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Introduction to PhD Study

A World-Class Research Centre

The Sociology Department at Lancaster is an exciting, research-oriented department, with 85% of our submission to the recent Research Assessment Exercise being classed ‘internationally significant’, we are opening up new topics and research agendas in the broad field of sociology including science and technology studies, gender and women’s studies and cultural studies. We're international in scope with staff and students from more than twenty countries who together create an exceptional research culture. It is an inspiring place to work and study! A distinctive feature of sociology at Lancaster are the research centres within the Department

• Centre for Mobilities Research (CeMoRe)
• Centre for the Study of Environmental Change (CSEC)
• Centre for Gender and Women's Studies (CGWS)
• Centre for Science Studies (CSS)
• ESRC Centre for the Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics (Cesagen)

Each Centre hosts major international conferences, day schools, research workshops and other speakers' series. Graduate Students in the department are encouraged to become members of these Centres.

Dual PhD's

The department also offers single thesis, dual PhDs with:

• The Polish Academy of Science
• European & Global Studies, University of Siegen, Germany

A Culture of Research

At Lancaster there is a vibrant research culture. There are so many people doing interesting things that your own research ideas are soon being stimulated and provoked as you hear about different approaches, theories, concepts and projects. There is a thriving sense of interest and enthusiasm about what other people are doing, not only in sociology but in many other related disciplines too; the result is an unusually ‘post-disciplinary’ atmosphere of research.

There is a regular departmental seminar series at least fortnightly but there are also a number of other seminar series, all of which provide opportunities for staff and graduate students to get together to discuss up-to-the-moment intellectual ideas. These usually lead to more informal socializing too and it is the presence of so many lively graduate students researching a wide range of topics that makes for the very special ambience of the department.

Finding a Research Topic

You probably have some ideas about what you would like to research from the things you have already studied – an inspiring course, a successful dissertation or stimulating discussions with staff or other students. The topic you choose for your PhD needs to be something that you find interesting enough to focus on for three years and it needs to fit with the research interests of at least one member of staff at Lancaster.

Have a look at the profiles and projects for Sociology staff to find what they are working on – you might get ideas from their research. Looking at what current and past students have researched will also give you ideas about the sorts of things that would work as a topic. Please also visit our Research and Publications pages for more information.

Finding a Supervisor

You design and carry out your PhD research project under the guidance of a team, normally two supervisors, with whom you meet regularly.It may be that your research is more closely linked to the work of one supervisor who you may see more frequently. One of your supervisors might be in another department. Supervision arrangements are very important and we will help to set up a system that works well for you and your research. All students also meet with a Panel of three staff members (including the supervisors) once a year to make a formal assessment of progress.

You can search for a supervisor by keyword, or view a summary list of our PhD tutors.

Visiting Students

The department welcomes applications from PhD and MA students registered at other Universities at home and abroad to come to Lancaster for short periods as visiting students. Further information»

Videos

• For Postgraduates
• For International Students

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