How to write a postgraduate research proposal

You'll need to submit a research proposal as part of any Humanities PhD application. You should discuss your research proposal with your supervisor, but the piece of writing should be your own.

You might have research from previous studies, but it's important that your proposal doesn't plagiarise. The University uses electronic systems to detect plagiarism and other forms of academic malpractice.

What to include

Your postgraduate research proposal should be no more than 3,000 words. You should provide the word count with your submission.

Title

Your title should clearly explain your proposed approach or key question.

An overview of the research

Your research overview should be approximately 300 words. You should explain:

• Why your research is important
• How it will make an original contribution to the literature
• How it fits with the research priorities of Alliance MBS.

Positioning of the research

This section of your proposal should be the largest - approximately 1500 words. It should reference the most important texts related to your research. You'll need to:

• Demonstrate your understanding of the research issues
• Identify existing gaps that the research is intended to address - both theoretical and practical.

You should clearly articulate your research questions, why they are important and how they make an original contribution to the literature.

Research design and methodology

This section of your proposal should be approximately 1200 words. You should provide details of how your research will be carried out, including any data requirements, fieldwork or access issues for any empirical work.

Ethical considerations

You should identify and address any potential ethical considerations in relation to your proposed research - for example, if there's a chance your research could cause harm to participants.

You can discuss ethical considerations with your proposed supervisor. They can help you understand how best to progress your ideas in line with The University of Manchester research ethics.

References

You should reference the context of your work - for example, this could be a list of references to key texts discussed within your research proposal or a selection of sources relevant to your proposed research.

Proposed timetable of study

You will need to provide a plan of work and time schedule that shows how you'll undertake your research, leading to the submission of your thesis.

Statement of Motivation

This section of your proposal is where you should talk about the reasons why you're applying to AMBS specifically. You should explain how your background, experience and training qualify you for the programme.