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Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy DPA

London, Bloomsbury

This is the programme information for 2026/27 entry

If you require details of the previous year's programme, Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy DPA (2025/26), click here

UK students International students

Study mode

UK tuition fees (2026/27)

£6,400

£4,245

Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)

£34,700

£23,200

Duration

4 calendar years

6 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 Master’s degree in a relevant discipline from a UK university, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

The English language level for this course 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

As a Doctoral student at UCL’s Department of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Public Policy (STEaPP), you’ll embark on an exciting journey to explore and innovate how science and engineering knowledge can transform decision-making and address today’s major global challenges.

At UCL STEaPP, our research is centred around the dynamic concept of co-production, where we actively collaborate with partners from academia, government, civil society, and industry. Together, we tackle the most pressing challenges facing our societies today, such as climate change, public health, and technological advancement, creating innovative solutions and opportunities to address them.

As a doctoral student, you will have the opportunity to integrate and synthesise knowledge from a diverse range of disciplines. You will master the analytical tools of the natural and engineering sciences, while also delving deeply into the realms of social sciences, political sciences, and policy analysis.

Who this course is for

The DPA is suitable for you if you are motivated to develop a career at the interface of science and public policy, and to deepen your understanding of policy-orientated and cross-disciplinary research methods.

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

What this course will give you

This programme offers the following benefits:

UCL STEaPP's approach emphasises impact-oriented research, meaning you will design and execute research initiatives with academic, policy and industry partners.
You’ll learn to tackle real-world challenges, influencing policy and driving change on a global scale.
As a DPA graduate, you will be equipped with the skills and experience to shape the future, influence decision-making processes, and contribute to meaningful change across diverse sectors. Join us to become a leader in this exciting field and make a real-world difference with your research.
Graduates from our department have pursued careers in academia, science advice and policy advice amongst others (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2017-22).
Undertake original academic research alongside our incredible faculty of academics, researchers and industry partners.

Find out how your research could have an impact

The foundation of your career

Students gain expertise in science, engineering, and technology in public policy decision-making, along with robust training in research methods and designing impactful research initiatives for external partners. This skillset is ideal for careers as academics or senior-level scientific advisers.

Employability

At STEaPP, you’re encouraged to push the boundaries of conventional thinking and become a pioneer in the field of public policy and science. You’ll develop critical insights into how evidence is generated, interpreted, and applied in policymaking, exploring how scientific knowledge can lead to tangible improvements in global well-being.

The DPA program aims to foster world-class interdisciplinary researchers. Our graduates have pursued dynamic careers in academia, scientific advising, governmental agencies, international organisations, and industry. They are recognised for their ability to bridge the gap between science, policy, and society and are at the forefront of addressing critical issues such as climate change, healthcare innovation, and technology governance.

Networking

At UCL STEaPP you’ll have multiple opportunities to network, including:

Supervision and mentorship from world-leading researchers with national and international contacts and collaborations across government, industry, non-profit and academic sectors – providing invaluable network opportunities.
Benefit from the Department's connections with key international stakeholders such as the World Bank, UN-Habitat, African Development Bank, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), various UK Government Departments and the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, as well as local communities and non-governmental organisations.
You’ll be encouraged and supported to showcase your research at national and international conferences.
Join the Department’s research clusters to engage with academic and research staff regularly.

Teaching and learning

Taught sessions are comprised of lecture-style content, class discussion and group activities. These sessions are highly interactive and draw on experiential learning to develop students' competence and confidence to apply the module content within real-world contexts.

The Doctor of Public Administration (DPA) at STEaPP consists of a piece of supervised research, normally undertaken over four years full-time. Assessment is by means of a thesis, which should demonstrate the student’s capacity to pursue original research based upon a good understanding of the literature and scholarly landscape, research techniques and concepts appropriate to the discipline.

Students will be required to pass an 'Upgrade' assessment. The purpose of the upgrade is to assess the student’s progress and ability to complete their DPA programme to a good standard and in a reasonable time frame. It is expected that a full-time student will attempt to upgrade within 18 months of registration.

Apart from the taught programme which will have specific contact hours, you will be self-directed. You can expect up to 4 hours of contact time a week on the DPA, but this varies by term and activity.

On average, a full-time DPA often involves 35 hours per week devoted to research. Part-time DPA's may involve between 10 and 20 hours per week.

Research areas and structure

Research environment

Research areas include development, digital technologies, innovation, research impact, risk and uncertainty, science advice, science diplomacy, sustainability and urbanisation.

Academic staff – and doctoral candidates – within STEaPP are also strongly encouraged to develop collaborations with colleagues from other UCL departments and research units. A Subsidiary Supervisor from another department in one of the departments within the School of the Built Environment (The Bartlett), the Faculty of Engineering Sciences or the Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences is required for each candidate, for instance.

STEaPP’s Doctoral Training Programme consists of two routes, the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) route and the Doctor of Public Administration (DPA) route. The difference between STEaPP’s PhD and DPA is that the DPA degree candidates effectively do their doctorate ‘on the job’ and this degree is specially tailored to those with a career in policy-oriented organisations. For the PhD, the candidates must reside at UCL (except for their ‘fieldwork’ in policy-oriented organisations). In both routes, candidates must produce a thesis within four years (full-time) or six years (part-time). At the progression/upgrade viva (before 18 months for the full-time programme), candidates are expected to defend their ‘pilot study’ and thesis proposal.

The academic requirements for the doctoral thesis are similar for the PhD and DPA, as is the maximum length. The difference as far as formal thesis requirements are concerned – materially it is expected that a DPA thesis will be more applied than a PhD thesis – the DPA thesis should contain, within the maximum word limit, a portfolio of policy problems tackled in the policy setting. This portfolio contains an analytic part (within the word count for the thesis) and appendices.

Doctoral candidates are expected to follow eight modules as training elements (all for credit in the DPA route, with the pilot study counting for 120 credits, leading to a total of 240 credits). Four of these are standardised compulsory modules for all candidates and are taken in year one (Research Methods; Knowledge Systems, Public Policy and Management; Books Seminar, Parts A and B).

The DPA has a double compulsory module in addition, DPA Research in Practice, which has to be completed before progression/upgrade (before 18 months for the full-time programme). The remaining modules (four for PhD, two for DPA) are specialisation modules, which can be taken in any year of the programme.

Part-time students follow the same programme as full-time students, except that the programme length is six years, with up to two additional years in Continuing Research Status (CRS), and the first upgrade attempt normally takes place after 24 months.

Compulsory modules

DPA Research in Practice

DTP Books Seminar A

DTP Books Seminar B

Knowledge Systems, Public Policy and Management

PhD/DPA Pilot Study and Thesis Proposal

Research Methods

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

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	£4,245
Tuition fees (2026/27)	£34,700	£23,200

Full-time = 4 years.
Part-time = 6 years.

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

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

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

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

: CSC-UCL Joint Research Scholarship

Value: Fees, maintenance and travel (Duration of programme)

Criteria Based on academic merit

Eligibility: EU, Overseas

Next steps

Doctoral degrees at UCL STEaPP start in September. There is a rolling application deadline, but the application deadline for places with departmental funding is usually in February (please check the departmental website for actual deadlines). Note that places may be very limited for applications after this early deadline (depending, among other factors, on the availability of supervisors).

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.