| Qualifications |
Duration |
Start dates |
Application period |
PhD
(MPhil also available) |
Full-time: 3–4 years
Part-time: 6–8 years |
February and October |
March to June
(February start)
October to January (October start) |
Qualifications
PhD
(MPhil also available) |
Duration
Full-time: 3–4 years
Part-time: 6–8 years |
Start dates
February and October |
Application period
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.
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 recent research projects
- Rural Entrepreneurship
- Rural policy
- Rural tourism
- Rural creative enterprises
- Rural creative hubs
- Business support in rural areas
- Business models of rural firms
- SDGs and the rural economy
- Local and regional rural development
- Regenerative farming
- Rural social enterprises
- Innovation in rural firms
- Social innovations in rural areas
- Community development and rural areas
- Remote rural and living well
- Using drones in farming
- Family firms in rural areas
Current/recent research projects
- Business support for rural firms
- Business support for rural creative centres, the example of the West Midlands (internal OU funding)
- Supporting rural craft micro-businesses – Business support for rural craft businesses (ISBE RAKE funding)
- Innovation support for rural firms (IRC funded)
- Foodbanks in rural market towns
- Icaerus Horizon project – the use of drones in farming (EU HORIZON funding)
- Liminal rural hinterlands of seaside towns
- Socioeconomic impact and evaluation of spaceports on rural economy
- Regenerative farming methods (PhD)
- Sustainability in rural family businesses in La Rioja/Spain
- Does Wi-Fi/Data connectivity disadvantage OU students?
- Fisheries and coastal economy in the UK.
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 - Pathway lead "Organisation, Governance and Leadership, 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.
Links