Postgraduate Research
The Graduate School is at the heart of Birmingham Newman University’s research and postgraduate community.
It supports high-quality research and postgraduate education – both on campus and via distance learning – while ensuring students receive strong academic and pastoral support.
Our mission
- Promote excellence in research and postgraduate education
- Share best practice across all areas of postgraduate study
- Monitor and review postgraduate programmes to support high completion rates
- Ensure appropriate academic and pastoral provision for postgraduate students
Leadership and support
The Graduate School is led by the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Research and Scholarship, who oversees research strategy and represents the University in national networks such as GuildHE, CREST, and MURG.
Supporting roles include:
- Head of Graduate School – responsible for policy, progress monitoring, and compliance with validating partner regulations
- Research Office Administrator – manages student records, ethics applications, and funding processes
Our structure
The Graduate School includes:
Postgraduate Research Students
A vibrant community of scholars engaged in original research across disciplines.
Research Centres
- Applied Humanities Research Centre
- Centre for Community & Social Justice
- Education and Childhood Research Centre
REF Units of Assessment
- Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy
- Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
- Social Work and Social Policy
- Education
- Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism
- English Language and Literature
- History
- Theology and Religious Studies
The Graduate School coordinates submissions to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and hosts regular staff seminars and workshops.
Researcher development with Vitae
Birmingham Newman is a proud member of Vitae, the global leader in researcher development. Vitae offers expert resources for career planning, academic progression, and skills development.
All staff and students have full access to www.vitae.ac.uk using their institutional email address. Popular resources include:
- CV examples for academic and non-academic careers
- Advice on pursuing an academic career
- The Vitae Researcher Development Framework
- Guidance on completing a doctorate
Supervision areas
Business
Postgraduate Research Degrees in Business are studied across private, public, and third sector contexts. Through close collaboration with businesses, and international institutions, our research aims to generate meaningful, real-world impact at local, national, and global levels.
Our research includes: entrepreneurship and innovation, business and society, marketing, management and leadership, organisational behaviour, artificial intelligence and digital transformation, tourism and hospitality, sustainability and corporate social responsibility, financial innovations, and strategic decision-making.
Computer Science
Our research in Computer Science is underpinned by a commitment to advancing innovation across artificial intelligence, data science, cyber security, machine learning, computer vision, bioinformatics, autonomous systems and digital transformation.
With a strong emphasis on applied research, our scholars work closely with industry partners and policymakers to influence and inform the technologies of the future.
Postgraduate research students benefit from expert supervision, access to state‑of‑the‑art research environments and meaningful opportunities to contribute to practical, real‑world technological advancements.
Counselling, Psychotherapy and Talking Therapies
Research in the Counselling area draws on a broad and evolving evidence base, with a focus on practice-informed enquiry and the lived experiences of therapeutic work across settings.
Our research interests include counselling theory and practice, therapeutic relationships, and developments in contemporary approaches to psychological therapy.
Postgraduate students benefit from a research culture that values ethical enquiry, methodological quality, and impact, with opportunities to develop original work that contributes meaningfully to counselling practice and wider mental health provision.
Criminology, Justice and Social Policy
We collaborate and support research in crime, justice, and social harm; and in policy issues around working with children, young people, and families with a focus on real-world impact.
Key areas of our research include gender-based violence, policing and sentencing, cybercrime, organised crime, and youth justice. Researchers work closely with policymakers, law enforcement, and advocacy groups to influence policy and practice.
Postgraduate research students benefit from expert supervision and opportunities to contribute to contemporary debates, ensuring that their research addresses pressing social justice issues.
Education
Staff in the School of Education engage in a wide range of research and scholarly activities, and have a track record of successful postgraduate research supervision. Research is disseminated through written publication, conferences, projects and partnerships, as well as through the Education and Childhood Research Centre.
In Education, Childhood and Professional Studies, staff research areas of education and technology, student experience, special educational needs, creativity and imagination in education and early childhood education and care.
In Initial Teacher Education, staff research in teacher training, development and school-based practice, with particular expertise in anti-racism, inclusion, educational leadership, physical education and religious education.
English
English is a thriving research area with particular expertise in twentieth-century and contemporary writing, exploring posthumanism, ecocriticism, and social justice.
As well as giving papers at national and international conferences, research staff regularly publish their work as monographs, journal articles and book chapters in edited collections. English staff work as editors for academic publications and are developing community projects based on their research.
History
History is very successful in terms of academic research. Expertise within the subject team covers a number of diverse areas: the ancient world, early modern Britain, and modern Europe. We have a particular expertise and interest in medical/health humanities, and share inter-institutional collaborative leadership of the Returning Solider Network.
All academic staff are active in their fields, attending national and international conferences, hosting conferences and publishing widely.
The team has a proven track record in supporting postgraduate students. The supervision teams are interdisciplinary and work closely with colleagues across the Humanities.
Law
We support doctrinal, theoretical and socio-legal research in both public law and private law, including Criminal Law; Employment and Human Resources Law and Regulation; Public International Law; Intellectual Property Law; and Artificial Intelligence and Emergent Technology Laws.
Our scholars work closely with legal practitioners, policymakers, public international organisations and NGOs contributing to and often influencing policy and legal imperatives nationally, regionally and internationally.
Nursing and Allied Health
The School of Nursing and Allied Health (SoNAH) is a growing team of applied and practice-focused researchers and academics, who have specialisms within the broader disciplines of: Adult Nursing, Mental Health Nursing, Public Health, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, and Paramedic Science.
Our scholarly culture is based on the foundation of working in partnership with health service and care staff in practice, policy makers, and experts by experience, to ensure research and practice development is evidence-based and informed by relevant perspectives and experiences.
Researchers welcome informal enquiries from prospective students prior to making an application.
Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Studies
Supervision for research degree awards is offered in a number of areas of philosophy, theology and religious studies.
Current staff research interests include science and theology, early Christianity, contemporary philosophy of religion, and the history of philosophy and ethics. The team are also able to work with those wishing to apply theological reflection to their ministry or professional practice. Creating strong support networks for students and building good relationships between staff and students is at the heart of the approach to study.
Members of the team regularly present papers at international conferences and publish in their areas of expertise.
Psychology
Psychology at Birmingham Newman University offers a supportive and intellectually rich environment for postgraduate research.
Our research spans applied psychology, with a particular emphasis on health and wellbeing, behaviour change, and modifiable psychological processes and behaviour. We engage in research exploring neurodiversity, and the psychological factors that shape everyday functioning and wellbeing across diverse populations.
With a strong emphasis on methodological rigour, interdisciplinary collaboration, and real-world impact, our research culture offers postgraduate students the opportunity to develop innovative, meaningful research.
Sport and Health
Sport and Health is a successful research group with a strong track record of supporting postgraduate candidates through to completion.
We invite enquiries aligning with our current interests and strengths in: psychology and performance (including motivation, mental toughness, athlete development, the psychological demands of officiating, and the physiological determinants of performance), health and wellbeing (including mental health, physical activity and health prediction across the lifespan, and biomechanics and exercise science to understand and improve functional outcomes), and educational innovation (including the application of artificial intelligence).