Program Overview

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Audiology and Hearing Disability Research MPhil, PhD

Overview

Work with an internationally renowned academic team that has extensive research activities and collaborations, is widely published and attracts significant grant funding.

Full Description

The group is known internationally and focuses primarily on translational research, taking a public health perspective on hearing loss management, with a strong interdisciplinary research slant.

Working within the Department of Vision and Hearing Sciences, we can arrange supervision for a very wide range of PhD topics (see ‘supervision’ below), including interdisciplinary programmes.

As one of our PhD students, you’ll be a valued member of our group, with your own workspace, approachable staff and a strong peer group to support and inspire you.

You’ll be able to showcase your work at our departmental meetings and at scientific conferences. Plus there’ll be networking opportunities with our partners nationally and globally.

We include comprehensive research training modules in your programme. These will help you develop professional skills that will be invaluable to your PhD research and wider career.

If you've already conducted research and published work that demonstrates an independent and original contribution to knowledge in this field of you may wish to apply for a PhD by Published Work.

Completion Dates

• MPhil: full-time 1-3 years, part-time 2-4 years.
• PhD via progression from MPhil, including that period: full-time 2.5-5 years, part-time 3.5-6 years.
• PhD: full-time 2-4 years, part-time 3-6 years.

Supervision and Support

You’ll enjoy the support of supervisory team members chosen for their expertise in your field of interest. They’ll complete regular formal reviews with you, but are here to help you any time.

We’ve a strong record in specialist hearing and interdisciplinary research – and we can support laboratory or field-based studies. Here are a few examples of our current work:

• Assessment and management of hearing and balance disorders (with a focus on tinnitus)
• Self-management of hearing and balance disorders using e-health applications
• The psychosocial aspects of hearing loss
• Audiological enablement / rehabilitation
• Hearing aid demographics
• Occupational hearing loss and hearing conservation
• Professional and regulatory aspects of hearing healthcare
• Clinical populations
• Combined vision and hearing research

Where You'll Research

Your Faculty

The Faculty of Science & Engineering is one of the largest of the four faculties at ARU. Whether you choose to study with us full-time or part-time, on campus or at a distance, there’s an option whatever your level – from a foundation degree, BSc, MSc, PhD or professional doctorate.

Whichever course you pick, you’ll gain the theory and practical skills needed to progress with confidence. Join us and you could find yourself learning in the very latest laboratories or on field trips or work placements with well-known and respected companies. You may even have the opportunity to study abroad.

Everything we do in the faculty has a singular purpose: to provide a world-class environment to create, share and advance knowledge in science, technology and engineering fields. This is key to all of our futures.

Where Can I Study?

• Cambridge

Fees & Funding

Course Fees

• UK students, 2024/25 (per year): £4,786
• UK students, 2024/25 (part-time, per year): £2,392
• International students, 2024/25 (per year): £15,900
• International students, 2024/25 (part-time, per year): £7,950

Bench Fees

In some cases extra costs known as bench fees will be charged for a postgraduate research degree. These are to cover additional/exceptional costs directly related to a specific research project.

Some examples of these costs are (the list is not exhaustive): equipment hire, access costs to specialist equipment/workshops, volunteer expenses, specialist tissue/cell culture, specialist reagents or materials, specialist software, access to specialist databases, data collection costs, specialist media, recording or digital storage needs.

We charge bench fees in bands. They may apply for every year of your course. These bands are the same for full- and part-time students.

If you have to pay bench fees this will be made clear at your interview, and stated in your offer letter.

For 2024/25 the bench fee bands are:

1. £500
2. £1,200
3. £2,200
4. £4,500
5. £8,900

PhD by Published Work

• Initial registration: £1,500
• Full registration: £4,500

Writing Up Fees 2024/25

• £1,200

How Do I Pay My Fees?

You can pay your fees upfront, in full or in instalments – though you won't need to pay until you've accepted an offer to study with us.

Funding

For advice on the Doctoral Loan and other sources of funding, including ARU scholarships, visit our finance guide for postgraduate researchers.

You might also find The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding helpful.

ARU Research

ARU's academic excellence was recognised in 2021, as part of the Research Excellence Framework (REF), an exercise which assesses the quality of academic research. Sixteen areas of our work were classed as generating world-leading research. The results showed that we're making a significant impact on the societies we live in.

Careers

You’ll develop a strong set of research skills as part of your programme and there’ll be good networking opportunities with fellow research students, partner institutions and employers.

Our research partnerships span many countries, including Finland, Sweden, Portugal, India, Iran and China.

Entry Requirements

• MPhil or PhD with progression from MPhil: You’ll need a Bachelors degree or equivalent with first or upper second class honours, in a related subject area.
• PhD: You’ll need a Masters degree or equivalent in a related subject area.

Please note we consider candidates for PhD with progression from MPhil in the first instance. If you want to be considered for direct entry to the PhD route then this can be discussed at interview if you are shortlisted. Please note you’ll also need to provide academic justification for this request.

If English is not your first language, you'll require a minimum IELTS score of 6.5, with a minimum of 5.5 in each component (or equivalent test). If you don't meet our English language requirements, we offer a range of courses which could help you achieve the level required for entry.

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