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Accessibility statement
An image to illustrate the Psychology and Counselling research area
The School of Psychology & Counselling has a vibrant research culture, noted for its transdisciplinary ethos, its real-world relevance and its commitment to social justice. We welcome PhD candidates who aspire to contribute to this ethos through their research.
Research within the School is conducted under the auspices of the Open Psychology Research Centre, and it is organised around three strands: Culture and Social Psychology (CuSP); Psychology of Health and Wellbeing (PHeW); and the Forensic Cognition Research Group (FCRG).
The School of Psychology & Counselling is part of the ESRC Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) with the University of Oxford and Brunel University, and it offers a limited number of doctoral studentships under the Psychology Pathway.
Most of our full-time research students are based away from our Milton Keynes campus but are resident in the UK; for details of residence requirements for different modes of study see Full-time study and Part-time study.
Explore specific areas of research, current and prospective projects, entry requirements, fees and funding, available supervisors, how to apply and contact details for advice.
Applied and forensic cognition
Cultural and social psychology
Psychology of health and wellbeing
Consider linked topics from other research areas.
Children and young people
Cities, politics, infrastructures
Citizenship, democracy and social movements
Crime, harm, zemiology and criminalisation
Genders and sexuality
Mobilities and migration
Multicultural life, citizenship, difference, political conflict and social divisions
Neuroscience and behaviour
Psychoanalytic sociology and the psychosocial
The OU has changed my life as being able to study part-time from home has meant that I can continue to run my holiday let business without my studies impacting my income. I was worried about feeling a bit ‘out there on my own’ whilst studying remotely, but I have found many ways to get involved, and I now feel like a part of the Social Psychology community at the OU.
The OU has changed my life as being able to study part-time from home has meant that I can continue to run my holiday let business without my studies impacting my income. I was worried about feeling a bit ‘out there on my own’ whilst studying remotely, but I have found many ways to get involved, and I now feel like a part of the Social Psychology community at the OU.