| Qualifications |
Duration |
Start dates |
Application period |
PhD
(MPhil also available) |
Full-time: 2–4 years
Part-time: 3–8 years |
February and October |
January to June |
Qualifications
PhD (MPhil also available) |
Duration
Full-time: 2–4 years
Part-time: 3–8 years |
Start dates
February and October |
Application period
January to June |
Politics and International Studies (POLIS) at The Open University has an international reputation for British Comparative and EU politics research. POLIS researchers work with regional and national governments, offer expert analysis in British national and international media, and work with global and non-governmental, policy, organisations, and policymakers.
Within UK politics, supervision is available on the British political system, political history, third sector and NGO politics, labour unions, social movements, and the politics of protest and dissent.
In comparative politics, we are interested in British, French, German, Irish, Iranian, Latin American, South Asian, and American politics, as well as wider questions of global, regional, and national governance. These include case studies and comparative research on democratisation, electoral systems, populism, political parties, transnational networks, and citizen participation.
On the EU, we can supervise EU legitimacy and participation, European civil society, UK-EU relations, and Brexit.
Entry requirements
Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English.
Potential research projects
We welcome enquiries about PhD study in this subject area.
Students also have the opportunity to gain teaching experience via the FASS PhD Student Lecture Scheme and the new FASS Postgraduate Public Lecture Series.
Potential supervisors
Fees and funding
| UK fee |
International fee |
| Full-time: £4,786 per year |
Full-time: £12,146 per year |
| Part-time: £2,393 per year |
Part-time: £6,073 per year |
Research students can apply for funding via the Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership with Oxford and Brunel, or the Open-Oxford-Cambridge DTP in collaboration with Oxford and Cambridge universities. The Citizenship Studies pathway of the Grand Union DTP is hosted within the Department. Alternatively, many of our students 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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