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European Studies MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

This is the programme information for 2025 entry

If you require details of the previous year's programme, European Studies MPhil/PhD (2024), click here

UK students International students

Study mode

UK tuition fees (2025/26)

£6,215

£3,105

Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)

£29,800

£14,900

Duration

3 calendar years

5 calendar years

Programme starts

October 2025

February 2026

May 2026

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 UK Master's degree in a relevant discipline, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. In some cases high marks within a first-class Bachelor's degree may be acceptable. In the first instance, candidates should establish a dialogue with a potential supervisor before making a formal application. Admission is normally dependent on the submission of a detailed research project proposal.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 4

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

Students can specialise in any area of European Studies for which there is a suitable supervisor. We have a high level of expertise in the fields of modern European history, thought, literature, and film.

Who this course is for

This MPhil/PhD is for applicants with a strong interest in conducting multi-disciplinary research, who may have completed post-graduate training or study and want to develop an advanced critical analysis in a specific research area. The programme is for applicants with a background or interest in modern European history, politics, literature, and relevant disciplines. It is suitable for both recent Masters graduates as well as early or mid-career professionals.

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

What this course will give you

As a multi-faculty institution in the heart of cosmopolitan London, covering an exceptionally wide range of disciplines, UCL offers an ideal environment for research in the broad subject areas covered by European Studies. Research students have a primary and secondary supervisor from different disciplines, so studying at UCL provides an opportunity to take full advantage of these interdisciplinary strengths.

Students are supported by a dynamic research culture, a stimulating environment and excellent opportunities for research training. UCL runs numerous seminar series and guest lectures, and researchers have access to world-class libraries, including those at UCL itself, the British Library, and the School of Advanced Study.

Find out how your research could have an impact

The foundation of your career

Graduates of this programme will possess exceptional abilities in writing and communication, alongside critical and creative thinking, as well as unrivalled research skills.

Recent research degree graduates from SELCS-CMII, have also gone on to work in sectors such as: health and social care; policy and government; accountancy and financial services, teaching and other educational activities. They have gone on to work for employers such as the University of Sussex, University of Exeter, the Home Office and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.*

*Graduate Outcomes Survey carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), looking at the destinations of UK and EU graduates in the 2017 - 2022 cohorts.

Employability

Doctoral students develop a range of skills that are invaluable in academia and in numerous other fields where PhD holders are prized for their skills in communication, critical analysis, management of projects and deadlines, and intercultural mediation.

Skills acquired as a result of taking this programme include: ability to conduct research in library archives and electronic archives; ability to synthesise and summarise large amounts of information; ability to use evidence in order to construct a convincing argument; and ability to plan workloads efficiently and meet deadlines.

Networking

Supervision and mentorship is available from world-leading researchers with international and national contacts and collaborations across policy, government, cultural institutions, academia and industry, and our approach is always cross-disciplinary. With 83% of SELCS-CMII research activity being graded 4* ‘world leading’ and 3* ‘internationally excellent’ in the REF 2021.

We've collaborated on research with many of the world's leading organisations in the field. These links provide opportunities to network and collaborate with a wide variety of external partners. Our students gain access to a range of networking events, career workshops and exclusive seminars.

Students are strongly encouraged to attend and give papers at conferences, establishing contacts with academics and also peers working in their field.

Teaching and learning

Research students undertake relevant induction sessions and can take advantage of the Doctoral Skills Development Programme.

PhD students meet regularly in term time with their supervisors and may be offered opportunities to gain valuable teaching experience and participate in reading groups and conferences.

To successfully upgrade to a PhD you are required to submit a piece of writing (this is usually based on one chapter from your thesis and a chapter plan for the remainder). You are also required to present and answer questions about this work to a panel consisting of your subsidiary supervisor and another member of the Faculty who acts as an independent assessor.

PhD students should treat their research programme as a full-time job, which equates roughly to 35 hours per week, or 15 hours for part-time students.

Students agree to a timetable of regular meetings with the Principal Supervisor to effectively manage the progression of project aims. This is flexible, at some points it may be necessary to meet more or less often.

Full-time students can expect to meet supervisors every two weeks during the academic year, and part-time students every four weeks. If a student has external funding, they should also ensure they meet the Terms & Conditions of the funder.

Research areas and structure

Comparative historical, social and cultural studies
Political and social theory
European and global politics
Politics and ethics
European colonialism
20th century European history
European cultures of memory
European film

Research environment

Research students are encouraged to participate in research seminars across and outside SELCS-CMII including networks such as the Centre for Early Modern Exchanges and Society for Comparative Cultural Inquiry.

Students contribute significantly to the research environment through the organisation of annual conferences, and participation in seminars and online journals. Students can access special collections in Modern Languages, Culture and History at UCL and other world-class libraries (Senate House and British Library) within walking distance of campus. As well as access to research support in the form of academic skills courses, student-led workshops and reading groups.

In the first instance, candidates should establish a dialogue with a potential supervisor before making a formal application. The length of registration for the research degree programmes is usually three years for 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.

Upon successful completion of your approved period of registration you may register as a completing research student (CRS) while you write up your thesis.

In the First Year, you will be required to take part in a mandatory Skills Seminar Programme. You are expected to agree with your supervisor the basic structure of your research project, an appropriate research method and a realistic plan of work. You will produce and submit a detailed outline of your proposed research to your supervisor for their comments and feedback and be given the opportunity to present your research to UCL academic staff and fellow PhD students.

In the Second Year, you will be expected to upgrade from MPhil to a PhD. To successfully upgrade to a PhD you are required to submit a piece of writing (this is usually based on one chapter from your thesis and a chapter plan for the remainder). You are also required to present and answer questions about this work to a panel consisting of your subsidiary supervisor and another member of the Faculty who acts as an independent assessor.

The length of registration for the research degree programmes is usually three years for 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.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time	Part-time
Tuition fees (2025/26)	£6,215	£3,105
Tuition fees (2025/26)	£29,800	£14,900

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme 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

Additional costs may include expenses such as books, stationery, printing or photocopying, and conference registration fees.

Students receive a free printing allowance each year and pay for any additional printing (see details). You should expect to face additional expenses if you attend external conferences. The cost depends on the location, exchange rates, and the price of travel and accommodation, but this may be between £200 and £500 per event, based on typical events and destinations attended by recent students. Current research students are welcome to apply for SELCS-CMII funding for training workshops or international conferences in advance of the activity. This may be for part or all of the costs and is assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The department strives to keep additional costs low. Books and journal articles are usually available via the UCL library (hard copies or via e-journal subscriptions).

The wealth of departmental seminars / colloquiums / symposiums and student organised work in progress sessions give ample opportunities to present research, receive feedback and participate in discussion.

For students who take part in the Yale-UCL Student Exchange, expenses will be the personal responsibility of the Exchange participant. There are a limited number of Yale-UCL Bursaries available, otherwise participants will need to cover travel and living costs themselves. Further information on additional costs and eligibility can be found online.

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 £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. 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

For more details about departmental funding available to postgraduate research students in the department, please refer to our Funding, Scholarships and Prizes (Research) webpage.

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

: Dutch Studies Bursary

Deadline: 1 November 2025

Value: From £1,250 to £2,500 (1 year)

Criteria Based on financial need

Eligibility: UK, EU, Overseas

Quirk PhD Scholarship

Deadline: 24 January 2025

Value: Fees and maintenance (3yrs)

Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial need

Eligibility: UK

Next steps

All applicants must identify and contact potential supervisors before making their application. For more information see our 'Need to Know' page.

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

This programme 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.