Research degrees at Leeds Beckett

No. Our entrance requirements are a good first degree for PhD entry and relevant professional experience for studying for a professional doctorate. A good first degree is an honours degree with a minimum 2:1 classification.

We recommend, as a full-time research student, you study for 37.5 hours per week. As a part-time student, we recommend you study for 14 hours per week - although this can fluctuate at certain times during your programme. Our induction programme is an essential part of your course and you will also meet regularly with your supervisory team.

Completion times will differ, depending on the type of research degree and whether you study full-time or part-time. For example, a full-time PhD will take four years to complete; studying part-time, it will take six years. These times include any period of writing-up, examination and the conferment of your award.

We welcome applications from students worldwide to study with us at a distance.  We encourage students studying at a distance to ensure they have good support in their country ideally a university-approved location such as a  place of education the university has an agreement with). We call this studying ‘offshore’ or at a ‘distance’.  
 
Studying this way allows you to fit study around your job and not incur the costs of travelling or relocating to a new country.  We do encourage and require our distance students to attend the UK at a mutually convenient time to build appropriate relations with their supervisory team. 

To discuss this in more detail please contact us on researchadmissions@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.

We usually advertise scholarships and bursaries between March and June each year on our postgraduate research fees & finance page. These are linked to specific projects and/or subjects and are normally only open to UK and EU applicants.

This will be issued when you have provided the required documents and paid 50% of your fees or supplied a sponsorship letter.

We normally ask for an overall IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of 7 with no individual sub-score below 6.5. We will also consider TOEFL, iBT or Pearsons PTE as equivalent qualifications, but no other qualifications will be accepted.

If you have successfully completed a UK Bachelors degree (with a minimum classification of 2:1), or a UK masters degree in the last two years, this will satisfy our English language requirements. However, if you completed a UK degree more than two years ago, you should take a new IELTS test and submit this result.

If you do not meet this criteria but still want to be considered please contact us on researchadmissions@leedsbeckett.ac.uk to discuss how you may be able to meet the requirements.   

Yes, Leeds Beckett will consider making conditional offers for a Phd if your current language score is only slightly lower than that required or you have a secure offer of funding.  This offer is only open in specific subjects and disciplines and each application is considered on its own merits. For more information or to see if you fit the requirements you should contact us on researchadmissions@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.  

The Graduate School will check your application is complete and we have all the documents we need, such as degree certificates and transcripts. Once we have verified your certificates, we will send the application to the relevant university school for staff to consider the academic merit of your proposed research topic. To make sure your application is dealt with as quickly as possible, please include all required documents. Please be aware, it can take up to two months for the school to consider your application. Thank you for your patience during this time.