Content Blocks

Education (MPhil/PhD)

Find out more about our MPhil/PhD in Education.

Page updates

We may have revised the information on this page since publication. See the edits we have made and content history.

P-X3X7

MPhil/PhD

4 years full-time;
7 years part-time

5 October 2026

Education Studies

University of Warwick

Education Studies is committed to high quality, rigorous interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the broad and diverse field of Education. Our research spans a range of research areas as well as a range of international and local context. The Department’s ethos is that educational research and scholarship exist to find solutions to questions of ‘what works’ in terms of policy and practice, but also to problematise existing policy and practice by posing new questions about the purposes and the future of education, in the UK and globally. This provides a space for meaningful and multi-disciplinary collaborations across the Department and beyond. The University of Warwick's Doctorate in Education welcomes world-class applicants with a commitment to educational research and challenge.

The PhD is designed as a programme combining advanced research methods training and individual, supervised research, leading to an 80,000 word thesis. The thesis is expected to be a substantial original contribution to knowledge and, in principle, to have the potential to be developed into peer-reviewed publication.

Teaching and learning

The PhD programme has an Advanced Research Methods training element that is compulsory, and all students complete an Upgrade examination (a written portfolio and oral examination) in order to progress from MPhil to PhD. The research methods training takes place via online mode on Saturday mornings spread out over the first year. Students work with their supervisors on their independent projects throughout the course. We have research student work rooms within the department with desktop computers available.

Specific departmental guidance is available on preparing applications to the Department of Education Studies and on Preparing a Research Proposal.

We are interested in hearing from people who are thinking of pursuing a PhD in areas of our expertise:

Learning

• Special educational needs and disability (including intellectual disabilities and autism)
• School-based mental health and wellbeing (including intellectual disabilities and autism)
• Early years’ development and education
• Philosophy of mind and thought
• Educational leadership and development

Cultures

• Drama and theatre education
• Creative and arts-based learning
• Sociology of arts and religion
• Modern Islamic pedagogies

Society

• Education inequalities and social justice
• Sociologies of childhood and fatherhood
• Early intervention
• Families, family relationships, family adjustment, and parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Education policy
• Feminist and gender pedagogy
• Higher education
• International development
• Inclusive and participatory research and practice

Full details of our research interests are listed on the Education Studies webpagesLink opens in a new window.

You can also read our general University research proposal guidance.

It is advisable to locate a potential supervisor using the link below and to discuss with them the area you'd like to research.

We have over 20 full-time academic staff members with many research strengths who could be your supervisors. Explore our Staff Research Directory where you will be able to filter by research interests. Co-supervision with other departments may be possible.

You can also see our general University guidance about finding a supervisor.Link opens in a new window

Research proposals 

For admission to the Department of Education Studies research degree programme, the proposal should be approximately 2,000 words (excluding the references list), and no longer than this. 

Note that there may well be changes and developments to the proposal if you gain entry to the department and begin your study. You will not be held rigidly to the proposal – however, we want to see that you are able to conceive of a doctoral research project as part of the application review process. 

For more details on what we look for in a research proposal please see our webpages. 

2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in Education, any relevant Social Sciences or Humanities discipline, or another relevant discipline if justified.

A Master’s degree in Education, any relevant Social Sciences or Humanities discipline, or another relevant discipline if justified.

• Band B
• IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above. With a minimum of 6.5 in the Writing component.

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.