PhD Forensic Psychology
University of Kent - Canterbury Campus
| Application deadline: | as early as possible |
| Tuition fee: |
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| Start date: | September 2013 |
| Credits: | 180 ECTS |
| Duration full-time: | 36 months |
| Languages: |
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| Location: |
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| Disciplines: | |
| Delivery mode: | On Campus |
| Educational variant: | Part-time, Full-time |
| Intensity: | Flexible |
| Project type: | Open, Predefined |
| Educational Form: | Academic |
Description
Under the PhD and NRPhD programmes, you may also be supervised in areas of Cognitive Psychology and Developmental Psychology
The breadth of our research interests allows us to offer supervision of research degrees in a number of areas of psychology, including: social psychology (eg social attitudes and social cognition as well as specific topics within the Centre for the Study of Group Processes, such as discrimination, social attitudes, social influence and group decision-making); developmental psychology (including children's and adolescents' prejudices, peer exclusion, visual and language processing in children and infants); forensic psychology (eg gangs, sexual abuse, prisons, policing, psychology and law); cognitive psychology (eg human-computer interaction; vision; language; face processing; cognitive neuropsychology); existential psychology; personality and motivation. You should send an outline of your proposed research with your application form.
The New Route PhD is a special option for students who wish to commit to a programme combining taught and research elements. New Route PhD is a four-year degree that spreads the coursework of one of our taught MSc programmes throughout the first two years of registration, but otherwise proceeds as a normal doctorate.
Your research will be supported by a supervisory panel which will include a main supervisor and a secondary supervisor. Who you have as supervisors is decided by the compatibility between your own and the available supervisors' research interests. Typically, you meet with your supervisors more frequently at the initial stages of research than during the phases of data collection and analysis.
We also provide substantial additional training for our doctoral students. As a doctoral student, if you have not already successfully completed an advanced statistics and methods course, in your first year you will need to take the Advanced Statistics and Methodology module from the taught MSc. Doctoral students at Kent are also provided with training in research-specific and broader transferable' skills, including academic writing, career management and presentation skills. Doctoral students also have the opportunity to train for an advanced teaching qualification (ATAP).
During term time, the research groups hold weekly meetings to discuss ongoing work, and there are also weekly seminars featuring external speakers.
Numerous data analysis and research methods workshops (recent examples: structural equation modelling; hierarchical linear modelling; metaanalysis; Eprime experimental software), and individual training opportunities are available.
We also offer taught MSc degrees in research (one year full-time, or two years part-time), involving a research project and the Advanced Statistics training required of doctoral students.
Contents
Research is focused within four core collaborative, thematic groupings, Social Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Forensic Psychology and Developmental Psychology. It also includes four formally constituted research centres, representing areas of concentration and excellence in research.
The research environment is designed to sustain a strong, vibrant research culture, encourage collaboration, and unite staff and students with shared research interests. Our themes ensure critical mass and create a highly energetic and stimulating intellectual climate.
Research activity is supported by:
* centrally co-ordinated provision and use of laboratories and technical support
* selection of speakers for our weekly departmental research colloquia
* weekly research meetings within each theme to develop, report and analyse research, and host our many visiting scholars
* several monthly small meeting series on specific areas of cross-cutting research (such as forensic, social development, emotion, social cognition and health).
Forensic Psychology
Forensic Psychology research at Kent and all forensic-related teaching operates through our newly constituted Centre of Research and Education in Forensic Psychology (CORE-FP). Current research is focused on bullying in prisons, prison gang behaviour, jury decision-making, child sexual offending, rape, rape proclivity, female sexual offending, theories of offender rehabilitation, fire-setting, sexual harassment, violence, aggression and alcohol, and the infra-humanisation of offenders. Other areas of research include social cognition, social and moral emotion, and group process theory, all of which are applied to the study of offending behaviour or court process issues. Forensic psychology research at Kent is funded by various national and international sources, which include: The British Academy, Economic and Social Research Council, Home Office, Leverhulme, Ministry of Justice and The Nuffield Foundation. Research may be carried out with staff or offenders/ex- ffenders in a variety of settings, including prisons, youth offending institutions, secure mental health units and probation offices. Examples of student work in these settings include: evaluations of offender resettlement projects in the community, examination of the formation of prison/street gangs, investigations into the offence styles of arsonists and female sexual offenders, and an examination of the association between personality disorder and neurocognitive deficits in mentally disordered offenders. Alternatively, research may take place with students or members of the community in our newly equipped laboratories. Examples include: an examination of how highly rape prone male students interact with being teased by a female confederate, the effects of alcohol on aggression and the effects of group processes on jury decision-making.
Forensic Psychology staff
The forensic psychology team is made up of seven academic researchers, five internal and eight national/international affiliates. Many of the team and affiliates are registered as Chartered Forensic Psychologists with the Health Professionals Council and work regularly with offenders and ex-offenders. The seven full-time forensic academics at Kent are: Dr Emma Alleyne, Dr Theresa Gannon, Dr Caoilte Ó Ciardha, Dr Afroditi Pina, Dr Eduardo Vasquez, Dr Tendayi Viki, Dr Jane Wood. Our staff members are leading international academics and experts within their field who have edited and authored leading textbooks, chapters and journal articles associated with innovative research that feeds into postgraduate taught courses as well as postgraduate research. Kent forensic staff members also appear regularly via national newspapers, radio and television to make commentary on key cases or issues in forensic psychology.
Requirements
A first or 2.1 in psychology or a closely related discipline.
English language requirements
IELTS
* 6.5 incl
* 6.0 reading
* 6.0 writing
* 5.5 listening
* 5.5 speaking
TOEFL internet-based
* 90 incl
* 22 reading
* 21 writing
* 21 listening
* 23 speaking
English Language Requirements
| IELTS band: | 6.5 |
| TOEFL internet-based test score: | 90 |
Funding
Every school at Kent offers one or two University postgraduate research scholarships, each available for three years, providing fees at the home/EU rate and a stipend up to £13,590 per annum (2011/12 rate).
Many schools offer scholarships in the form of Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs) whereby postgraduate research students receive financial support in return for teaching. The value of awards may vary, but often cover tuition fees at the home/EU rate and a substantial maintenance grant.
All postgraduate research students are eligible to apply for GTAs.
We also encourage applicants for ESRC awards, which may cover Masters' as well as PhD funding.
IELTS
You are normally required to take an English Proficiency Test.
Most European Universities recognise the IELTS test.
Take IELTS test
