| Qualifications |
Duration |
Start dates |
Application period |
PhD
(MPhil also available) |
Full-time: 3–4 years
Part-time: 6–8 years |
February and October |
January to April |
Qualifications
PhD (MPhil also available) |
Duration
Full-time: 3–4 years
Part-time: 6–8 years |
Start dates
February and October |
Application period
January to April |
Social Policy and Criminology at the Open University has extensive interests and an international profile in this field. It is engaged in several areas of research that help to understand and challenge dominant discourses of punishment and imprisonment, and engages with penal theory and policy. Our substantive areas of interest include:
- empirical examinations of prison life and its harms;
- penal policy, punishment and justice;
- penal theory and ethics
- criminology and philosophy and/or theology
- penal abolitionism
We warmly welcome postgraduate students in these areas. Research students are encouraged to participate in the supportive and collegial research culture in the department and the wider School of Social Sciences and Global Studies. Staff in this research area are members of the Centre for Global Challenges and Social Justice.
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 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 |
Some of our research students are funded via The Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership; 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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