Anthropology PhD students can take either a Sociocultural or Biological route. Both routes last three years and are examined by thesis. We encourage prospective PhD students to make informal contact with a member of the academic staff to discuss their application at an early stage.
Within the first few months of study, students will agree a work plan with their supervisors and identify any training needs, which may involve attending modules from our masters programmes as appropriate.
Students are encouraged to attend our writing seminars designed for research students. This seminar series brings together both pre- and post-fieldwork students to discuss reports of fieldwork in progress, draft chapters written by students and recent publications of relevance to students' work.
All PhD students are required to produce a 7,000 word progression report towards the end of their 1st year. This will be examined by two internal examiners who will hold a progression viva at which the student and examiners will discuss the progression script. Upon successfully passing their progression viva students will be permitted to proceed with their PhD research.
Students should aim to complete their research and write-up, and to submit their thesis by the end of their 3rd year.
The standard entry requirements for a PhD in Anthropology are usually:
We are delighted you are considering joining us as a PhD researcher. Our department accepts applications on a rolling basis for October and January start dates. However, submission deadlines may apply for students pursuing a scholarship to fund their studies. Please follow the five steps below to make an application.
1. Consider funding options: We strongly encourage prospective applicants to pursue a scholarship to support their PhD studies. The main funding pathways for our students are NINE-DTP and the Chinese Scholarship Council, however, you may be eligible for other scholarships depending on your region of residence and other criteria (full list of funding opportunities here). Most students will apply for acceptance to our programme in late Autumn to be eligible to for major scholarship competitions with deadlines January-March.
2. Identifying suitable supervisors: Before making an application, you must identify two staff members willing to act as your primary and secondary supervisors. Please carefully review the profiles of academic staff members in our department and reach out to individual staff members with expertise relevant to your project to ask whether they would be willing to supervise your project. In your email to potential supervisors, we suggest you include:
a. A research proposal of around 2000 words (maximum)
b. A 2-page CV
c. Your plan for funding your studies and relevant scholarship competition deadlines
If after extensive requests you have been unable to identify two suitable supervisors, you may contact the Director of Postgraduate Research for Anthropology (anth.dpgr@durham.ac.uk) for suggestions.
3. Inform the department: Once you have identified your supervision team, please contact the PGR Coordinator (anthropology.pgr@durham.ac.uk) to confirm your intention to apply and discuss next steps.
4. Developing your application: Work closely with your supervisors to develop the strongest possible research proposal and other application materials, bearing in mind assessment criteria for any scholarship you will pursue.
5. Apply through the portal: Submit an application for admission to our program through the portal linked below. Applications for funding are handled separately, usually after receiving an unconditional offer of admission from the university.
For questions concerning the PhD application process, please contact anthropology.pgr@durham.ac.uk
Apply for postgraduate study
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