A PhD in Theology and Religious Studies enables you to undertake a substantial piece of supervised research in the subject that makes an original contribution to knowledge and is worthy of publication. Overview A PhD, also known as a doctorate, is a requirement for a career as an academic or researcher. In addition, it has become a qualification valued by many employers who recognise the skills and commitment a PhD requires. Employers also recognise that a PhD indicates excellent research capabilities, discipline and communication skills. Over the duration of the PhD, you produce an original piece of research of up to 100,000 words. Recent and ongoing research theses include: ‘A Theology of Interconnectivity: Buber, Dialogue and Cyberspace’, ‘Ghosts in the Machine: Reassessing the Evolution of the Science/Religion Phenomena - Alternative Perspectives’, ‘Heart of the Flame: Rethinking Religion and the Theatre Work of Jerzy Grotowski’, ‘The Politics of Opposites and Same-Sex Union: A Foucaultian reading of the Hermetic Hermaphrodite’ and ‘Sacred Entanglements: Studying Interactions between Visitors, Objects and Religion in the Museum’. The Department of Religious Studies offers supervision from world-class academics with expertise in a wide range of disciplines, able to support and guide you through your research. Your progress is carefully monitored to ensure that you are on track to produce a thesis valued by the academic community. Throughout your programme, you are able to attend and contribute to research seminars, workshops, and research and transferable skills training courses. You may be eligible for a fully-funded PhD scholarship to support your studies with us. The PhD in Theology and Religious studies at Kent can be funded through the Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) scheme, or through the Consortium for the Humanities and the Arts South-East England (CHASE) collaborative doctoral partnerships. Please indicate in your application if you want to be considered for any of these programmes, and explain your eligibility for the chosen scheme. For the full list of scholarships available within the School, please see our postgraduate scholarship page. For the full list of ongoing and completed projects in the department, see our postgraduate research page. National ratings In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, theology and religious studies was ranked 3rd for research impact in the UK. We were also ranked 7th for research quality and in the top 20 for research intensity and research output. An impressive 98% of our research was judged to be of international quality and the School’s environment was judged to be conducive to supporting the development of world-leading research.