Research students

There are more than 1,000 research students registered for postgraduate degrees with the OU. Benefits of conducting your research with us are:

Global reach

Join a community of research students spread over four continents.

Research reputation

We are global leaders in research and innovation.

The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise deemed 87% of our research as ‘internationally excellent’
We rank in the top third of UK universities for the quality of our research

Flexible study

We offer research degrees on a full-time and part-time basis. You can study a PhD or MPhil full-time or part-time, and the Doctorate in Education (EdD), which is a professional doctorate, as a part-time degree. To find out more about studying for a research degree, visit our online prospectus.

Research support

Study with us and benefit from:

academics who are leading experts in their disciplines
laboratories with state-of-the-art equipment for research into space, the environment, brain activity, music and more
our world-leading online technical support and library facilities

Inspiring supervisors

You will be supervised by academics who are leading experts in their fields.

The Higher Education Academy Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) 2011 revealed:

90% of OU respondents said the ‘overall experience of their research degree programme’ met or exceeded their expectations
76% of OU respondents were confident that they would complete their research more or less within the planned timescale, compared to 73% for the sector in 2011
86% said that their supervisors had the skills and subject knowledge to support their research adequately

Career development opportunities

We offer development opportunities for our staff and researchers at all stages of their careers.

Research degree students benefit from our PhD skills resources which support their studies.

Access the OU Careers Advisory Service.

Student view – Melanie Georgiou

The main reason I chose to do my research at the OU was because of the PhD project in the field of neural tissue engineering and repair with Dr James Phillips, within the Biomedical Research Network (BRN) at the OU.
Student view – Stan Payne

I have been studying with the OU for 22 years now. I started with courses in computing to support my work. This lead to a BSc (Hons), Postgraduate diploma and finally my MSc.
Student view - Olivia Galea Seychell

I chose to do my research at the OU because I had heard a lot about the OU’s record in health and social care. I had a background in this field as I was working as a social researcher in Malta. I am a social psychologist and I chose to do my PhD in psychology and social work.
Student view - Clifford Dansoh

I did my first degree at the OU and did my Masters part-time. When I decided to do a PhD at the OU I did not really know about research at the OU or how it was done.
Student view - Rebecca Rumbul

I did both my BA and MSc at the OU so I was familiar with OU practices before I decided to do a PhD. I did look at some other universities but they seemed closed to distance learning students. The OU is already very well set up for this so this attracted me.