Key Facts
Course Code : N1832
Qualification: PhD
Typical Course Length : 1 Year
Complete your Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) here, conducting original academic research and making a new contribution to your specific field of study.
As the highest level of academic qualification we offer, a PhD gives you the platform to make significant advances in your chosen area of interest. You can make new discoveries, test new theories and push the boundaries of current knowledge and understanding.
PhD opportunities are available in all our academic departments.
At Aberystwyth, you will be part of our vibrant research community.
You will be surrounded by expert academic staff who will able to support your development and collaborate on aspects of your research. You will contribute to the research life of your academic department and the university as a whole.
Further information on PhD study:
- To complete a PhD takes 3-4 years of full-time study and up to 7 years of part-time study;
- To apply for PhD study you should hold or expect to achieve an upper second class honours (2:1 honours) or above. Some departments will also expect to see evidence of Masters level study;
- A research proposal is required for all PhD applications unless there is a predetermined research proposal attached to a funded project. Please check with the relevant academic department if unsure;
- For advice on how to compose and refine your PhD research proposal please see our “Research Proposal Guidelines”;
- The culmination of your PhD study will be the production of a dissertation (80,000-100,000 words) based on your research. You must then present and defend this at an oral examination, or viva, assessed by your supervisor(s) and relevant external examiners;
- Although you will have a supervisor and other academic staff to provide support, the onus is on you to undertake independent research on existing research/literature, conduct new research and advance your knowledge and understanding.
The Aberystwyth Business School has a growing and thriving body of research students. We’re always pleased to welcome new applications for research study and welcome research proposals relating to Accounting, Business/Management, Economics, Finance, Tourism Management and Marketing since these represent significant areas of our research expertise.
Entry Requirements 2:1 Bachelors (Honours) degree in a relevant subject area, or equivalent.
English Language Requirements IELTS 6.5 with minimum 5.5 in each component, or equivalent
Other Requirements Applicants should submit a full research proposal at the point of application
Aberystwyth Business School is research-led, reflecting the values of Aberystwyth University. We are committed to developing research that is unique, relevant and applicable to a management, business or finance environment.
We’re also committed to ensuring that our research activities and publications are of international importance, offering business, management and finance solutions that can be applied across sectors, cultures and discipline areas.
We have an excellent team of academics offering a broad, collective expertise, gained from both professional experience and academic research. Our academics have supervised a wide range of post-doctoral research papers and have used their research knowledge to develop exclusive and distinctive business, management and finance programmes to the benefit of all our undergraduate and postgraduate students. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (2014) assessment the university was placed in the top 50 institutions for research power and intensity. It submitted 77% of eligible staff and 95% of the university’s research was of an internationally recognised standard.
The research expertise represented at our school has enabled us to develop excellent partnerships with companies in business, industry and commerce and a global network of academic contacts and partnerships with other academic institutions.
In addition to the broad range of research interests represented by our academic faculty, we have attracted recognition for specific areas of research expertise, represented by our research centres:
- Centre for Local and Regional Enterprise
- Leadership & Management Wales
- Centre for International Business and Public Policy (CIBaPP)
- Research Students
Supervision
As a research student at Aberystwyth you’ll be allocated to a supervision team of two academic members of staff at Aberystwyth. The main supervisor is usually a senior academic with considerable research experience in your proposed field of study. The appropriateness of the match between student and supervisor is an important element in the success of any PhD programme.
Facilities and Resources
The Aberystwyth Business School provides all research students with a shared office and access to networked IT facilities. SMB maintains a subscription to Data Stream and supports major statistical and econometric software packages. We warmly encourage all our research students to attend our weekly research seminar and the occasional research away-days. In addition, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in the Aberystwyth University subject colloquia which meets each year in early spring.
Research Techniques
Unless you’ve already completed a Masters course with a recognised research training element, you’ll be required to complete the Social Science Research Training Programme at SMB. This will enable you to develop excellence in research techniques in order to successfully complete your PhD.
You may also be required to undertake additional advanced study modules in your chosen discipline.
Year 1
Please note: The modules listed below are those currently intended for delivery during the next academic year and may be subject to change. They are included here to give an indication of how the course is structured.
Core
| Module Name | Module Code | Credit Value |
|---|
Options
| Module Name | Module Code | Credit Value |
|---|---|---|
| Manuscript Skills: Post Medieval Palaeographic and Diplomatic | PGM1210 | 10 |
| Principles of Research Design | PGM0210 | 10 |
| Ways of Reading | PGM0410 | 10 |
| Quantitative Data Collection and Analysis (for social scientists) | PGM1010 | 10 |
* Also available partially or entirely through the medium of Welsh