Postgraduate research degrees in Politics and International Relations

Receive dedicated support to help your ideas thrive. Join an internationally-leading centre for research in the fields of politics and international relations.

Why study politics and international relations at York?

We offer a wide breadth of coverage across the subject area. Our various research clusters house expertise in:

Comparative Politics
International Studies
Political Economy and Development
Political Theory
Public Policy

This environment will support your individual specialisation and expand your intellectual horizons. We'll also help you develop the skills to become an effective researcher.

You'll be joining a vibrant and diverse cohort of postgraduate research students. We take great pride in the exciting and innovative research they're doing. Your research will be supervised by academics who are committed to rigorous research and applying their findings to real-world problems.

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Our courses

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Interdisciplinary research centres

We invite PhD students to become members of our interdisciplinary research centres. You'll participate in events such as lectures, workshops and collaborations with external partners.

The Centre for Applied Human Rights places human rights defenders at the core of its work. They use socio-legal, interdisciplinary, and participatory methods to protect human rights and activism.
The York Centre for Conflict and Security is a major interdisciplinary centre for research and practice. They examine global security challenges and the causes of conflicts around the world.
The York Centre for Social Justice and Democracy fosters individual and collaborative research projects in social justice and democracy.
The Interdisciplinary Global Development Centre is a major interdisciplinary centre for research and partnership. Their research covers the practices, policies and possibilities of global development.

Visiting postgraduate researchers

Spend up to a year in York as a visiting research student from a university outside the UK.

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Scholarships and funding

Find out about scholarships and studentships that are available to students in the Department of Politics and International Relations.

Postgraduate research funding

Leading research

Ranked in the UK top ten for the quality of our politics research outputs and our research environment in the Times Higher Education’s ranking of the latest REF results (2021).

Experts on the global stage

Our staff advise governments and international organisations on a wide range of issues, and contribute to news media and current affairs programmes around the world.

Collaborating across disciplines

Our PhD students work as research collaborators across our various research clusters and interdisciplinary research centres.

Training and careers

You'll develop the core and specialised skills of a professional, independent researcher. This includes research design and evaluation, analysis, argumentation and communication. Our PhD alumni have used these skills to pursue careers with both academic and non-academic employers.
You'll receive disciplinary and professional development training from the Department and the York Graduate Research School.
You'll also have access to cross-university interdisciplinary training and experience opportunities via the White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership.
You'll become a member of one or more of our research clusters or research centres, which bring together staff and research students. Through development sessions and research seminars with external speakers, these research clusters will develop your skills and networks.