Join our vibrant and supportive PhD community.
Studying for a PhD is a highly rewarding and challenging process.
As part of a research community and with individual supervision you will become a leading expert in your area.
All of our academic staff are active researchers, who are at the cutting edge of their research field. We have an outstanding reputation for research in our specialist areas.
You are encouraged to explore our research communities and contact the academic whose interests match your own.
Our research is divided into four themes. Each research community is led by staff who are at the forefront of their fields.
How do we develop an understanding of the world around us? We look at cognitive, social, emotional and language development from before birth through to adolescence.
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What are the fundamental cognitive processes behind language, learning, memory, and attention? How does our understanding of cognition impact society?
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How does the brain respond to different environments and govern cognitive function? We research how humans understand and process the world around us.
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How do we develop definitions of morality or trust, and how do they affect our emotions in social interaction or decision making?
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Each year the Psychology Department offers several fully-funded PhD studentships (commencing the following October), as well as opportunities to apply for other studentships via the ESRC's North West Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP).
In all cases, we are looking for academically excellent students, who are passionate about doing research and have an exciting project they want to pursue.
For more information on funding, see the Funding Opportunities section.
For more information on the application process, please visit our Current Opportunities page.
To begin the process, you will need to find a PhD Supervisor whose research interests align with your own. You will need to contact them to discuss your application.
We will require a research proposal on the area/s you are interested in joining us to study. This proposal will be used to help us determine who will be the most suitable potential academic supervisor for your research.
This step is the starting point to find a suitable supervisor who will then, if interested, contact you for a phone interview. In this interview, you will discuss the proposal and intended research, meaning your plan is not your permanent topic for your PhD studies and open to negotiation. Past guidelines have suggested the following:
We recommend that you submit your research interests and the PhD Admissions Tutor can pass your application onto the most relevant and available supervisor.
To apply, create an account on the Applying for postgraduate study website.
Here you can submit applications for the programme(s) which you wish to study, upload supporting documentation and provide us with information about referees. You may apply for all our postgraduate programmes using this method.
If you are a current Lancaster student or have recently graduated from Lancaster, we can reduce the amount of information that you will need to provide. You will need to offer only one reference and will not need to supply your Lancaster degree transcript. We will also pre-fill your details, ready for you to check.
If you use the Postgraduate Applications website, then you will be advised which documentation you need to upload or send to us. We can automatically contact your referees once you have submitted your application if you ask us to.
The supporting documentation screen will provide you with a list of required documents. These will usually include:
Most of our funded PhD studentships are advertised in November and December prior to a start date in October the following year. To be considered for these studentships, please make sure to apply by mid-January/early February (see for exact application deadlines under ‘Current opportunities’). Some funded opportunities will be advertised separately, at varying times of the year. These are usually associated with a grant awarded to a member of staff and advertise a PhD position to work on that particular grant. These will be advertised under ‘Other funding opportunities’ as and when they come up. If you are pursuing a self-funded application, we strongly encourage you to aim for an October start date and apply at least 6 months before. An October start date allows you to make the best use of Department, Faculty and College induction programmes and will make sure you settle in as quickly as possible. Under exceptional circumstances, we will consider an alternative start date. Please contact the postgraduate.psychology@lancaster.ac.uk for further guidance if you have questions about this.
Each year, the Department offers several PhD studentships, as well as opportunities to support applications for studentships via the ESRC’s North West Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP).
Studentships typically provide funding for 3 or 3.5 years and cover fees, a maintenance stipend and access to a Research Training and Support Grant. Additionally, all new PhD students receive a laptop with a monitor and workstation.
Some studentships cover fees for applicants with a ‘Home’ fee status only, while other studentships cover fees for applicants with a ‘Home’ or an ‘International’ fee status.
More information on how the University determines an applicants’ fee status can be found on our Fee Status pages.
The Department supports applications for studentships via the Economic and Social Research Council’s North West Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP), which include standard studentships and CASE studentships (for collaboration with a non-higher education partner). NWSSDTP studentships are open to both applicants with a ‘Home’ fees or an ‘International’ fee status. However, across the DTP, no more than 30% of studentships can be allocated to applicants with an ‘International’ fee status. Within the NWSSDTP, applicants can apply for funding for a master's degree in combination with doctoral studies (1+3) or for funding to support their doctoral studies (+3). The NWSSDTP currently supports several studentships ring-fenced for students from a Global Majority background. The ESRC has also awarded the NWSSDTP a number of ‘steered’ studentships in the ‘priority areas’ of advanced quantitative methods, longitudinal studies (using ESRC datasets) and interdisciplinary work. Please visit our ‘Current Opportunities’ for information on how to apply via our Department.
Please see under ‘Current Opportunities’ for information on the application process.
The Department of Psychology at Lancaster University regularly has a studentship funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council available. This usually is a studentship for PhD funding (+3). It provides full tuition fees, a maintenance stipend (at the general UKRI rate) and access to a research training support grant. These studentships are open to both applicants with a ‘Home’ fee or an ‘International’ fee status. However, across the DTP, no more than 30% of studentships can be allocated to applicants with an ‘International’ fee status.
Currently not available for 2026/2027 start.
The Department of Psychology at Lancaster University usually has one or more studentships funded by the Faculty of Science and Technology available. The award is for PhD funding (+3) and provides tuition fees at the ‘Home/UK’ rate, a maintenance stipend in accordance with UKRI rates, and access to a grant towards research training support. Applicants with an ‘International’ fee status must fund the difference between Home/UK and International fees themselves, if successful. As a department, we particularly encourage applications to work with early career staff. This year these include: Dr Carly Anderson, Dr Abigail Fiske, Dr Alice Milne, Dr Alice Rees, and Dr Heather Shaw. Applications to work with these members of staff are weighted preferentially at the short-listing stage for this studentship. Please see under ‘Current Opportunities’ for information on the application process.
Please see under ‘Current Opportunities’ for information on the application process.
Why are autistic people more likely to suffer from gender dysphoria?
Supervisors: Katie Alcock – Developmental/Cognitive Psychology; Gabriel Wallin - Statistics (School of Mathematical Sciences)
Project description: This project combines Cognitive Neuropsychology and Statistics to look at what makes autistic people more likely to suffer from gender dysphoria. We will examine cognitive and social features of autistic people’s lives and use latent class analysis to see if certain aspects of autistic thinking and social life might influence this link. We will also look at whether there might be more than one pathway between the two. The project could look at either young adults or at children at the point of entering secondary school, depending on the candidate’s interests.
General eligibility criteria: Applicants would normally be expected to hold a minimum of a UK Honours degree at 2:1 level or equivalent in a relevant degree course.
Project specific criteria: The ideal candidate will have a background in cognitive science, Psychology, or a similar healthcare or biomedical background. The project has a strong quantitative component, and candidates are therefore expected to have a solid foundation in statistics or quantitative methods or clear willingness to develop these skills. They will have a strong background in statistics and an interest in expanding their knowledge of different statistical methods. If the candidate does not have a Psychology degree, they can strengthen their Psychology knowledge through auditing our MSc modules.
Studentship funding: A tax-free stipend will be paid at the standard UKRI rate; £20,780 in 2025/26. This is a fully funded studentship of 3.5 years for UK/Home students.
Enquiries: Interested applicants are welcome to get in touch to learn more about the PhD project. Please contact Katie Alcock (k.j.alcock@lancaster.ac.uk) for more information.
Dates
Deadline for candidate applications: 23rd March 2026
Provisional Interview Date: April 2026
Start Date: October 2026
Further reading:
Kallitsounaki, A., & Williams, D. M. (2023). Autism Spectrum Disorder and Gender Dysphoria/Incongruence. A systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Autism and Developmental disorders, 53(8), 3103–3117. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05517-y
Hendriks, O., Wei, Y., Warrier, V., & Richards, G. (2022). Autistic Traits, Empathizing–Systemizing, and Gender Diversity. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 51(4), 2077–2089. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02251-x
Ma, Y., Ushakova, A., Cain, K., & Wallin, G. (2025). A statistical framework for dynamic cognitive diagnosis in digital learning environments. arXiv preprint arXiv:2506.14531.
Application process
The Department of Psychology is happy to support applications to the Lancaster University-China Scholarship Council Joint Scholarship. Please see under ‘Current Opportunities’ for information on the application process.
