Why come to Birkbeck to do postgraduate research?
Taught postgraduate programmes
The Centre for Religion and Contemporary Society seeks to provide a high-quality research training environment for postgraduate research students. This is achieved by creating inter-disciplinary supervision teams to support students’ projects, and providing access to a wide range of training opportunities in social research methods, personal and professional development and specific training relevant to researching religion in the contemporary world.
Students’ training needs are continually monitored during their period of research, and students are encouraged to attend specific conferences and workshops outside of the College that will help them to develop a high level of research competence. Students working at the Centre benefit from the range of seminars and workshops that it offers, and are also encouraged to participate in a wider range of seminar and other events through partner institutions involved in the London Universities Consortium on Religion, Politics and Society, such as the Forum on Religion at the London School of Economics and the Faith and Public Policy research seminar at King’s College, London.
The Centre is also playing a leading role in the development of a wider regional postgraduate training network in London and the South-East to provide advanced methodological training for researchers working in the study of religion. Students working at the Centre also benefit from specific research support and training that is available through the graduate training seminars offered by both the Faculty of Lifelong Learning and the Birkbeck Institute for Social Research.
To encourage the development of a critical mass of post-graduate students, the Centre is currently prioritising working with students who are based in London and the South-East and who are committed to playing an active role in the Centre’s activities. The Centre is also keen to recruit students studying on a full-time basis, and hopes to offer one or two full-time PhD studentships each year. The Centre’s allocation of AHRC-funded PhD studentships will be known in early 2009, and the Centre will also occasionally advertise studentships funded through other schemes such as AHRC collaborative doctoral awards. ESRC-funding may also be available for applicants working with the Centre who apply via the School of Politics and Sociology.
To ensure good standards of individually-tailored supervision and training support, the number of places for M Phil/PhD research students in the field of religion and contemporary society are limited. Admission to these places at Birkbeck is therefore competitive. Applicants for postgraduate study will normally be expected to have a good undergraduate degree (high 2:1 or 1st), and a Masters’ degree, with at least one of these qualifications being directly relevant to their proposed field of research. In exceptional cases, applicants with a very good undergraduate degree, but no Masters’ qualification, may be admitted to do postgraduate research if they are able to make a strong case for why their previous study or related experience has provided them with a strong basis for undertaking doctoral research on a specific topic. Normally, though, applicants who have completed their studies only at undergraduate level will be encouraged to study at Masters’ level before beginning their research degree. Birkbeck itself offers taught Masters programmes that can offer suitable preparation for doctoral research in the future.
Although the Centre will provide the primary training environment for students at Birkbeck who are researching religion and contemporary society, students will be formally registered with the individual School at which their lead supervisor is based. Potential applicants for doctoral study should make initial contact with the member of staff at the Centre whose research interests most closely match their own for an informal discussion. Any queries about studentships, or the work of the Centre more generally can be sent to the Centre director, Gordon Lynch. At the stage of making a formal application, applicants will need to submit a 2000 word research proposal setting out the background, aims and basic design of their research project. This proposal will need to demonstrate a good background knowledge of relevant debates and literature in the field that you propose to study, and preparatory work on this proposal will involve careful preparation. Click here for further details on the process of applying for postgraduate study at Birkbeck.
From autumn 2009, the College will offer both an MA in Religion, Culture and Society and an MSc in Religion and Politics (subject to approval), and is also planning to create related M Res degrees for students requiring more substantial research methods training in preparation for doctoral study. The MA in Islamic Studies may also provide a useful preparation for students particular interested in studying Islam and contemporary society.