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I enjoyed studying in Exeter because of its unique location in Devon. To me nature is very important to keep in balance and I think this is an extremely beautiful area. 

About the Doctoral College

About the Doctoral College

A world-class research hub

We are particularly committed to encouraging new ideas and nurturing talent at the University of Exeter, and as such we boast an extremely high number of early career researchers. 

The University of Exeter Doctoral College brings together institution-wide support, training, and administration for all of our postgraduate and early career researchers. The Doctoral College works across all three Academic Faculties within the University as well as key Professional Services, to ensure that postgraduate and early career researchers have an outstanding start to their research careers.

The Doctoral College is world-class research hub, committed to a vibrant research culture and community, to sector-leading training and development, and to providing outstanding facilities and resources.

Prospective Student

If you are a prospective student please contact our admissions team via the contact details found on the Admissions website. 

Current Student(s)

If you are a current student please and have an enquiry then please look at the information on our Postgraduate Research Student (PGR) support webpage

Other Enquiries

For all other enquiries, that are not academic related please email the Doctoral College directly at the following email address: doctoral.college@exeter.ac.uk

NamePosition
Professor Andrew McRae Dean of Postgraduate Research and of the Doctoral College
Drs Astrid Wissenburg Director of Research       
Fiona Pac-Soo Assistant Director - Research Environment and Doctoral College
Dr Rachel Hogden Head of Postgraduate Research Support 
Dr Chris Wood Head of Researcher Development and Research Culture 

Welcome to the University of Exeter and our Doctoral College. We are the fastest growing research intensive university in the UK, ranked 16th out of 134 universities in the most recent national Research Excellence Framework (REF), taking account of our quality and the proportion of staff submitted.

The Doctoral College aims to provide first-class support to postgraduate research students and postdoctoral (or ‘early career’) researchers. We aim to manage the application process in a sensitive and transparent way, and to create a research culture within which all researchers fulfil their potential. We are aware that our researchers come to us from diverse backgrounds and bring different ambitions, but are united in a commitment to producing research – and developing researchers – of the highest quality.

Many universities talk about the strength of their research, but few can offer our high performance across a wide range of subjects. We’re proud to have performed above the Russell Group average in the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey 2021, and we’re always looking for ways of improving. We’re delighted that so many researchers choose to join our community, and make Exeter or Cornwall their home.

Professor Andrew McRae - Dean of Postgraduate Research and of the Doctoral College