What will I learn?

The Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge is a world-class centre for teaching and research in Sociology. It has a proud tradition of research grounded in engagement with contemporary real-world issues. Our Department is ranked first for Sociology in the Complete University Guide League Table 2025 with a 100% score, and second for Sociology in the Guardian's Best Universities league table 2025. The Times Higher Education World University ranking 2025 rates our department second overall in the UK for the Social Sciences. The QS World University rankings list our department as sixth of 375 sociology departments across the world in 2025. Our PhD programme combines taught content in research methods and academic skills with independent study under the supervision of one or more experts in the student's chosen field. Many who graduate from our PhD programme go on to become professional researchers or academics others work in national government, international organisations, NGOs, think tanks, and consultancies. Our PhD programme aims to create an environment which supports our students: to think critically to undertake state-of-the-art research in their chosen fields to engage with the world at the interface between theory, policy and practice to develop a full portfolio of research skills to produce a scholarly, exciting and socially relevant PhD to move on to interesting and fulfilling jobs

Which department am I in?

Department of Sociology

Study options

Full Time (3 Years)

Tuition fees

Information not available

Start date

October 2027

Venue

University of Cambridge

The Old Schools,

Trinity Lane,

Cambridge,

Cambridgeshire,

CB2 1TN, Southern England, United Kingdom

Entry requirements

For international students

Applicants for this course should have achieved a Masters (Merit). If your degree is not from the UK, please check International Qualifications to find the equivalent in your country. For applicants that have studied the MPhil by Thesis at Cambridge, they must have achieved a Pass, an overall mark of at least 70% and, where available, a dissertation mark of at least 70. For those who have not studied at Cambridge, you must have achieved a Merit in a taught Master's degree in a relevant subject, with an overall mark of at least 67% and dissertation mark of at least 67.

*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.