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Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

UK students International students

Study mode

UK tuition fees (2024/25)

£6,035

£4,005

Overseas tuition fees (2024/25)

£31,100

£20,800

Duration

4 calendar years

6 calendar years

Programme starts

Research degrees may start at any time of the year, but typically start in September.

Applications accepted

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

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 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

Doctoral study at UCL’s Department of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Public Policy (STEaPP) offers the opportunity to become a world-class interdisciplinary researcher at the interface of science and public policy. Candidates investigate and experiment with the ways science and engineering knowledge shape decision-making and help to address today’s major global challenges.

Research at UCL STEaPP is focused on co-production: we bring together academic, governmental, civil society and industry partners to tackle the pressing challenges facing our societies today and create opportunities to address them. Doctoral research is embedded within the different research groups. STEaPP draws together expertise on the analytic tools of the natural and engineering sciences, as well as those of social sciences, political sciences and policy analysis. Our research aims to help illuminate and better understand the societal systems through which knowledge flows (or does not) and in which it is used (or not).

Who this course is for

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).

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

What this course will give you

UCL STEaPP aims to be a global leader engaged in exploring, experimenting with, and improving the ways in which scientific and engineering expertise and knowledge inform public decision-making and policy processes, across all levels, sectors and cultures of our interdependent societies.

STEaPP's Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree is a training pathway for doctoral candidates aspiring to a policy-oriented career, as academic or practitioner, or both. Candidates are expected to undertake original academic research.

Find out how your research could have an impact

The foundation of your career

Students acquire a body of knowledge on the role of science, engineering and technology in public policy decision-making, together with solid training in research methods and designing and executing research initiatives that are relevant and usable for external partners. This skill-set is ideal for a career path either as an academic or a senior-level scientific adviser.

Employability

The PhD aims to foster world-class interdisciplinary researchers. Graduates may choose to concentrate on an academic career or are likely to be attractive to employers as scientific advisers.

Networking

UCL STEaPP's approach emphasises impact-oriented research and designing and executing research initiatives together with academic, policy and industry partners. The department collaborates, experiments and engages 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.

Teaching and learning

Supervision and mentorship is available from world-leading researchers with national and international contacts and collaborations across government, industry, non-profit and academic sectors. These links provide opportunities to network and collaborate with a variety of external partners. Students are encouraged and supported to showcase their research at national and international conferences. STEaPP students are also encouraged to join the department’s research clusters to engage academic and research staff on regular basis.

The taught component of the programme combines practice-oriented classroom teaching methods with scenario-based learning, enabling you to engage with real-world policy challenges. 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.

Students are expected to undertake training elements (eight taught modules).

The programme consists of six core training elements (modules from STEaPP), two specialisation training elements (modules from STEaPP or a sister department within UCL BEAMS), a pilot project and a dissertation.

The PhD is a supervised research degree in which candidates carry out research under the guidance of two supervisors (one from STEaPP and one from a sister department within UCL BEAMS). The dissertation is between 60,000 and 100,000 words in length.

PhD candidates will also take professional and transferable skills modules and research ethics training alongside innovative modules on the role of science, engineering and technology in public policy.

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

Initially, students will be registered for the MPhil degree, and 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 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.

Apart from the taught programme which will have specific contact hours, doctoral students are self directed. On average, a full-time PhD often involves 35 hours per week devoted to doing research. Part-time PhDs 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 BEAMS department is for instance required for each candidate.

STEaPP’s Doctoral Training Programme consists of two routes, the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) route and the Doctor of Public Administration (DPA) route. In the PhD route, candidates reside at UCL, except for their ‘fieldwork’ in policy-oriented organisations, and produce a thesis within four years (full-time) or six years (part-time). At the progression/upgrade viva (before 24 months for full-time programme), candidates are expected to defend their ‘pilot study’ and thesis proposal.

The academic requirement for the PhD is to produce a PhD thesis (maximum length: 100,000 words).

PhD candidates are expected to follow eight modules as training elements. Six of these modules are standardised compulsory modules for all candidates and are taken in year one (Literature Review, Parts A and B; Research Methods; Knowledge Systems, Public Policy and Management; Books Seminar, Parts A and B). The remaining two modules 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.

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	£4,005
Tuition fees (2024/25)	£31,100	£20,800

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

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.

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

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

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.