When you apply for a Professional Doctorate with us, you are required to submit a research proposal & personal statement that outlines among many other things the nature of your research, and why its important. To help make yours as compelling as possible, read our helpful hints for creating a clear, concise and engaging research proposal.

What should I put in my research proposal?

Most application proposals are approx.1,000 1,500 words. A good research proposal will clearly identify the nature and scope of your research, and provides a meaningful context for its significance. It will also highlight your general and specific aims for the work and outline how you plan to meet them.

Heres a checklist of what to include, when you write your proposal:

Define your research

• What is the professional/research problem you want to study?
• Whats the nature of the problem and why is it problematic?
• Why is your research significant, who is it significant to, and why is it relevant now?
• How will your research make an original contribution or stimulate debate within your chosen profession/field?
• What academic research has been done in your chosen area, what ideas and findings has it developed, and how will your research build on the existing knowledge?
• Which authors and which models have been most influential in this area, and why?
• Are there any possible ethical issues arising from your research and if so, how will you address them?

Define your research aims and methods

• What are the general and specific aims of your research?
• What research methods have you considered?
• What authors have influenced your consideration of research methods, and how?
• What would be the most useful methodology for your research and what kinds of data will it yield?
• How will you gain access to any data relevant to your study?

What should I put in my personal statement?

Your personal statement is an opportunity to tell us about yourself, and to outline why youre a compelling candidate for a professional doctorate with us. In your statement, you should demonstrate your enthusiasm for your professional/research topic and highlight the skills youve gained from your academic studies and your work or life experience. Heres a checklist of what you should include:

• Your reasons for choosing your topic of research
• The aspects of your topic of research that interest you most
• How your choice of research fits in with your future career plans
• Why you would like to study in the UK (for EU/International students)
• Please provide details of your current or previous employment

Final thoughts

• If accepted, your proposal will set the topic and direction of your research for the duration of the programme (for a part-time DSE this could be 6 years!), so it must be something that you are personally interested in. You will need self-motivation and commitment and, above all, you should be able to enjoy exploring your chosen topic.
• Aim to leave the reader of your proposal excited, interested and wanting to know more. The reader should be left with a clear sense of purpose of the research, and should be able to understand what you hope to achieve without having to re-read the proposal.
• You are not expected to know everything at this stage! But you are expected to spend time and thought on your proposal in order to clearly present your ideas for a research topic. The proposal is about you demonstrating that you are capable of the chosen level of study and have the potential to carry it through to a successful conclusion.