Course summary
Studying human behaviour in the School of Psychological Science will give you the opportunity to be part of a vibrant postgraduate community and a world-class research department with more than 45 internationally recognised academic staff. The programme aims to provide you with outstanding and cutting-edge training from the purest research into psychology to interdisciplinary research in a wide range of areas. These include advancing the frontiers of cognitive science into engineering or educational applications, investigating the neural mechanisms underlying human behaviours, and developing integrated interventions to improve health and wellbeing. Our postgraduate students are a very important part of the School's research culture and a key component in maintaining our international research reputation. Current research areas can be found on the School of Psychological Science Research page: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/psychology/research/
Assessment method
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/media/postgraduate/admissions-statements/2026/phd-psychology.pdf
How to apply
International applicants
The University of Bristol welcomes applications from international students and accepts a wide range of qualifications for postgraduate study. If you study or have studied at a university outside the UK, please select the relevant page for further information on qualifications, scholarships and education representatives in your country/region: bristol.ac.uk/international/countries.
Entry requirements
A first or upper second-class honours degree (or international equivalent) in psychology or a related discipline is required for entry to the PhD and MSc by research programmes. See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/international/countries/
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
| England | £5106 | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £5106 | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £5106 | Year 1 |
| Wales | £5106 | Year 1 |
| Channel Islands | £5106 | Year 1 |
| EU | £27500 | Year 1 |
| International | £27500 | Year 1 |
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .
Additional fee information
Fees are subject to an annual review. For programmes that last longer than one year, please budget for up to an 8% increase in fees each year.
For more information, please view the programme page on our website.
Sponsorship information
Students may be eligible to apply for funded scholarships, for example, doctoral training centre scholarships and University of Bristol scholarships. Details of these and other scholarship opportunities, such as the China Scholarship Council programme, are published on the School of Psychological Science website (https://www.bristol.ac.uk/psychology/courses/postgraduate/phd-scholarships/), and the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences website (https://www.bristol.ac.uk/health-life-sciences/postgraduate-research/funded-projects/). Further information on funding for prospective UK and international postgraduate students: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/students/support/finances/
Provider information
University of Bristol
Beacon House
Queen’s Road
Bristol
BS8 1QU