Potential PhD Student Information

Dear Potential PhD Student,

Thank you for your enquiry about doing a PhD with me at King’s College London. Please find below some helpful information.

At this time I am only considering proposals from candidates wishing to study full time and which are very closely related to my research and the areas of supervision identified on my profile: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/warstudies/people/lecturers/gutkowski.aspx

More information about my research interests and publications can be found here: https://staceygutkowski.com

Here is a list of other supervisors working on Middle Eastern Studies at King’s:

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/mems/people/associates/index.aspx

At this point I am only considering proposals which are fully-developed and clearly-specified in terms of the project’s novel contribution to the academic literature; the methodology; and the theoretical literatures the project will engage. I am also only considering approaches from candidates who meet the high entry requirements for the PhD in War Studies. Please see for more information: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/warstudies/study/phdmphil/howtoapply.aspx

Whenever I read a PhD proposal I ask myself:

  1. Is this person making a real contribution to the literature on the topic, empirically or theoretically or are they repeating what has already been done?
  2. Does this person seem to be a sophisticated analyst? Is there a bit of spark to the theory they are looking at and do they have something especially interesting to say about the topic?
  3. Do they have interesting research questions and have they thought through how the method would answer them?
  4. Are they the right person to do the work? Do they have the necessary connections/language skills/grounding in the subject area to do the work in the time period?

If you have a fully developed proposal available which meets the above criteria, please send it to me along with your CV and academic transcripts before you make an application. It would also be helpful to know what you would like to do post-PhD. My preference is for candidates who want an academic career rather than working in policy. Should it look like your application may be a good fit, I’ll be in touch about arranging a phone interview before you formally apply to the College.

With all best wishes,

Stacey