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UCL Department of Security and Crime Science

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Postgraduate research

Our postgraduate research programmes are conducted by UCL SECReT - the UCL Security Science Doctoral Training Centre - the international centre for PhD training in security and crime science.

About us

UCL SECReT was founded in 2009 with support from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (ESRC) and an array of public and private sector organisations working in crime reduction security and law enforcement. Since then, UCL SECReT has become one of the premier centres for doctoral research training in these fields.

Numerous students from around the world have passed through the programme, going on to work in prestigious careers in crime reduction, security and academia with organisations such as the UK Home Office, DSTL (the UK Defence Science and Technology Lab), Rapiscan, Darktrace, the UK National Crime Agency and a range of top universities. The programme embodies not only world class doctoral research, supervised by leading academics, but also focuses on developing important transferable skills such as networking and presenting.

Download our SECReT leaflet (PDF) for more information about our integrated PhD programme.  

Open Evening

Join our open event to learn more about the PhD programmes we have available, see our entry requirements, check scholarship opportunities and find out more about future career opportunities. 

You will also have the opportunity to ask questions and speak to our programme convenors, admission tutors and current students.

Sign up for our online and in person event on Thursday 14 March at 6pm


What we offer

  • We offer the most comprehensive integrated PhD programme for students wishing to pursue multidisciplinary security or crime-related research degrees.
  • We recruit our doctoral students from a range of scientific backgrounds to pursue research in crime or security domains across the engineering and social sciences.
  • Students can enter through various funding routes (self-funded, industry sponsors, scholarships).
  • We have a thriving student society, which all our postgraduate research students (from Routes A & B) automatically become members of when they enrol. The SECReT Society organises research seminars, poster sessions and social events throughout the academic calendar. Please visit the SECReT Society website or follow the SECReT Society LinkedIn and Twitter accounts to find out more.
  • Our UCL SECReT graduates have gone on to a wide variety of interesting careers in the civil service, NGOs, think tanks, private sector organisations and academia. You can read some of their testimonials on our alumni webpage.

Interested in applying?

You can find out more about potential research topics and supervisors on our Areas of study page. Before applying, it is very important that you have researched and contacted a potential supervisor, and the information on this page will help you to do this.

Once you feel that you are ready to apply, you can find out everything you need to know on our Applying for a PhD and PhD scholarships pages. Please make sure that you have familiarised yourself with the information on all of these pages before applying or emailing us. We cannot accept speculative CVs by email and we will direct you to these pages if you contact us in this way.