PhD students complete an independent research project under the guidance of a supervisory team. The research is normally completed over a maximum period of 3.0-3.5 years (full-time) or 6.0-6.5 years (part-time/distance learning).

A fourth year (full-time) or seventh year (part-time/distance learning) or the remaining part of this can be used to prepare the thesis for examination. The thesis should not normally exceed 80,000 words and must make an original contribution to knowledge and contain work of publishable quality. The thesis must then be defended in a viva voce (oral) examination before a degree can be awarded.

The research project is led by the research student. At Leicester, each of of our PhD and MPhil students has a supervisory team who are there to provide guidance and read and comment on draft work - but the ultimate responsibility for planning and managing the research project rests with the research student.

The research project is then written up as a thesis - usually of 50,000 to 80,000 words depending on the discipline. Again, responsibility for writing and submitting the thesis rests with the research student, but the supervisory team provide guidance and read and comment on draft chapters to help ensure the thesis is of an appropriate standard.

Finally, to be awarded a research degree research students must defend their thesis in a "viva voce" (spoken) examination. The viva voce examination is an intense and challenging experience, but we offer workshops and mock examinations to help our research students prepare and almost all research students who reach this stage go on to successfully complete their degree.

In the UK all higher education institutions are required to follow standards set by the national Quality Assurance Agency. They have produced a short guide on UK doctorate programmes and international applicants in particular may find this helpful in understanding what makes UK doctorates distinctive.