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Innovation and Public Policy MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

UK students International students

Study mode

UK tuition fees (2024/25)

£6,035

£3,015

Overseas tuition fees (2024/25)

£28,100

£14,050

Duration

4 calendar years

5 calendar years

Programme starts

October 2024

February 2025

May 2025

Applications accepted

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard, in a relevant subject, is essential. Exceptionally: where applicants have other suitable research or professional experience, they may be admitted without a Master's degree; or where applicants have a lower second-class UK Honours Bachelor's degree (2:2) (or equivalent) they must possess a relevant Master's degree to be admitted. We expect any successful application to include a sufficiently strong and convincing proposal, and those holding a Master's degree are typically well prepared to provide one. Relevant work experience is highly desirable.

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

Our MPhil/PhD programme is centred on fostering path-breaking research into ways to understand public value and public purpose in the context of innovation and public policies supporting innovation and public and economic policy. It brings together economists, philosophers, political scientists, designers, architects, anthropologists, and natural scientists. The PhD involves independent research over a 3-4 year period for full time students, with mandatory research methods training in the first year. Students will be supervised by a minimum of two supervisors, the primary supervisor being at IIPP. The supervisors will have regular meetings with you to update on progress and provide feedback on written work and guidance on relevant literature, research design and methods. The subsidiary may be at IIPP or another department at UCL. Important feedback will also be provided by peers within the department and we encourage students to present papers at conferences.

Who this course is for

Students should normally have a Masters degree in a relevant topic and have some experience of independent research. They should be highly self-motivated and have a passionate interest in the topic they wish to examine. Although IIPP is policy-oriented institute, PhDs remain primarily academic exercises about contributing new knowledge to an area of research.

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

What this course will give you

The UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) leads the debate about the direction of economic growth and governments' use of mission-oriented policies to confront the world's most urgent challenges: from climate change to inequality and the problems facing aging societies. Our research uses multidisciplinary perspectives to rethink economics and economic policy and the ways in which innovation leads to transformative change. Our main focus is on new approaches to policy across a range of spheres, including innovation policy, industrial policy, digital innovation in public and private sectors, environmental policy and macroeconomic and financial policy. We also focus on the development of capabilities and capacities needed within public institutions, and new forms of collaborations between actors in both private and public spheres, to drive innovation across society-wide missions. The programme includes research skills training provision including a Research Methods series, regular PhDs seminars for peers to present new work and invited speaker research seminar series.

Find out how your research could have an impact

The foundation of your career

Graduates from the programme will possess a unique analytical skill set in public policy, organisational and institutional innovation, new models of innovation policy (mission-oriented innovation), and dynamic capabilities in the public sector. Many public sector organisations, policy think tanks and other policy analysis organisations, NGOs and large private organisations are looking for employees who are well versed and skilled in new ways of justifying, evaluating and implementing public policies.

Employability

This research degree programme aims to develop the next generation of world-leading interdisciplinary scholars in innovation theory, public policy, economics of innovation, innovation policy and its governance.

Networking

IIPP is committed to influencing public engagement on key strategic issues facing 21st century economies. Our partnership programme is called the Mission-Oriented Innovation Network or MOIN, which means ‘hello’ in many Northern European languages. The acronym reflects the peer-based learning that will allow global policy-makers to share their experiences around strategic priority setting, organisational innovation and dynamic evaluation tools – with the goal of empowering the pursuit of public-value- driven innovations. For more information and to get involved with the network, visit our Partnership page.

Teaching and learning

Initially, you will be registered for the MPhil degree. If you wish to proceed to a PhD, you will be required to pass an 'Upgrade' assessment. The purpose of the upgrade is to assess your progress and ability to complete your PhD programme to a good standard and in a reasonable time frame. It is expected that a full-time student will attempt upgrade within 18 months of registration.

The programme includes research skills training provision including a Research Methods series, regular PhDs seminars for peers to present new work and invited speaker research seminar series.

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) consists of a piece of supervised research, normally undertaken over a period of three years full-time. Assessment is by means of a thesis, which should demonstrate your capacity to pursue original research based upon a good understanding of the research techniques and concepts appropriate to the discipline.

Depending on your research area and level of research, the amount of times you meet with your supervisor is agreed upon consultation with your primary supervisor.

Research areas and structure

Our research programme is driven by three cross-cutting themes: innovation, public value and inclusive growth. Our current streams explore the following areas:

Public value and public purpose

Governance and digital transformation

The state's role in technological revolutions

Green economy for sustainable growth

Mission-oriented innovation policy

Patient finance, state investment banks and public finance

Rethinking health innovation

Risks and rewards

Space partnerships for mutualistic innovation eco-systems

Research environment

The UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) leads a debate about the direction of economic growth and governments’ use of mission-oriented policies to confront the world’s most urgent challenges: from climate change to inequality and the problems facing ageing societies. Our work feeds into policies on innovation, financial reform, institutional change and sustainable development.

The MPhil/PhD programme is chaired by Dr Josh Ryan-Collins, Associate Professor in Economics and Finance as Graduate Tutor. As our research focuses on real world impact, to address some of the most pressing problems facing human societies worldwide, we expect you carry out independent research and create an original and cross-disciplinary thesis on a topic developed with support from supervisors.

The IIPP is directed by Professor Mariana Mazzucato, author of the highly acclaimed The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths, The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy, Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, and The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens our Businesses, Infantilizes our Governments and Warps our Economies, with IIPP PhD student Rosie Collington.

The length of registration for the research degree programmes is normally 4 years for full-time and 5 years for part-time. You will normally register initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an 'upgrade' assessment, typically at the end of your first year and no later than eighteen months from registration (full-time).

Primarily, you will conduct independent research, with guidance and supervision. The programme places great emphasis on a close one-to-one working relationship between you and your supervisor. Additionally, your supervisor may suggest that you enrol in, or audit, additional taught modules. The auditing of taught modules is not a formal part of your MPhil/PhD programme, and so is not formally assessed.

The length of registration for the research degree programmes is normally 3 years for full-time and 5 years for part-time. You will normally register initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an 'upgrade' assessment, typically at the end of your first year and no later than thirty months from registration (part-time).

The programme includes research skills training provision: a Doctoral Seminar series and a Research Methods series addressing methodological and ethical challenges.

Accessibility

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

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time	Part-time
Tuition fees (2024/25)	£6,035	£3,015
Tuition fees (2024/25)	£28,100	£14,050

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

As a research student, your additional costs may include expenses such as books, conference attendance and field research, in the UK or overseas.

The Built Environment Faculty Office provides financial support to students through the Bartlett Student Conference Fund, Bartlett Doctoral Initiative Fund, Bartlett External Training Fund and Bartlett Extenuating Circumstances Fund. However, please note that these funds are limited and available through competition.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs.

Funding your studies

UCL offers a range of financial awards aimed at assisting both prospective and current students with their studies.

In our faculty, The Bartlett Promise Scholarship aims to enable students from backgrounds underrepresented in the built environment to pursue PhD studies. Please see the UK PhD scholarship pages for more information on eligibility criteria, selection process and FAQs.

Any additional funding available from the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose and the Built Environment Faculty Office are advertised on the respective websites.

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

The first step is to complete this expression of interest form. This form asks candidates to provide a CV and provides a template to enter information about the proposed research. In the case of a positive assessment, the candidate will likely be asked to have an interview with members of faculty or to further develop the proposal. It is not unusual for the proposal to go through multiple rounds of revision before the candidate is invited to move forward. However, in some cases, the candidate is encouraged to submit a formal application right away.

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.