The application deadline for intake in October are specified below:

 

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for admission, you must hold a first degree (or equivalent) in a subject related to your proposed research topic.

The following qualifications are highly desirable and would enhance your likelihood of being accepted:

  • A masters degree from a leading institution with a distinction or equivalent
  • A GRE or GMAT score is highly recommended for applicants

Our students have a variety of academic backgrounds. We are looking for mature, highly-motivated individuals with excellent analytical, problem-solving and verbal skills.

Documents required for all applicants

The following items (in electronic format) are compulsory for your application:

  • Research proposal with a 400 word non-technical summary
  • Statement of Purpose 300 words
  • Your CV/resume including a passport photograph
  • Names and e-mails of two academic referees
  • Your personal details, including a contact email
  • Official transcripts for your Bachelor and or Master’s Degree
  • Official transcript of proficiency in English, if English is not your first language.
  • A GRE or GMAT score is highly recommended for applicants, please upload this in the relevant section.

The following items should be supplied if available:

  • Transcripts or provisional results of your Master’s degree(s)
  • Professional qualifications
  • Employment history.

Submit an application

Research proposal

Please provide details of your intended research proposal in support of your application. This is an important part of your application in which you outline up to two research directions you would like to pursue in your PhD.

Before preparing your proposal you should familiarize yourself with the research interests of International Kingdom University (IKU) to make sure that your research is aligned with our expertise.

The research proposal should include

  • an abstract
  • the research objectives
  • the proposed research methodology
  • a summary review of the relevant literature and current understanding or knowledge
  • an indication of how the proposed research will contribute to the discipline.

You should also provide an outline work plan for the period of research including consideration of approval of any research ethics implications. You are also asked to comment on why you wish to pursue this research and what you feel you will bring to it. The research proposal should be a maximum of three pages of A4.

 

Academic references

You will need to provide names and emails of two referees who know your work well and can comment on your aptitude for critical thinking and original research within a well-defined framework. We will contact the referees once you have submitted your application.

Please note: the email address of referees are required to be a professional email account. We cannot accept references emailed from web-based email accounts such as @gmail.com, @hotmail.com or @126.com because we cannot confirm the provenance of these. Please bear this in mind when you fill in their email address on the application. 

Complete your application

When you are ready, you can apply online. Please note there is no offline application process available.

A confirmation email will be sent to you on successful submission of your application.

Please note, at the initial stage of your application we will accept electronic copies of your official transcripts. If your application is successful we will require you to send us the original hard copies before a final offer of place is made.

 

Attachments

You will need to upload your supporting documents to the online application form.

We accept attachments in doc and pdf formats only. Please make sure all attachments are less than 1MB in size (the smaller the better) and filenames are no longer than 32 characters containing only English letters and/or numbers, otherwise, depending on your internet connection speed, you might not be able to complete your application and will need to re-apply.

 

After you apply

The PhD Admissions Office processes all applications, which are then reviewed by the Director of the program.

  • The final decision of admission is made by the PhD Director of the program. If your application is successful we will inform you by the end of March of the Starting Year.
  • We aim to admit 20-25 new research students per year.
  • It may be several months before you are notified of a decision by the PhD Office.

 

Interview

An interview may be held as your application progresses.

Unsuccessful applicants

We may have to turn away good candidates when our yearly quota is achieved. Competition is also intense and many good students may not be accepted.

If your academic background or examination grades/predicted grades do not reach the required standard this will form part if not all of the explanation for your rejection.