Students who wish to register for the PhD degree are first registered as a MPhil student and are then, conditional on satisfactory progress, transferred to the PhD programme. Both the degrees of MPhil and PhD are awarded on the basis of a written thesis and oral examination.

All research students in the School are assigned a main supervisor and a support supervisor. Initially, you will receive considerable guidance in locating a precise research topic and in developing research techniques. You will then be encouraged to pursue your research with increasing independence. Many research students write join papers with their supervisors, and this is something we encourage.

Research students are actively encouraged to become integrated into the lively research culture within the School.  Research students present their work in the internal workshop, and also attend the weekly faculty seminars in which members of staff and invited external speakers present their research. The Centre for Behavioural and Experimental Social Science (CBESS) and Centre for Competition Policy (CCP) also run regular workshops.