Programme description
The PhD in Sociology is a three year full-time (six years part-time) programme. You will examine an important societal challenge of your choice, supervised by a member of staff who is an expert in their specialised area of research.
Our staff are experts, often internationally renowned, in a variety of key areas of sociology, and centres such as the Cathie Marsh Institute for Social Research .
We provide a wealth of opportunities for postgraduate researchers. Our research fits into six key clusters :
- social inequality and stratification;
- race, ethnicity and migration;
- networks, relationality and everyday lives;
- social movements and protest;
- culture and consumption;
- methodological innovation.
Recent PhDs have included topics as diverse as internet use in Iran, branding in AIDs awareness advertising, and how class differences affect access to higher education.
Additional programme information
Humanities Doctoral Academy
Our Humanities Doctoral Academy combines the strengths of our four schools to bring expertise, knowledge, support and high-quality services for postgraduate researchers.
We are a community of academic leaders and postgraduate researchers across all levels in the Faculty of Humanities. The Doctoral Academy Hub houses our specialist professional service teams who support postgraduate researchers throughout the programme journey. This includes admissions, registration, student experience, progression, examination, and graduation. We collaborate closely with other University directorates including Manchester Doctoral College, Researcher Development team, and the corresponding Doctoral Academies in the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health. Together we provide the best experience and support for your studies and research.
EDI
Equality, diversity and inclusion is fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester, and is at the heart of all of our activities.
We know that diversity strengthens our research community, leading to enhanced research creativity, productivity and quality, and societal and economic impact.
We actively encourage applicants from diverse career paths and backgrounds and from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation and transgender status.
All appointments are made on merit.
The University of Manchester and our external partners are fully committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.
Teaching and learning
When you become a postgraduate researcher, you'll join a diverse and vibrant community of doctoral students from nearly 100 different countries, all studying within the Faculty of Humanities.
You'll be assigned to a specific research grouping that complements your research interests and have access to a variety of interdisciplinary research centres .
Our working environments are often spacious and open-plan, giving you plenty of opportunities to communicate with colleagues and staff within the School, and you will have your own desk space as well as access to our fantastic range of libraries on campus.
All our academic supervisors are research active and will support you to work on challenging research problems and develop rigorous, creative and original research.
You can expect to meet with your supervisor at least once a month to discuss progress on your project.
You will have access to a large and diverse community of internationally recognised academic experts offering an environment that will stimulate intellectual debate and development.
We provide additional financial support for a number of activities related to your PhD, including:
- presenting at international conferences;
- attending workshops that provide relevant professional opportunities;
- conducting fieldwork in the UK and overseas.
Graduate Teaching Assistants
You can also get hands-on, paid teaching experience as a Graduate Teaching Assistant.
Graduate Teaching Assistants in the School of Social Sciences are valued members of the teaching team. As such, we take pride in the opportunities provided for your professional development.
Our training includes preparation for application to the Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy . This brings a range of benefits:
- consolidates your personal development and emphasises your professional practice in HE;
- entitlement to use post-nominal letters - AFHEA;
- provides a valuable measure of success and is increasingly sought by employers across the education sector as a condition of appointment and promotion;
- recognised and valued by a growing number of international institutions.
Coursework and assessment
During your PhD, your progression is monitored through 6-monthly and annual review boards.
The former involve the supervisory team, including co-supervisors and the objective is to ensure that work is proceeding satisfactorily and to set deadlines.
The annual review board involves an external academic that is not involved in the project. Review boards approve PGRs’ work and establish agreed parameters for the progression of each project.
Programme unit list
The programme unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this programme of study.
| Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sociology Postgraduate Research Workshop | SOCY60510 | 0 | Mandatory |
Related research
REF 2021
In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF2021) Sociology at Manchester was ranked 3rd in the UK in terms (by grade point average) among the 37 departments assessed under Unit of Assessment 21.
92% of our research was judged to be in the highest two categories (4*) 'world-leading' or (3*) 'internationally excellent'.
Our research environment was also judged to be strong, with 100% judged to be (4*) 'world-leading'.
Read more about our Sociology research at Manchester.
What our students say
Facilities
The School of Social Sciences is now based in a brand new purpose-built building which allows 24/7 access, providing you with desk space, computing facilities, shelf space and lockers in the Arthur Lewis Building.
There is also, shared workspace available for research students within the Discipline Area and also a dedicated area in the atrium with computer terminals.
The University of Manchester Library
Manchester is home to one of the UK's five National Research Libraries - one of the best-resourced academic libraries in the UK and widely recognised as one of the world's greatest research libraries.
Find out more about libraries and study spaces for postgraduate research students at Manchester.