Study psychology at postgraduate level and you become part of a diverse, dynamic and supportive community in which to research and learn. Some of the areas that Social Psychology research at Kent covers are prejudice and discrimination, justice and morality, leadership and power, conspiracies and social movement, and culture and social interaction.
A PhD is a doctorate of philosophy based on mostly independent study. You are assessed formally on the basis of one piece of work, a dissertation (or thesis), that reports your original thought and research. You must also successfully complete all required training.
If, rather than a research degree, you are interested in a Master's degree in this area comprising specialist modules and a dissertation element, our taught MSc in Social Psychology is a great choice.
Although sometimes we have specific PhD research projects related to funding awards, most of our research students choose their own research topics. Once you have decided on the nature of your project, it is important to contact a staff member whose expertise matches your area of interest with a CV and research proposal to discuss your proposed project and potential supervisory arrangements. Master's by Research applicants should also follow this procedure.
You then work with your proposed supervisor on refining your research proposal which provides the starting point for your subsequent research.
During your research, you are supported by your supervisory team, normally comprising one main supervisor and a secondary supervisor. Your will have agreed your main supervisor, based on their compatibility with your research interests, prior to registration. Typically, you have one formal meeting per month with your main supervisor to discuss your work and progress (bi-monthly for part-time students).
Through the Graduate School, you have access to training in research-specific and broader transferable skills, including academic writing, career management and presentation skills.
PhD students in receipt of a teaching studentship (GTA), must also complete the Associate Fellowship Scheme (AFS). The AFS registration period is one year.
Kent's School of Psychology conducts both basic and applied research in several areas, and we are highly regarded as a leading European centre for postgraduate research. We have a strong international reputation in cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, forensic psychology and social psychology. This is complemented by our strengths in organisational psychology and political psychology.
Some of our PhD students are self-funded, and others are funded by grants or awards either from the School, the University, UK research councils or their countries of origin.
The School has a strong track record of attracting ESRC research studentship funding, which involves partnerships with external organisations such as the Anne Frank Trust.
Before making your application, you are required to contact and confirm supervision with a staff member within the School of Psychology . Please note, if this is not completed and noted on your application, our admissions team will not be able to process your application until supervision is confirmed.
A final degree classification (grade average) of at least a 2.1 or Merit in the UK system (the second highest classification after First/Distinction). Results from institutions in other countries will be assessed individually according to this standard.
Your existing degree does not have to be in psychology as long as the statistics training requirement is met (please see below) and your proposed supervisor and the Director of Graduate Studies (Research) are satisfied with the suitability of your academic background. If it is in a different subject, or if it is not accredited by the British Psychological Society, please ask your academic referee to complete our Pro-forma for graduate research programmes and email it to hssadmissions@kent.ac.uk.
This programme includes a one-year statistics sequence which you must normally pass in order to receive your award. The teaching assumes that you are familiar with the following topics:
Therefore, your existing degree transcript should note that you have taken and passed a minimum of one term each in statistics and social science research methods courses (or two terms of a joint statistics and research methods course).
It is possible to be exempted from the statistics training at Kent if there is sufficient evidence that you have already completed equivalent training in a previous qualification.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.
This course requires a Good level of English language, equivalent to B2 on CEFR.
Details on how to meet this requirement can be found on our English Language requirements webpage.
Examples:
IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component
PTE Academic 63 with a minimum of 59 in each sub-test
A degree from a UK university
A degree from a Majority English Speaking Country
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
Postgraduate research is a fantastic opportunity and significant investment in your future, enabling you to expand your knowledge, skills and career options – all while making a meaningful impact and contribution to an area you are passionate about.
At Kent, we also recognise the significant financial investment that comes with postgraduate study, and we offer a range of scholarships for our postgraduate researchers, to help keep your mind on your studies, and off your finances.
Scholarships can be broad, or specific to your situation, background or even country – so please do use our scholarships finder to discover the options available to you.
We also have research partnership funding with research councils and government schemes in specific areas of interest that can help you take your research to the next level with additional financial support.
Find out more on our fees and funding page and discover what option is right for you.
The School has excellent facilities for both laboratory and field research, including advanced laboratory and teaching facilities. Resources include:
Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. Among others, they have recently contributed to: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology; Child Development; Clinical Psychology Review. Details of recently published books can be found within the staff research interests.
Kent's Graduate School co-ordinates the Researcher Development Programme for research students, which includes workshops focused on research, specialist and transferable skills. The programme is mapped to the national Researcher Development Framework and covers a diverse range of topics, including subject-specific research skills, research management, personal effectiveness, communication skills, networking and teamworking, and career management skills.
The School of Psychology is highly regarded as a leading European centre for postgraduate research, with an international reputation for excellence in social psychology (including group processes and intergroup relations); cognition and neuroscience; developmental psychology; and forensic psychology. We have staff who can supervise research degrees in all of these areas plus organisational psychology and political psychology. The research environment is designed to sustain a strong, vibrant research culture, encourage collaboration, and unite staff and students with shared research interests. Our themes ensure critical mass and create a highly energetic and stimulating intellectual climate.
Research activity is supported by:
Our academics have received prestigious editorial appointments and both national and international awards. Many leading international social psychologists are affiliated with the group, reflecting the strong reputation of social psychology at Kent.
Our work is funded by a variety of British and international sources including the European Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, National Science Foundation, European Commission, Home Office, Department of Trade and Industry, Nuffield Foundation and Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Our researchers also engage in consultancy work for businesses and the government.
Our research covers all areas of social psychology, including:
Much of our research is coordinated through the Centre for the Study of Group Processes.
Research on this topic focuses primarily on the role of vision and visual perception in human performance. The aim of this work is to identify the cognitive processes and neurological mechanisms that underlie various visual tasks. Studies with neurologically healthy volunteers examine issues such as:
Our research also examines a range of psychological disorders, including unilateral visual neglect, addiction, dementia and persistent vegetative state. We are interested in examining the cognitive nature of these disorders, which includes assessing attentional biases, visual experiences and neurological activity. Much of our work also has an applied motivation, for example helping to develop better therapies for people with brain injury.
Research in this group examines various aspects of semantic, pragmatic, morphological and syntactic understanding.
Research questions on adult populations include:
Our work on developmental populations examines issues such as:
This research group has links with researchers in the School of European Culture and Languages, as part of the Centre for Language and Linguistics.
Forensic psychology research at Kent and all forensic-related teaching operates through our Centre of Research and Education in Forensic Psychology (CORE-FP).
Forensic psychology seeks to understand:
Our academics are represented in editorships and editorial boards of many major journals in forensic and applied psychology. Many are Chartered Forensic Psychologists who assess and treat offenders and evaluate offender rehabilitation programmes. Thus we have strong links with the UK Prison Service, the NHS, the Police, and other bodies involved in forensic related services and activities.
Our research is funded by various national and international sources, which include the British Academy, Economic and Social Research Council, the Home Office, Leverhulme, the Ministry of Justice and the Nuffield Foundation.
Areas of forensic psychology research that we are currently working on include:
Other areas of research include social cognition, social and moral emotion, and group process theory, all of which are applied to the study of offending behaviour or court process issues.
Our research interests include:
We have excellent links with the wider community. Members of the Developmental Psychology group are committed to sharing their research findings and methodologies with the public. We hold highly successful large-scale events that bring together practitioners, policy makers, and academics to share knowledge and develop collaborations. Our outreach events are typically interactive, fun, and informative. They range from ‘Play and Learn’ days for young families, to workshops for school children on topical issues such as cyberbullying and happiness.
A central hub for our research and outreach activity is the Kent Child Development Unit.
The School of Psychology currently includes two formally constituted research centres, representing areas of concentration and excellence in research.
The Centre includes a thriving international research community, involving twelve tenured academic staff, as well as its research fellows and PhD students. The Centre attracts visits and research collaborations from major international researchers, many of whom have formal affiliations with the Centre.
Over the years, CSGP has attracted substantial externally funded research on a wide range of topics. It has also recruited excellent MSc and PhD students and its members teach for the School’s MSc degrees in Social and Applied Psychology, Political Psychology and Organisational and Business Psychology. The Centre also edits an international journal, Group Processes and Intergroup Relations (Sage Publications).
The Centre of Research and Education in Forensic Psychology strives to be the leader in research that informs practice and policy. The vast range of topics covered by the centre staff is indicative of the centre’s facilitative research culture. As a result, members of the centre team have been the beneficiaries of research funding for new and innovative research.
Kent’s world-class academics provide research students with excellent supervision. The academic staff in this school and their research interests are shown below. You are strongly encouraged to contact the school to discuss your proposed research and potential supervision prior to making an application. Please note, it is possible for students to be supervised by a member of academic staff from any of Kent’s schools, providing their expertise matches your research interests. Use our ‘find a supervisor’ search to search by staff member or keyword.
Full details of staff research interests can be found on the School's website.
Our postgraduate students commonly go into the fields of health, teaching or further education. For instance, many of our graduates take up roles as assistant psychologists in the NHS with a view to becoming a professional clinical or forensic psychologist.
The programmes we offer help you to develop general critical, analytic and problem-solving skills that can be applied in a wide range of settings.
The 2025/26 annual tuition fees for this course are:
The 2025/26 annual tuition fees for UK postgraduate research courses have not yet been set by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). This is ordinarily announced in February. As a guide only for the full-time tuition fee for new and returning UK postgraduate research courses for 2024/25 is £4,786. The equivalent part-time fee for these courses is £2,393.
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
Tuition fees may be increased in the second and subsequent years of your course. Detailed information on possible future increases in tuition fees is contained in the Tuition Fees Increase Policy. If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
Tuition fees may be increased in the second and subsequent years of your course. Detailed information on possible future increases in tuition fees is contained in the Tuition Fees Increase Policy. If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
You'll need regular access to a desktop computer/laptop with an internet connection to use the University of Kent’s online resources and systems. We've listed some guidelines for the technology and software you'll need for your studies.
Find out more about accommodation and living costs, as well as general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Search our scholarships finder for possible funding opportunities. You may find it helpful to look at both:
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Next steps
Learn more about the application process or begin your application by clicking on a link below.
You will be able to choose your preferred year of entry once you have started your application. You can also save and return to your application at any time.
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Kent ranked top 40 in The Times Good University Guide 2025.
Fees and funding
Kent has risen 11 places in THE’s REF 2021 ranking, confirming us as a leading research university.
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