Overview

The School of Social Work and Social Policy at the University of Strathclyde offers PhD programmes in:

In Social Policy, we offer supervision across each of the School’s main research areas. We're currently supervising students on a wide range of topics from volunteering and associational life in contemporary Scotland to assessing the impacts of social policies on Human Development in Sierra Leone.
Current Social Work work includes studies of the provision of support for disabled children and their families, various aspects of criminal justice social work, and the experiences of looked-after children and care-leavers.
Our PhD programme in Criminology draws on the expertise of colleagues in both Social Work and Social Policy and the School of Law. We offer supervision across a range of topics, including youth and criminal justice, criminalisation, punishment and sentencing, the promotion of desistance, prison health services, and prisoners’ relationships with their families and the wider community.
The School also manages a dedicated PhD programme in Public Health and Health Policy. We're currently supervising students who are working on a variety of different topics, ranging from the impact of mental health problems on women experiencing poverty to the relationship between mental health, homelessness and recovery.

Programme Structure

You can study in any of our available research areas:

Criminology
Public health & health policy
Social policy
Social work

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 36 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2026-10-01 00:00:00

Apply anytime.

More details

Most PhD students start in October, so they move forward as one cohort, but you can start at any time of year.

Language

English

TOEFL^® IBT

73

Schedule TOEFL®

IELTS

6

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Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

Glasgow, United Kingdom

Disciplines

Social Work Social Policy View 59 other PhDs in Social Work in United Kingdom

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Academic requirements

GPA

Upper Second Class

English requirements

TOEFL^® IBT

73

Schedule TOEFL®

IELTS

6

Prepare for Your English Test

Cathoven AI IELTS Preparation

Learn your IELTS Score

AI-powered IELTS feedback. Clear, actionable, and tailored to boost your writing & speaking score. No credit card or upfront payment required.

Trusted by 300k learners
98 accuracy using real exam data
4.9/5 student rating

Other requirements

General requirements

Applicants are generally required to have a first-class or a strong upper second-class UK Honours degree, or overseas equivalent, in a relevant discipline (though there is some flexibility within this, e.g. for students who have a relevant Masters degree with merit/distinction).

During the application you'll be asked for the following:

your full contact details
transcripts and certificates of all degrees
proof of English language proficiency if English isn't your first language
two references, one of which must be academic
funding or scholarship information
research proposal of 1,500 to 2,000 words in length, detailing the subject area and topic to be investigated

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

20950 GBP / year

≈ 20950 GBP / year
Domestic Applies to you

Applies to you

Citizens or residents

5238 GBP / year

≈ 5238 GBP / year

Living costs

Glasgow

United Kingdom

620 - 1012 GBP / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.