Postgraduate Research Applications

If you are applying for one of our Professional Doctorates, or Masters by Research and wish to have an informal discussion with the Programme Manager before completing an application, contact details are provided on the relevant programme page.

If you are applying to start your own research project as a PhD, MPhil or PhD by Published Works, you will be supported in your research by a supervisory team of no fewer than two supervisors, consisting of a Director of Studies and at least one other supervisor. For the MSc by Research, you will have at least one supervisor. Therefore, the first step before you apply is to contact the relevant Institute Manager of Research Degrees in your intended area of research to identify the supervisors available to support you.  

Please find the contact details relevant to you on the Institute page for your subject:

• Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education
   
• Sciences and Arts
   
• Business, Management, Sport, and Health

You are also welcome to contact registrypgr@uwtsd.ac.uk. 

The academic entry requirements for research degrees are detailed in Chapter 8 of the Academic Quality Handbook and the Code of Practice for Research Degrees.

The normal minimum academic requirement for the PhD, PhD by Published Works, Professional Doctorate and the MPhil is a Master’s degree or an upper second class honours degree relevant to the proposed research project or equivalent professional experience.

The normal minimum academic requirement for the Master by Research and the Master of Science by Research is an upper second class honours degree relevant to the proposed research project or equivalent professional experience.

All applicants whose native language is not English or Welsh must provide evidence of competence in the English or Welsh Language at a level necessary to complete the programme of work and to prepare to defend a thesis in that language.  Proficiency in English for students whose first language is not English is normally evidenced by a minimum IELTS score (or equivalent) of 6.5 overall (to include a minimum score of 6.5 in both reading and writing).

Further information on the University’s English Language requirements is available at: English Language Entry Requirements | UWTSD.

Select your course using the search function e.g. PhD. You will need to select the programme title, with your intended intake and mode of study, such as full time or part time, distance or on campus, then click through to the application form. 

When you start your application, you will be emailed with a password so that you can log in at any time to complete your application.

There are 3 stages to the form. Stage 1 asks for information relating to you. Stage 2 is information relating to your chosen course, such as your previous education, qualifications and Research Proposal or Personal Statement. Stage 3 relates to Declarations.

You have to complete all of the mandatory fields (marked with a *) before you can Save and move to the next section.  At the bottom of the screen in each section, you have the option to Save what you have completed and Continue to the next section, or to Save and Exit and return to the form at a later time. When a section is completed and saved, a green tick will appear against it.

The form has comprehensive instructions for you to follow, and help boxes are available in each section, detailing the required information. When you have completed and saved each section and stage, click on Submit to submit.

Your research proposal is a key part of your postgraduate research application. It’s your opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of your subject and how your research will make an original contribution to existing knowledge in that area.

This section of the online application is broken down into the following headings with text boxes to complete:

Proposed title
A working title of your research. The wording may change as your research develops.

Background and context
In this section you will need to:

• Place the research topic in its historical, cultural and social context;
• Explain why the research is significant and important;
• Place the research in the current academic context;
• Refer to key texts
• 500 words

Proposed research question

Proposed aims

• Explain what you want to achieve through the research
• Outline the aims of the research.
  250 words

Proposed objectives
Outline the action(s) you will take in order to achieve these objectives.
250 words

Proposed methodology

In this section, you will need to explain how you will achieve your aims and objectives:

• Explain your disciplinary orientation/approach;
• Describe the methods you will use to carry out your research e.g. library-based  research, online research, fieldwork, analysis of visual data, combinations of these;
• Reference your work using the referencing system appropriate to your discipline.
  500 words

Contribution to the field of knowledge
Identify how the results of this research will impact the subject field or professional area.

Indicative bibliography

• You should include all works cited in the research proposal; 
• The list should be alphabetical using the referencing system appropriate to the discipline.

Type into the boxes to maintain the formatting rather than pasting from a Word document.

Proposed Title

Your title should give a clear indication of your proposed research theme and related research questions addressed through your publications.

Portfolio of Publications

In this section you will need to:

• provide a detailed list of the published works that you will include in your final submission, together with evidence of the availability and traceability of these published works in the public domain;
• the list should be alphabetical using the referencing system appropriate to your discipline;
• full publication details must be provided along with the percentage of contribution to any collaborative publications;
• provide links to your publications.

Initial Critical Commentary on the Body of Work

Please provide a statement of no more than 3,000 words.

In this section you will need to demonstrate:

• the coherence of the body of work;
• the academic impact of the body of work and how it constitutes an original contribution to knowledge in your field of a standard equivalent to that of a “traditional” PhD; 
• the key themes and issues that at present you expect you will use to integrate, synthesize and show the impact of your portfolio of publications through the required critical commentary in an overarching thesis.

Type into the boxes to maintain the formatting rather than pasting from a Word document.

Please provide information that is relevant to your application for admission such as why you wish to follow this programme, the benefits you expect to gain from it and the skills and experience you possess which make you a suitable applicant. The information you provide allows us to identify a broader set of skills than those evidenced by your qualifications and references. The character limit for the personal statement is 64000.

Before you start to complete the online application form, you will need to gather the following supporting documents:

• evidence of highest qualifications (copies of original certificates or transcripts, and English translations if necessary. If your name is now different to how it appears on a certificate, please provide official documentary evidence); 
• proof of identity (passport, birth certificate).

Documents can be uploaded to the online application in the following file formats:

.jpg, .png, .jpeg, .doc, .docx and .pdf  The maximum file size is 5MB.

The uploads should be clear and show the full document.

You will also need to prepare the following:

• names and email contact details of two referees;
• personal statement, for Professional Doctorates and Master by Research programmes;
• research proposal, for PhD, PhD by Published Works, MPhil and Master of Science by Research.

The online application form will ask you for the names and contact details, including email addresses, of two referees. When you submit the online application form, emails requesting references will automatically be sent to your referees, inviting them to complete a reference via a link that will feed into your application.

The referees should normally be individuals from an organisation at which you have studied or at which you were or are employed. Referees should normally be able to comment on your academic work. If they are from an institution at which you have studied, then they must be academics who have assessed your work as part of the qualification that is being used to gain entry. If they are from an institution at which you have been, or currently are employed, then they must have had line management responsibility for you.  The referees must not be a relative or a personal friend. 

You also have the option to upload a reference. Pre-prepared references must be signed and on letterhead paper. They must also be recent (within the last two years).

After you have submitted your online application, you will receive an email acknowledgement.

Registry (Postgraduate Research Students), or International Registry will contact you if further information is required. 

If your application is successful, you will receive an email informing you that the status of your application has changed and inviting you to view the update in the MyTSD application portal. When you log in, you will be able to view the decision and the offer letter.  Please select from the options to accept or decline.