PhD by Published Works

The University of Warwick permits individuals to apply for registration as a candidate for the award of a PhD through the submission of a portfolio of published research. Potential applicants should familiarise themselves with general information on the PhD by published work, with Regulation 38 and with the associated Guidance on the Requirements for the Award of Research Degrees.

University regulations state that candidates must be either:

• Members of academic staff (or administrative or library staff of equivalent status) of the University and normally have been employed by the University for at least three years immediately prior to the submission of published work; or
• Graduates (not necessarily of the University of Warwick) of at least seven years’ standing, normally holding a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.

In the case of an applicant who meets the second criteria but is not a graduate of the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick, the Department will consider the following admission criteria:

• The applicant should have made a significant research contribution through their portfolio of published work (making a significant contribution means adding to knowledge or contributing to the discourse)[1] and
• The applicant should have an established international reputation for the scholarly quality and impact of their work (as judged by publication in leading journals/ conference proceedings/ books and ‘Impact’) [2] and
• The applicant should have a track record of having engaged with the research or teaching activities of the Department (demonstrated by a strong record of attendance at departmental research events or engagement in the departments teaching and student experience activities-details of which can be found on the department web pages).

In the Department of Economics, applications will be considered by an academic committee consisting of the Director MRes/PhD, Director PhD, Director MRes and one or more Professors from the applicant’s chosen research area. The committee will determine whether the applicant meets the criteria set out above and, if satisfied, will ask the Chair of the Faculty Education Committee to consider the submission. An offer can only be made once the Chair of the Faculty Education Committee makes a recommendation to the Chair of the Board of Graduate Students, and the Chair of the Board of Graduate Studies has given approval, following consideration of the recommendation. Applications will be considered once a year, at the same time as we consider applications for the full time MRes/PhD programme (i.e. February, for admission the following October).

Applicants are required to address the Economics department admissions criteria set out in the three bullet points listed above, in a separate document. Potential applicants should note in particular that a successful application for admission is followed by a period of registration prior to submission for examination for the degree of PhD: admission does not guarantee award of the degree. PhD (by published works) candidates are required to successfully complete the standard PhD examination process.

[1] Petre & Rugg (2010) The Unwritten Rules of PhD Research

[2] Refers to Impact in the REF sense, defined as: ‘an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia’. (Research England: https://re.ukri.org/research/ref-impact/ )