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Division of Psychiatry MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

This is the programme information for 2026/27 entry

If you require details of the previous year's programme, Division of Psychiatry MPhil/PhD (2025/26), click here

UK students International students

Study mode

UK tuition fees (2026/27)

£6,400

£3,200

Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)

£38,300

£19,150

Duration

3 calendar years

5 calendar years

Programme starts

October 2026

February 2027

May 2027

Applications accepted

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis but should be submitted at least three months prior to your preferred start date.

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A recognised medical qualification, or a Master’s degree, or a minimum of an upper-second class Bachelor’s degree from a UK university, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

The English language level for this course is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

The UCL Division of Psychiatry will offer you a broad range of possible supervisors to help you gain the skills you will need for a career in mental health research. We represent a unique interdisciplinary grouping of international experts in psychiatry encompassing epidemiological, biological, genetic, social science and health services research as well as trials.

Close collaborations with UCL's Queen Square Institute of Neurology and Division of Infection & Immunity provide diverse academic resources and a rich study environment. The division also hosts the Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Department.

We offer unrivalled access to clinical and community samples in which to conduct cutting-edge translational research, having strong collaborative links with five NHS trusts operating within diverse, multicultural populations. For graduate research, detailed and considered discussions with prospective supervisors and the Graduate Tutor are provided prior to admission, to ensure research and career aspirations match each student's experience.

Who this course is for

The Division is made up of four Research Departments: Mental Health of Older People, Mental Health and Neuroscience, Marie Curie Palliative Care Research, and Epidemiology and Applied Clinical Research. We look for students from a variety of disciplines and our current students come from a wide range of academic backgrounds including psychology, medicine, nursing, and social sciences.

Read about what it takes to become a UCL graduate research student

What this course will give you

The UCL Division of Psychiatry delivers a wide spectrum of research in mental health sciences, with world-leading research outputs and a friendly, collaborative environment.

Find out how your research could have an impact

The foundation of your career

Popular destinations for our postgraduates include academic institutions, health and social care, government services, international agencies, non-governmental organisations and healthcare start-ups. 100% of our graduates where in full-time work or further study within 15 months of completing their PhD (most recent Graduate Outcomes Survey 2022/23).

Employability

A graduate of a research degree from the UCL Division of Psychiatry emerges with a strong foundation in interdisciplinary mental health research, combining advanced analytical skills with clinical relevance. They are equipped to conduct original research using both quantitative and qualitative methods, and are trained in ethical, impactful practices. With experience in diverse academic and clinical settings, they develop autonomy, critical thinking, and effective communication—preparing them for careers in academia, healthcare, policy, and beyond.

Networking

The UCL Institute of Mental Health facilitates networking across a range of disciplines applied to mental health, including an annual International Conference, symposia and Special Interest Groups. The division hosts networking events with postgraduates and invites speakers from a range of employers.

Teaching and learning

The main learning method of the PhD programme is through generating self-directed original research with input and support from a supervisory team and Thesis Committee. We have a Research Development Programme for learning needs that are common across our cohort of PhD students and students can arrange to audit relevant UCL MSc modules as necessary for their identified learning development.

The UCL Doctoral Skills Development (DSDP) is designed to help doctoral candidates develop skills for research, professional development, and employment. Doctoral candidates are expected to spend 10 days every year on skills improvement. To maximise your development, please take advantage of a variety of activities on the programme.

The thesis will be an extended piece of original research that contributes to the field; a PhD thesis should be no more than 100,000 words and an MPhil thesis 60,000 words.

A typical full-time PhD student is expected to spend an average of approximately 36.5 hours per week working on their PhD, although this will vary, with some periods of more intensive research. Part-time student hours are pro-rata.

Research areas and structure

Staff in the department work in three thematic research groups:

Common mental disorders
Dementia and disorders of old age
Psychosis.

Each theme covers research across the whole range of methods. Our expertise covers the full range of mental health sciences research including biological psychiatry, neuroimaging, psychiatric genetics, epidemiology, health services research (including quantitative and qualitative methods), social psychiatry and clinical trials.

It extends to psychiatric genetics – covering schizophrenia, dementia, alcohol dependence and affective disorders – to psychiatric epidemiology, and to common mental disorders, psychosis and the mental health of older people, including dementia research.

Research environment

UCL is ranked first for research power in Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience by the UK’s most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), with more than two thirds of our research in these areas rated as world-leading (4*).

Our research is wide ranging, covering mental health, neuroscience, palliative care, epidemiology and applied clinical research. Our students come from a range of academic backgrounds including nursing, medicine, psychology and social sciences.

The Division is made up of four Research Departments:

Mental Health of Older People

The Division of Psychiatry is an international leader in dementia research, and we have major grant funding from the MRC, Wellcome Trust, NIHR, local trusts and industry.

Mental Health Neuroscience

Our research spans a range of mental health illnesses, investigating molecular genetics, cell biology and neuroimaging research – including neurophysiology.

Marie Curie Palliative Care Research

We focus on palliative care for patients with dementia and 'hard to reach' groups, systematic reviews, prognostication, communication and symptom control in end-of-life care.

Epidemiology and Applied Clinical Research

We are interested in the distribution and determinants of mental illnesses and research to develop the evidence base for interventions and services for people with mental health problems.

The length of registration for the research degree programmes is three years full time and five years for part-time.

You are required to register initially for the MPhil Degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an upgrade viva 9 - 18 months after initial registration and then fulfil academic requirements to upgrade to PhD degree.

All research students are assigned a primary supervisor whose area of expertise is closely aligned with the student’s chosen research topic and who is responsible for directing their research training. A subsidiary supervisor helps to assess progress, provide continuity of supervision and additional expertise. A broader supervisory panel is provided where appropriate, when research is cross-disciplinary or requires different critical skills such as high level statistics expertise or health economics.

Your supervisory team will help you devise a programme of suitable courses to develop appropriate research and personal skills for your future career. Typically you will attend:

Courses selected from the Graduate School Skills Development Programme which provides generic (presentations, teaching, personal development, theses writing) and specific (qualitative and quantitative research methods, specific statistical processes and packages) skills training.
Modules from appropriate MSc programmes if required.
Local Seminar Programmes which provide a supportive environment in which to develop theories and hypotheses and present draft papers.
Mandatory Dilemma game which gives insight into research integrity.

Part-time student programmes are generally five years and part-time students should submit within five years. Your supervisory team will help you to devise a programme of suitable courses to develop appropriate research and personal skills for your future career.

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time	Part-time
Tuition fees (2026/27)	£6,400	£3,200
Tuition fees (2026/27)	£38,300	£19,150

Postgraduate Taught students benefit from a cohort guarantee, meaning that their tuition fees will not increase during the course of the programme, but UCL reserves the right to increase tuition fees to reflect any sums (including levies, taxes, or similar financial charges) that UCL is required to pay any governmental authority in connection with tuition fees.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Where the course is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

You should discuss research costs with your supervisor. These may be covered by your scholarship funding or by your supervisor's grant funding, or you may be responsible for these if you are a self-funding student.

Examples of additional costs are:

Specialist materials/equipment
Laboratory equipment - Equipment specific to a project or piece of work
Study abroad/Fieldwork - travel, accommodation and subsistence costs
Conference costs
Placement costs
Poster presentation costs
Membership fees
Immunisations and vaccinations

As each research project is unique in nature, we can't give an estimate of these costs and your additional costs will be calculated on a student by student basis. These will be determined by your academic supervisor when you meet at the start of term.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to the UCL Doctoral School's funding section to find out more.

For in-person teaching, UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £119.90. This price was published by TfL in 2025. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

All funding opportunities are advertised on the departmental website.

Prior to putting your application forward, please ensure you have sufficient funds for the duration of your Programme of study in the Division of Psychiatry. Please note that costs are likely to increase in line with the Cost of Living Index. Please ensure that you can provide supporting documentation for your funding, if requested.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Next steps

Deadlines and start dates are usually dictated by funding arrangements so check with the department or academic unit to see if you need to consider these in your application preparation. You should identify and contact potential supervisors before making your application. You should complete this form about your intention to apply, once you have discussed with a potential supervisor. For more information see our How to apply page.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate courses (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

This course requires two references. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2026-2027

Research Degree: Division of Psychiatry, Full-time

Research Degree: Division of Psychiatry, Part-time

Year of entry: 2025-2026