Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Global, Urban and Social Studies

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the humanities and social sciences cultivates high-level skills in research processes, advanced communication skills, analysis and synthesis of knowledge. You’ll develop and extend your expertise, widen your networks, enhance your career prospects and produce socially useful research. You'll create a thesis or research project that makes a substantial and original contribution to an existing body of knowledge. Individually supervised research programs are available in three key areas: the social, the urban and the global. Through the program you’ll access and nurture industry partnerships and collaboration with other researchers while gaining creative, technical and communication skills to generate and evaluate complex ideas and concepts.This program equips you with a nationally and internationally recognised qualification. Graduates are employed in tertiary academic positions, research centres and institutes, and senior leadership and management positions in a variety of education environments. You may also be employed in senior leadership and management positions in government, non-government organisations and corporations.

The minimum requirements for admission to a PhD program are:a bachelor degree requiring at least four years of full-time study in a relevant discipline awarded with honours. The degree should include a research component comprised of a thesis, other research projects or research methodology courses that constitute at least 25% of a full-time academic year (or part-time equivalent). The applicant must have achieved at least a distinction average in the final year; or
a master degree that includes a research component comprised of at least 25% of a full-time academic year (or part-time equivalent) with an overall distinction average or a master degree without a research component with at least a high distinction average; or
evidence of appropriate academic qualifications and/or experience that satisfies the Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research Training and Development or nominee that the applicant has developed knowledge of the field of study or cognate field and the potential for research sufficient to undertake the proposed program.At RMIT a grade of distinction represents academic achievement of 70% or higher and a high distinction is 80% or higher.