Rural Economy and Communities

Award Award	Duration Duration	Start dates Start dates	Application Application
PhD (MPhil also available) PhD (MPhil also available)	Full-time: 3–4 years Part-time: 6–8 years Full-time: 3–4 years Part-time: 6–8 years	February and October February and October	March to June (February start) October to January (October start) March to June (February start) October to January (October start)

The Rural Economy Cluster (REC) is a community of Open University researchers in the Faculty of Business and Law and beyond to investigate rural livelihoods, regional/local development, policy, and related topics. Our long-term vision for research, knowledge exchange and impact work, is to support a more thriving rural economy and enable actionable outcomes for businesses, policy makers and community organisations that contribute to Levelling Up, and creating sustainable liveable rural places and communities.

Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English.

UK fee UK fee	International fee International fee
Full-time: £5,006 per year Full-time: £5,006 per year	Full-time: £12,705 per year Full-time: £12,705 per year
Part-time: £2,503 per year Part-time: £2,503 per year	Part-time: £6,353 per year Part-time: £6,353 per year

Some of our research students are funded via The Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership, some are funded by University studentships; others are self-funded.

For detailed information about fees and funding, visit Fees and studentships.

To see current funded studentship vacancies across all research areas, see Current studentships.

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