1. Faculty of Environment
  2. School of Geography
  3. Research degrees
  4. Entry requirements

Entry requirements

Research degrees

The minimum entry requirements for PhD study is a 2.1 honours degree, or equivalent, in geography or a related subject. 

A first class honours degree (or equivalent) is usually required to be competitive for scholarship funding and a Masters degree is also a valuable asset. 

MA/MSc by Research 

The minimum entry requirement for a Masters by Research is a UK 2.1 honours degree or equivalent. 

English language requirements 

If English is not your first language, you’ll need to produce evidence of a language qualification before registration as a postgraduate student. 

We will accept the following qualifications and scores: 

  • IELTS: 6.0 overall with no less than  5.5 in each component

  • a minimum of one year study in the UK to complete a Masters degree

  • A minimum of two years study in the UK to complete an undergraduate degree

Tests must be not be more than 2 years old by the start date of your studies with us. If you subsequently defer your offer of a place, please check that your English language certificate will still be less than 2 years old by your new start date.  If not, you will need to take another test and again meet the requirements listed below. 

Please note that for postgraduate research study, we continue to be able to accept  IELTS from both Secure English Language Test (SELT) and non-SELT test centres. For entry to programmes below degree level (including the English language pre-sessional programmes), English language qualifications must be listed as UKVI approved SELTs and taken in approved test centres. 

PhD by Distance Learning 

Applicants may be accepted for full-time PhD study by Distance Learning for a standard period of 3 years, or part-time PhD study by Distance Learning for a standard period of 5 years, in the Faculty of Environment.   Applicants will normally be required to have obtained a relevant degree at least equivalent to a UK Upper second class honours degree.  Some Schools may have additional requirements which may include a Masters degree.  Applicants for PhD study by Distance Learning in the Faculty of Environment will be required to have obtained at least a 6.5 in IELTS (with no less than 6.0 in any component) or an equivalent English language qualification.  There is no minimum requirement for residences at the University of Leeds for candidates in the Faculty of Environment. 

Pre-sessional English courses

If your IELTS/TOEFL test result falls slightly short of the requirements (e.g if you have obtained 5.0 in one skill area other than writing, but meet the requirements in all other areas), it may be possible for you to meet the our English language requirements by successfully completing one of the following pre-sessional courses: 

If you need to study for longer than 10 weeks, find out more about our postgraduate pre-sessional English courses.