Prospective students

Applying for Admissions

Applicants are normally expected to have either a first or second class Bachelors degree with honours or a Masters degree from a UK University . If you have other qualifications of a comparable standard (see the British Council Guide to International Qualifications in Education if they are from outside the UK for information), or have relevant research or work experience, you can still be considered for admission, but should provide the names of two academic referees who are familiar with your recent academic work. If English is not your first language, a minimum IELTS Academic English, or such qualifications as our University deems comparable, score of 7.0 overall, with a minimum of 6.5 in all components, is required at entry for MPhil, MPhil/PhD, Direct PhD and Professional Doctorate students. Such assessment of English language competence must normally have been undertaken no more than two years prior to application, though relevant and more recent study in a United Kingdom Higher Education Institution may be accepted as sufficient proof of ability.

From 1 November 2007 the UK government will introduce the Academic Technology Approval Scheme. This will require international (non-UK or EU/EEA) students planning to undertake postgraduate research in science, engineering or technology disciplines, to obtain an ATAS Clearance Certificate in order to study in the UK. More information can be found at www.fco.gov.uk/atas.

How to Apply

Please click here to download application forms. From this page, if you have Microsoft Word installed on your computer you can download the Word version of the form, and then fill the form in and send it as an email attachment to pgadmiss@uel.ac.uk. Alternatively you may print off the form, fill it in by hand, and post or fax it to us at the address on the form.

If you have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer you can display the PDF version of the form. Print off the form, fill it in by hand, and post or fax it to us at the address on the form. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your machine, you can install it here.

You are asked to include, with your application, a one thousand word research proposal. For more information about the format and structure of a proposal, please see our guidance on the Research Proposal.

Please send your application, electronically, by fax or by post, to the admissions team at the address shown on the application form

Email: pgadmiss@uel.ac.uk

Your application will be sent for consideration to the research leader for the School in which you wish to study. The school's research leader will discuss the application with relevant members of staff. You may be asked to come for interview. If you are, please bring proof of your qualifications: this may be an original certificate or a letter on original headed paper from the awarding body. If the documents are not in English, you should bring a translation certified either by your embassy or the British Council.

Admission and Induction

Once the School to which you have applied has received and accepted your application for admission, you will receive a letter confirming this. Shortly afterwards you will receive instructions on how to enrol.

In order to be a research student at the University you must enrol. When enrolling you will be required to pay fees if self-funded or provide proof of sponsorship. Once fully enrolled you will be issued with a student identity card which will allow you access to certain parts of the University, including the Learning Resource Centre. The card will have your student number on it, which you should have available whenever you contact your School . If you lose the card, there will be a charge for replacement.

Registration

Within six months of being accepted as a research student and enrolling you will be expected to submit your application to register. You may request up to six months backdating, although this may not pre-date your enrolment. If your registration application has been delayed for some reason and you require more than six months backdating, you will need to write a progress report for submission with the application.

Applications to register are considered by the relevant School Research Degrees Sub-committee, which makes recommendations to the Research Degrees Subcommittee of the University's Quality and Standards Committee. The application for registration form is issued to candidates automatically when an offer of admission has been approved, but if you wish, they can be downloaded by clicking the links above. Please ensure that the application is submitted at least four weeks before the meeting at which it is to be considered. Applications should be submitted to the Secretary of the appropriate committee who can be contacted through the relevant school office.

Once approved, your School will write to you to confirm your registration, your supervisors, your mode of study and the dates between which you may submit your thesis. The title of your thesis remains amendable until your examination arrangements are approved.

UEL HOMESEARCH