About Security, Conflict And Human Rights in University of Bristol

The PhD in Security, Conflict and Human Rights is an interdisciplinary pathway. It explicitly recognises that traditional approaches to security and conflict must encompass different disciplinary perspectives on issues of human (in)security to develop better strategies for resolving conflicts and protecting human rights.

This programme is one of five South West Doctoral Training Partnership interdisciplinary pathways delivered in partnership with the Universities of Bath and Exeter.

Globalisation has altered the security environment, and violence has shifted from organised inter-state war to protracted warfare fought by non-state actors and local militias as well as state militaries. Climate change, forced migration, gender-based violence, radicalisation, humanitarian emergencies, terrorism and WMD proliferation have - to varying degrees - been securitised by states, intergovernmental institutions and non-governmental organisations. This broadening of the global security agenda has highlighted the limits of existing local, regional and global responses to these new challenges, and although human rights are codified within international law, their implementation is often inhibited.

This PhD responds directly to these challenges and equips researchers with the interdisciplinary skills required to shape the research, policy and practice needed to prevent conflict and mitigate security risks.

As this is an interdisciplinary PhD pathway, within your proposal you will be required to articulate, clearly and substantively, how and in what ways your proposed research is interdisciplinary in nature. You should also be aware that an offer of a place on this programme is dependent on the availability of co-supervision from two staff members from different disciplines relevant to your proposal. You are required to identify this in the 'proposed supervisor' section of your application.

Students will normally be registered in the school of their first supervisor. This may not be the school that processes your application.

​​​​​​Entry Requirements

• an undergraduate (bachelor’s) degree that is equivalent to a UK upper second-class degree (also known as a 2:1).

English language requirements 

• IELTS : 6.5 A minimum score of 6.0 in all the sub-sections

• PTE : 67 A minimum score of 60 in all the sub-sections

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