How to apply

There are four main stages to the application procedure:

1. Identify a supervisor

Identify a suitable supervisor for your PhD research and contact this staff member with your ideas, interests, and/or research proposal. You can find contact information on the academic staff pages and their research interests information is available on the staff research interests at a glance page.

In many instances staff members will want to see a brief research proposal or statement outlining your interests so they can judge whether they would be interested/appropriate for supervising you. You would be advised to follow our guidance on writing a PhD proposal. Your research proposal should be written by you, in your own words. Any material from the work of others, including web documents, must be referenced.

2. Submit an official application

If your prospective supervisor is interested you will need to submit a full PhD application to the PhD Admissions Tutor, in order to be formally considered.

Please use the online application facility.

Once you have submitted your on-line application please ensure that you have clicked the submit button, otherwise the Admissions Team will not receive it.

After submitting your application, please notify the SSPP Research Admissions Officer by email
sspp-graduateadmissions@kcl.ac.uk

It is STRONGLY recommended that you use the online application facility, however, if you are unable to do this please email SSPP Research Admissions Officer by email
sspp-graduateadmissions@kcl.ac.uk

You will need to provide the following with your application:

two academic references
transcripts from your undergraduate and Masters degrees
a copy of your research proposal
(if applicable) a copy of your TOEFL or IELTS score

3. Your application is reviewed

Your application will be reviewed by the PhD Admissions Tutor in consultation with your prospective supervisor, and if approved the School of Social Science and Public Policy will send you a formal offer letter. This process may take anywhere between 4 and 8 weeks.

4. Identifying possible sources of funding

At any time during this process you should start identifying possible funding sources and work with your prospective supervisor to develop these. Nearly all funding schemes will require a detailed and specific research proposal, so it is important to develop one early. More information on funding can be found by following the funding tab in the left-hand navigation bar.

Start dates and application deadlines

Completed applications will be accepted at any point prior to the start of the degree programme. However, early applications are encouraged particularly as deadlines for outside funding can fall several months before entry. Overseas students may also need to apply early in order to ensure they can obtain a visa before the start date.

Starting dates for PhD students are January, May, and September. PhD training courses begin in late September and in January.

Any questions?

Information regarding application procedures is available from the Centre for Arts and Sciences Admissions web pages

If you have questions regarding the application procedure or the status of your application please e mail sspp-graduateadmissions@kcl.ac.uk

You can find information regarding the research interests of staff in the Department of Geography on the Geography research web pages

If you have questions relating to studying in the Department of Geography please contact

Dr Debby Potts
PhD Admissions Tutor
Email: debby.potts@kcl.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7848 1572

Dr Nick Drake
Deputy Admissions Tutor
Email: nick.drake@kcl.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7848 2798