Palliative Care

PhD

  • Entry year 2025
  • Duration Part time 4 - 7 years
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Overview

Why Lancaster?

  • Learn from world-leading academics in palliative care from our International Observatory on End-of-Life Care
  • Study and research as part of a friendly and welcoming community
  • Learn and conduct research flexibly and remotely, wherever you are in the world
  • Join a supportive network of like-minded students globally

This PhD has been carefully designed by Lancaster University’s world-leading experts in palliative care to offer you a deep understanding of different aspects of palliative care to those working in the hospice sector, palliative and end-of-life care and beyond.

Delivered part-time via blended learning (predominantly distance learning with optional, annual in-person events), it can be combined with your existing professional and personal commitments.

It is ideal for people in or looking to enter clinical work, education, research, management, policy and advocacy. Clinical experience is not a requirement for this PhD.

A comprehensive education in palliative care research

Palliative care is rapidly evolving, sensitive and increasingly high-profile.

It is imperative that people working in the field can make decisions about care, service organisation and policy that are rooted in the best possible research-based evidence.

Whether you are looking to enter or progress in the hospice, palliative care, or end-of-life care sectors or have an ambition to become a researcher, your PhD will equip you with the highly transferrable skills and knowledge to guide policy and practice in palliative care or more broadly.

Our PhD in Palliative Care is delivered by staff from Lancaster’s highly regarded International Observatory on End-of-Life Care (IOELC).

The Observatory includes several world-leading academics whose research influences understanding and perspectives on the knowledge, theory and practice of end-of-life care.

How will I learn?

This part-time PhD programme runs for between four and seven years.

It has been created with flexibility at its core. It allows you to combine your studies with your existing commitments, supporting a healthy work-life balance.

The first two years comprise taught modules delivered and assessed remotely. You will be allocated an academic tutor who will support you in developing your research ideas.

Upon successfully completing these taught modules, you will move on to the research phase of your PhD, where you will undertake an original and independent research project with the support of two supervisors.

You will meet with your supervisors regularly using video conferencing software such as Microsoft Teams and face-to-face during our annual Academies at our Lancaster campus. Your work will culminate in the submission and defence of your thesis in a viva voce.

We will support you throughout the process to enhance your leadership skills and develop advanced research and presentation skills.

You will also join a peer group of fellow Lancaster University PhD students worldwide. Digital forums, collaborative spaces, and video conferencing will allow you to build a network that many find an invaluable source of support during their studies.

Professors Nancy Preston and Sheila Payne
Professors Nancy Preston and Sheila Payne

Podcast: Palliative Care

Meet the researchers pioneering improvements to end of life.

Seeing patients die without the best in palliative care inspired former nurse Professor Nancy Preston to seek ways of improving end-of-life care for the terminally ill and their families. Talking to her colleague – also a former nurse - Professor Sheila Payne, the pair discuss their pioneering work which sets out to make “a good death” available to every patient by offering proper pain management and support for both the dying and their families.

Listen on Spotify: A Good Death

Entry requirements

Academic Requirements

2:1 Hons degree (UK or equivalent) in a relevant subject and relevant work experience.

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

If you have studied outside of the UK, we would advise you to check our list of international qualifications before submitting your application.

Additional Requirements

As part of your application you will also need to provide a 500 word research proposal. Guidance for writing a research proposal can be found on our writing a research proposal webpage.

The department plans to interview all eligible applicants.

The application deadline for this programme is the 31st July. Applicants should ensure that all required supporting documents are submitted by this date.

English Language Requirements

We may ask you to provide a recognised English language qualification, dependent upon your nationality and where you have studied previously.

We normally 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.

Contact: Admissions Team +44 (0) 1524 592032 or email pgadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk

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 the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.

Course structure

You will study a range of modules as part of your course, some examples of which are listed below.

Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, but changes may be necessary, for example as a result of student feedback, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes, and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.

Core

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Core

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Fees and funding

Location Full Time (per year) Part Time (per year)
Home n/a £4,520
International n/a £11,790

General fees and funding information

Additional fees and funding information accordion

Dr Poh Heng Chong, PhD Palliative Care graduate

"Signing up for the part-time PhD in Lancaster University was one of the best decisions I have made in life. As a distance learning student, I did not feel isolated nor lonely as I had the vibrant student portal to connect with international classmates, including those from other disciplines like organisation development. Having attained my PhD, I am now a research mentor, supporting my hospice colleagues in designing and publishing their own studies.”

How you will learn

Blended learning combines in-person teaching or events with study and research from your home location.

Teaching and research activities are carried out through face-to-face and online interaction, allowing flexibility in when and where you study.

You are encouraged to attend our optional five-day Induction Academy at our Lancaster campus at the beginning of your studies and our three-day Autumn Academy at the start of each subsequent academic year.

These in-person events are ideal opportunities to meet, catch up, collaborate with academics and peers, discuss research ideas with your supervisor, and get inspiration from an international cohort of like-minded students.

Years one and two provide you with training in research and the theory and practice underpinning healthy organizations.

Year One

Your specialist module is Palliative Care, which you will study alongside the Philosophy of Research and Research Design.

Year Two

You will undertake the following modules:

  • Systematic Reviews
  • Data Analysis
  • Advanced Research Planning

Palliative Care module

The Palliative Care module examines the historical and comparative perspectives on palliative care policy and practice in different settings and cultures worldwide. You will explore how hospice and palliative care have evolved in different resource settings, the adopted models of care, and the issues involved in assessing the impact of these – individually, socially and societally.

Through this module, you'll gain insight into the palliative and end-of-life care field through perspectives and debates within the social sciences. You'll also explore issues associated with the specific concerns of palliative care research.

Your studies will relate closely to the ongoing research programmes of the International Observatory on End-of-Life Care (IOELC). You'll have access to unique electronic and paper-based archives and a major library collection of journals, books, and grey literature.

Your other modules

The remaining five taught modules last 10 weeks each and run across programme streams with peers from various backgrounds. You are encouraged to consider this teaching from the perspective of palliative and end-of-life care – applying it as you build towards the final module, where you fire up your independent research proposal and ethics application.

Years Three and beyond will see you undertake a research project in palliative care, concluding with submitting a 35,000-word thesis.

You will conduct research from your location, with online supervision via Microsoft Teams. Face-to-face meetings with your supervisors can occur during our optional Autumn Academy at our Lancaster campus.

We aim to provide an opportunity for students—many of whom work in various hospice and palliative care services—to develop a critical orientation and a portfolio of skills related to research and evaluation in the field.

We will support you in developing general skills that will be useful throughout the programme, including:

  • engaging critically with reading materials
  • effectively synthesise materials
  • using research evidence to support your arguments

Meet our team

The following academics are involved in the International Observatory on End-of-Life Care.

Catherine Walshe

Professor Catherine Walshe

Professor

International Observatory on End of Life Care

+44 (0)1524 510124 D48, D - Floor, Health Innovation One
Nancy Preston

Professor Nancy Preston

Professor of Supportive and Palliative Care

International Observatory on End of Life Care

D47, D - Floor, Health Innovation One
Sarah Brearley

Professor Sarah Brearley SFHEA

 Professor of Palliative Care

Institute for Social Futures Fellow, International Observatory on End of Life Care

+44 (0)1524 592574
Yakubu Salifu

Dr Yakubu Salifu

Lecturer

International Observatory on End of Life Care

D42, D - Floor, Health Innovation One
Maddy French

Dr Maddy French

Lecturer in Palliative Care

International Observatory on End of Life Care

Important Information

The information on this site relates primarily to 2025/2026 entry to the University 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. View our Charter and other policies.

Why Lancaster?