MD(Res)/MPhil/PhD Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry

The SGDP Centre welcomes applications from both home and overseas students. The Centre's students are diverse in their backgrounds, with about half coming from social science and the other half from biological and related sciences. Our students are supported by a range of funding schemes including the MRC, ESRC, DRIVE-health, King's China scheme and many others. Our faculty members of the Centre are able to supervise students on a 13 PhD studentships as well as those on a traditional 3 PhD. Our 13 students often undertake the MSc in Developmental Psychology & Psychopathology (DEV-PP) for 1 year before commencing their PhD project. The MSc DEV-PP programme takes a highly interdisciplinary approach to explore how biological, behavioural and cognitive processes, along with family and wider social forces, can affect typical and atypical development. Students are taught by world-leading experts and receive training across multiple research fields: molecular & behavioural genetics, twin modelling, statistical genetics, epigenetics, bioinformatics, social and cognitive psychology, and developmental psychiatry. At the end of the first year, successful students are awarded a Master of Science degree and need not apply to be promoted to PhD training for the remaining 3 years.
The 3 plus students may already have research experience and/or be familiar with the interdisciplinary nature of our research areas and have ideas about an appropriate SGDP project and/or research method. They will also usually already hold an MSc (or equivalent qualification) relevant to their PhD topic.

A minimum 2:1 undergraduate Bachelor's (honours) degree
If you have a lower degree classification, or a degree in an unrelated subject, your application may be considered if you can demonstrate significant relevant work experience, or offer a related graduate qualification (such as a Masters or PGDip).


IELTS (Academic) - 6.5 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in each skill.
TOEFL iBT - 92 overall with a minimum of 23 in writing and 20 in each of the other skills.
Pearson Test of English (Academic) - 62 overall with a minimum of 59 in each communicative skill.