Education PhD

The Department of Education welcomes applications from national and international candidates for the PhD in Education Research. This programme offers you the opportunity to undertake a substantial piece of research that makes an original contribution to your chosen field of study and which is worthy of publication. The final award of the degree is decided upon the assessment of your PhD thesis and your performance in the viva voce examination. Many of our doctoral researchers publish parts of their research after the award of their degree or as they journey through their doctoral studies.

Our PhD programme aims to:

• provide a framework within which you can conduct an original piece of research related to your own experience and interest
• facilitate your development as a fully competent independent researcher, able to understand and use research techniques appropriate to your subject area, and become knowledgeable about methodological approaches used by other researchers across the field of social science
• enable you to critically think through how you can use your existing knowledge and skills in different contexts, apply them to a variety of problems and to your own future research activities

One of the great strengths of studying at Brunel within the Department of Education is the high-quality individual guidance and support you will receive from your supervisory team. They will meet with you on a regular basis to discuss your progress and offer constructive feedback on your work at appropriate times. They will also guide you toward information and resources to help you take advantage of the excellent opportunities we have available. These include academic and professional development opportunities within the Department of Education and wider University, such as research methods training and career development, offered by the Doctoral School.

Once a year, we bring our vibrant community of doctoral researchers together to share their ‘work in progress’ and explore key developments in educational research, theory, policy and practice. This annual colloquium features keynote speakers, poster/oral presentations and all doctoral researchers are encouraged to provide support and challenge to their fellow peers as ‘critical friends’. As well as being an integral and highly valued part of the Department of Education, our doctoral researchers are members of the university wide Global Lives Research Centre which affords further opportunities for you to meet and network with other researchers working within a wide range of fields.

You can review the profiles of those working within the Department of Education to explore their areas of expertise and research interests here, but we do not expect you to reach out to them and secure potential supervisors before you submit your application.

You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.

Our researchers create knowledge and advance understanding, and equip versatile doctoral researchers with the confidence to apply what they have learnt for the benefit of society. Find out more about working with the Supervisory Team.

You are welcome to approach your potential supervisor directly to discuss your research interests. Search for expert supervisors for your chosen field of research.

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Find out about what progress might look like at each stage of study here: Research degree progress structure.

Research support

Excellent research support and training

The Graduate School provides a range of personal, professional and career development opportunities. This includes workshops, online training, coaching and events, to enable you to enhance your professional profile, refine your skills, and plan your next career steps as part of the Researcher Development Programme. The researcher development programme (RDP) offers workshops and seminars in a range of areas including progression, research management, research dissemination, and careers and personal development. You will also be offered a number of online, self-study courses on BBL, including Research Integrity, Research Skills Toolkit, Research Methods in Literature Review and Principles of Research Methods.

Library services

Brunel's Library is open 24 hours a day, has 400,000 books and 250,000 ebooks, and an annual budget of almost £2m. Subject information Specialists train students in the latest technology, digital literacy, and digital dissemination of scholarly outputs. As well as the physical resources available in the Library, we also provide access to a wealth of electronic resources. These include databases, journals and e-books. Access to these resources has been bought by the Library through subscription and is limited to current staff and students.

Dedicated research support staff provide guidance and training on open access, research data management, copyright and other research integrity issues.

Find out more: Brunel Library

You will receive tailored careers support during your PhD and for up to three years after you complete your research at Brunel. We encourage you to actively engage in career planning and managing your personal development right from the start of your research, even (or perhaps especially) if you don't yet have a career path in mind. Our careers provision includes online information and advice, one-to-one consultations and a range of events and workshops. The Student Professional Development (SPD) runs a varied programme of careers events throughout the academic year. These include industry insight sessions, recruitment fairs, employer pop-ups and skills workshops.

In addition, where available, you may be able to undertake some paid work as we recognise that teaching and learning support duties represent an important professional and career development opportunity.

Find out more.