice on what is appropriate at different stages of your research degree programme.
Research clusters
You will be associated with one of our research clusters. This is one of the best ways to learn how research works and to learn what is expected from you if you want to present your own work at conferences and workshops, and to receive additional feedback on your work.
You will be associated with one of our research clusters:
- Comparative Politics
- Global Political Economy
- Manchester Centre for Political Theory (MANCEPT)
- Democracy and Elections
- Critical Global Politics
While these clusters represent the largest concentrations of research excellence, there are other areas in which high-quality research is underway including: European Politics, East Asian Politics, Political History, Historical Materialism, the Politics of Gender, and the Politics of War and Terrorism.
You may be part of more than one cluster. If you are in any doubt as to which cluster is most appropriate for you, please discuss this with your supervisors. You are expected to actively participate in the activities of your cluster. There may also be other groupings and research centres that are relevant to your research and that you will be able to get involved in.
See also:
- Faculty of Humanities research institutes and centres
- Brave New World international conference for the discussion of postgraduate research in political theory
- Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence - organising European Studies-related events and research in Greater Manchester and the North West of England
- Political Perspectives is a peer-reviewed electronic journal for postgraduate research in political studies edited by postgraduate students at the University
- Other Politics events
The Peer Review Network (PRN)
This network operates across the Politics to offer support to all members of staff, post-doctoral fellows and PGRs in matters relating to research. We aim to utilise the collective experience and resources of the group to assist each other at every stage of the research process - including grant applications, book proposals, journal submissions, and more general matters of research strategy.
PRN services
The principal service offered by the PRN is to undertake a provide advice and constructive criticism on draft journal submissions, book proposals or grant proposals. PRN can also offer some more specialist services on request, such as:
- offering advice on organisational aspects of a grant application or on research methods issues;
- offering advice on publication strategy generally;
- offering advice on particular technical issues, eg quantitative methods, normative analysis;
- offering advice on “what to do next” after adverse referees’ reports from a journal.
PRN may also, from time to time, organise group events - for example offering relatively new members of staff general advice on funding applications or research strategy.
PRN 'rules'
- Use of the Peer Review Network is voluntary!
- Peer review will not be anonymous on either side, as this is impractical within the Discipline Area.
- The peer review process is dependent on the cooperation of colleagues in offering timely support and advice when asked. Our aim is for a maximum 3-4 week turnaround.
- The Peer Review Network offers guidance to postgraduate students in collaboration with the Politics Graduate Team. Normally the supervisor/s of a postgraduate student should be the first port-of-call for offering advice; the PRN should be seen as supplementing the supervisory process.