Application

Applications are invited from students wishing to take an MPhil/PhD in Psychoanalytic Studies. Students can register on a 3-4 year full-time, or 5-7 year part-time basis. Overseas students are required to register as full-time students due to visa requirements and must be based in the UK for the duration of their studies. The PhD programme is not available via distance learning. Student fee status information can be found here.

Admissions Criteria

A Master's degree from a UK University in a subject appropriate to the programme to be followed or overseas equivalent. [In certain circumstances a professional or other qualification obtained by written examinations and approved by UCL as an appropriate entrance qualification for the MPhil or PhD degree in question may be considered.]
Two academic references.
Full transcripts of the academic record at university.
A detailed research proposal of 1000-1500 words outlining proposed subject of the thesis, with a working title, and including an indication of the methodology to be adopted and sources to be used. Applications without a clear research proposal cannot be considered. The application must fall within an area where supervision can be offered.
There will be an informal preliminary interview with the Programme Director which, if successful, will be followed by a formal interview. For overseas applicants these can be arranged by Skype or telephone. Agreement of the proposed supervisor/s must be secured prior to acceptance.
Candidates whose first language is not English must take a language proficiency test. UCL accepts a range of recognised tests. For PhD study, applicants must achieve Advanced level.
Applicants who are considered not to have sufficient knowledge of psychoanalysis but who are otherwise well qualified may be advised to take the MSc in Theoretical Psychoanalysis before embarking on the PhD.

Fees

2024-2025

Full-time UK students - £6,035
Part-time UK students - £3,015
Full-time Overseas students - £34,400

Further information about tuition fees.

Making an Application

There is one intake each year in September. We do not offer a January start date. Applications should be made online via Student and Registry Services

Course details for the search fields:

Research Degree Code: RRDPLSSTPS01 Psychoanalytic Studies
Department: Division of Psychology and Language Science
Programme Group: Postgraduate Research

Application Deadlines

Funding:

We recommend that candidates wishing to apply for UCL Research Excellence Scholarships should apply as early as possible, ideally in September (1 year before the intake date) and certainly before 1st November, to facilitate a formal offer of a place by December. This allows us to put the candidates' scholarship application forward and meet the Universities' early January funding deadline.

Self-funding:

We recommend that candidates who are self-funding should apply by 1st April to facilitate a formal decision by the end of June.

These deadlines are suggested based on the length of time involved in processing a PhD application - to include a preliminary meeting with the Programme Director, meeting with potential supervisor/s, and a formal interview. Also note, research proposals can be subject to revision before being accepted.

Supervision

Each student is required to have two supervisors who they will meet with either once per month (Primary Supervisor) or once per term (Secondary Supervisor). Applicants should have a proposed research area with a supervisor in mind. This will be discussed with the Programme Director, Professor Patrick Luyten at a preliminary meeting and should he consider it suitable to proceed, he will make contact with the supervisor that has been jointly selected. Following acceptance by the selection committee, the student will make formal appointments to meet their supervisors. Alternatively, if you have a supervisor in mind, then you can approach them with your ideas and check whether they would be interested in supervising you before proceeding to apply.

Research Proposal

Download our guidelines for a research proposal

A research proposal of 1000-1500 words in length must be submitted alongside your application. The full research proposal is an extremely important part of your formal application.

You should indicate what aspect of psychoanalysis you are interested in and how you intend to study it. If your interests are in conceptual research, you should identify not only the concept that you want to work on, with a discussion of relevant background, but also the methodology that you are interested in, such as studying historical texts including Freud, or looking at how the concept is currently used, or both, etc.

If you are interested in conducting empirical research, your proposal should contain a brief discussion of the relevant theoretical background, previous research in this area, a clear rationale for the study, and a proposal for methodology. Moreover, we strongly encourage research that combines conceptual and empirical research.

In addition to the research proposal, you should use the 'personal statement' section of the UCL Graduate Student online application form to give any details on why you think you are particularly suited for your chosen area of research. The Programme Director is available to discuss the suitability of your proposal.

Scholarships

UCL offers a range of scholarships to both UK/EU and Overseas Graduate students. It should be noted that competition for scholarships is extremely high and applicants are advised not to rely solely on these means to fund their studies.

Other forms of funding:

Santander Awards
Onassis Foundation (Greece)
CONICYT (Chile)
Fondation Fyssen (France)