Studying a Psychology PhD at Aberdeen
Hear why studying a PhD in Psychology is a great thing.
PhD Study
Potential Projects
The academic staff at the School conducts research in diverse areas of psychology, broadly organised around 4 research themes, Cognition, Perception and Attention, Social Cognition and Applied Research. You can find out more about these research groups below.
Students interested in pursuing projects in any of these areas are encouraged to contact the specific staff member for further details about the research topic.
Research Themes
Entry Requirements
PhD study usually lasts 3 years, starting in October each year (but later starts are also possible).
Normally, to be eligible for PhD study in the School of Psychology, you should have an undergraduate degree in Psychology (or a related discipline) with at least upper second-class honours (i.e., 2:1), and psychological research methods training on Masters level of 90 credits (or related experience). If you do not meet the Masters research level training criterion, a Masters of Research course would need to be completed first; this can be combined into 1+3 year programme if required. Partial experience can be supplemented by taking select courses of the MRes program in parallel to your PhD work.
If you have questions about your eligibility for PhD study, please contact the postgraduate coordinator, Prof Patric Bach.
PhD Funding Options
- PhD Studentships
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The School of Psychology at the University of Aberdeen regularly supports PhD projects through a studentship competition, which usually run in spring each year. These studentships are are funded (including stipend, student fees, and an allocation for research expenses) for 3-years, or 4 years (as combined MRes + PhD) for those without prior research methods training on Masters level.
PhD studentship competitions are also run each year by the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS), with deadlines in November each year. They offer 3.5 year funding (or 1+3.5 years funding for those without prior research methods training at Masters level), including stipends, student fees, and an allocation for research expenses. Throughout the year, additional PhD positions are advertised on https://www.findaphd.com/, such as those from the SGSSS Supervisor-led funding stream and from the EastBio Doctoral Training Centre.
- Self-funded PhDs
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We welcome applications for self-funded PhD study throughout the year. Please explore the four research groupings above for a supervisor with expertise in your topic area, and approach them with your project idea to see if they are able to supervise you. See above for eligibility criteria, and get in touch with Prof Patric Bach in case of questions (patric.bach@abdn.ac.uk). Further details on PhD study at the University of Aberdeen, including details on how to apply, are available on the Study Here pages of the University website.