Part-time doctoral study changes the rhythm of research, not simply the number of hours on campus. Explore how the project will fit with your other commitments, which activities have fixed attendance requirements and how supervision will work. Availability, permitted duration and funding depend on the individual programme and award, so begin with the official course instructions.
Guidance sources checked 03-10-2026. Listings have their own source checks.Apply for competitive social-science doctoral funding at ARU through student-led or advertised-project routes. The award supports home-rate fees and a stipend. International applicants need evidence of an additional scholarship for the fee gap and immigration costs.
Pursue doctoral research in civil engineering, with groups working on earthquake and geotechnical engineering, water and environment, and systems and safety. A general course application does not secure a funded project.
Investigate a mechanical-engineering question through groups spanning dynamics, solid mechanics, design and ultrasonic testing. The programme supports independent research, with funding considered through separate studentships or external sponsorship.
Develop research across literature and culture with expertise aligned to your proposed material and methods. The department encourages prospective applicants to contact relevant supervisors before submitting a proposal.
Develop a geography research project with written supervisory support before formal application. The department welcomes applications throughout the year; competitive funding follows a separate timetable.
Pursue research in literature, creative writing or English language. Applicants develop a proposal, identify potential supervisors and prepare supporting documents for a year-round research degree route.
Develop research in English literature across historical periods and themes including life writing, gender, literature and science, and the history of the book. Applications need a proposal in the university’s specified form.
Explore doctoral research within Cardiff’s psychology research environment. The school distinguishes specific funded projects from other application routes, so the documents needed depend on the opportunity you choose.
Model how biological activity changes soil properties, water flow and gas transport. This advertised project connects mathematical scaling with environmental and physical processes in soil.
Use computing to assess river barriers and prioritise changes that reconnect freshwater habitats.
Develop low-noise optical microcombs for precise timing in a project involving National Physical Laboratory placements. The published funding package is four years; part-time terms and October-start treatment need confirmation.
Seek competitive international doctoral funding through School nomination and a university selection panel.
Compete for arts and humanities doctoral support with training through the Landscape South hub.
Challenge-led social-science doctoral study with structured research training and a funded research-in-practice placement; final duration may vary after a training-needs assessment.
An interdisciplinary four-year studentship joining two Loke Centre research groups to investigate placental biology, early development or maternal–fetal interactions.
Cross-disciplinary doctoral funding for research aligned with Durham's Transformative Humanities framework, with training and placement resources alongside the award.
Discovery-led arts and humanities doctoral awards with researcher development and engagement beyond the university, selected through the Queen's postgraduate application.
Arts and humanities doctoral scholarships combining an independent research project with a funded three-month placement and regional training.
As a planning exercise, map the work into reading, data collection, analysis, writing and meetings. Ask which tasks require long uninterrupted periods, travel or access during working hours. Reserve time for learning unfamiliar methods as well as producing results. A timetable that includes only the final research tasks can underestimate the time needed to become ready to do them.
Part-time study can span changes in employment, caring responsibilities and research access. Discuss how the project will remain feasible if its setting changes or a key collaborator leaves. Check the university’s maximum registration period, progress assessments and any award duration separately. Cambridge and Warwick publish their own part-time doctoral durations; neither should be treated as a nationwide promise.
No universal rule follows from a qualification title. Read the programme’s stated study modes and ask whether your particular project can be undertaken part-time. A department may offer the mode while a specific studentship, laboratory schedule or research design imposes additional constraints.
UKRI guidance states that part-time students receive a pro-rated stipend. Requests to change study mode are considered through the provider; the provider does not have to accept every request. These rules describe UKRI-funded studentships, not all university scholarships or employer-sponsored projects.
Do not assume that it can. Meetings, participant access, fieldwork, training and laboratory work may happen at set times. Make a realistic weekly plan with the supervisor. Identify the commitments that can move and those that cannot, then decide whether the arrangement is practical.
Our research guide explains the decisions and links to official university and government guidance. Applications and funding decisions are handled by the offering institution.
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