Social Statistics

PhD

  • Entry year 2026 or 2025
  • Duration Full time 3 - 4 years, Part time 4 - 7 years
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Overview

This scheme, with funding from the North West Doctoral Training Centre, draws upon the acknowledged strengths of social science and social statistics; with the balance between the statistics and substantive components of the research tailored to your interests and background.

We encourage joint supervision by the Department and a social science or related department across the three North West universities (Lancaster, Liverpool and Manchester), thus increasing the scope and potential focus of your research.

The programme is suitable for a range of purposes, notably: social science graduates interested in quantitative empirical work and statistics graduates wishing to develop applicable expertise in social statistics.

Depending upon prior statistical learning, there is an option of studying for an MSc before progressing to the PhD.

Entry requirements

Academic requirements

2:1 Hons degree (UK or equivalent) in Statistics, Social Science or a relevant related discipline, or relevant professional qualification or experience.

We may also consider non-standard applicants, please contact us for information.

Additional requirements

The first step if you are interested in studying for postgraduate research in Mathematics or Statistics is to contact the relevant PhD admissions tutor.

English language requirements

We require an IELTS (Academic) Test with an overall score of at least 6.5, and a minimum of 6.0 in each element of the test.

We also consider other English language qualifications and if your score is below our requirements, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.

Help from our Admissions team

If you are thinking of applying to Lancaster and you would like to ask us a question, complete our enquiry form and one of the team will get back to you.

We also have more details on our website about:

Pre-master's programmes

Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored pre-master's pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University master's degrees. Visit INTO Lancaster University for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.

Fees and funding

We set our fees on an annual basis and the 2026/27 entry fees have not yet been set.

Additional fees and funding information accordion

Scholarships and bursaries

Details of our scholarships and bursaries for 2026-entry study are not yet available, but you can use our opportunities for 2025-entry applicants as guidance.

Check our current list of scholarships and bursaries.

Important information

The information on this site relates primarily to the stated entry year and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.

The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.

More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.

Our Students’ Charter

We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. Find out more about our  Charter and student policies.