Postgraduate research students

Whether motivated by a deep interest in a particular field, or wanting to advance your career, we are a supportive place to pursue your interests.

Find a supervisor

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Whether motivated by a deep interest in a particular field, or wanting to advance your career, we are a supportive place to pursue your interests.

Find a supervisor

Postgraduate research students

Your postgraduate research journey at UEL

Are you interested in pursuing a higher professional or research degree in social, media and cultural studies; psychology; health and biological sciences; business; art, architecture and visual arts; law; computing and technology; or education? We offer a wide range of professional doctorates, MPhil, and PhD programmes supervised by staff whose research is recognised as being of national and international significance. 

Postgraduate research degree programmes

A supportive environment

You will find comprehensive support throughout your postgraduate journey to ensure you have an outstanding experience at UEL. Our Researcher Development Programme provides formal and informal professional development and networking opportunities, and you will be encouraged to attend a range of events and programmes in your School and cross-university to support your wider development including interdisciplinary approaches, public and community engagement and pathways to impact. In the 2021 Postgraduate Research Experience Survey overall satisfaction at UEL was 81 per cent. 

Applying for a postgraduate research degree at UEL

A research degree is a big commitment, so you'll need to be highly organised, motivated and able to work independently for three years' full-time or six years' part time. 

PhD Scholarship opportunities

Any new scholarship opportunities will be advertised here when available.

Identifying a supervisor

Your first step should be to use our Find an Expert tool. You can search for a research topic and look for a supervisor.

You can also explore the relevant School's pages to see if there is an academic staff member who might be able to supervise your study. Do we research in your chosen field? Explore the department, research staff and the connections to your chosen field. 

When you have found someone, you should email them to discuss the possibility of doing a PhD or MPhil. Outline your ideas and ask if they would be interested in supervising you.  

You should also make contact with the School's research degrees leader before applying. 

Man and woman in studio working together

Find an expert

Search for an academic by research topic or name

Research Degree Leaders (RDLs)

Contact your RDLs here:

Your research proposal

Before you apply to do a research degree at UEL, you need to submit a research proposal: a research proposal for a PhD or MPhil is an important part of the application process. Putting your plans and ideas down on paper will help our academic staff understand and appreciate what you are trying to achieve, and how they can help you.

How to write your research proposal

Aim

What are you doing?

Summarise the aims and objectives of your PhD project.

Context

Why are you doing this?

Think about why this topic matters and contextualise it.

Literature review

What is the gap in the literature?

Summarise the literature on the topic. Think about what has been written before, where the gaps are, and what has not been addressed. What will your project do that hasn’t been done before?

Methodology

How will you conduct your research?

Summarise your research methodology and methods: qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods etc.

Impact

Why does this research matter? What is the potential contribution to knowledge?

Summarise why people should care about your research and what the potential contribution to knowledge is.

Structure

What structure will your thesis take?

Create a proposed chapter structure for your thesis. For example:

Chapter 1: Introduction 
Chapter 2: Literature Review 
Chapter 3: Methodology 
Chapter 4: Data 
Chapter 5: Analysis of the Data 
Chapter 6: Significance of the data 
Chapter 7: Conclusion

Conclusion

Summary of proposal

Briefly summarise what your research is doing and why it matters.

Bibliography

List of literature

Create a bibliography of works referred to in your literature review and other texts that have influenced the thesis proposal.

Timeline

What stages of the thesis will you aim to complete at which points?

Create a proposed timeline through to completion (3-4 years full time).

Your research experience

How has your educational experience so far prepared you to undertake a PhD?

Summarise your education up to this point and the skills you have learnt along the way. Explain how you will use these skills in your PhD.

Your reason for applying to UEL

Why are you applying to UEL?

Summarise your choice of UEL and this research programme. How does the research undertaken by UEL support your research aims?

Entry criteria

To apply for a research degree such as a PhD or an MPhil, you should normally have either a first or second class Bachelor's degree with honours or a Master's degree from a UK university.  

If you have qualifications gained outside the UK, we can still consider you for admission, but we'll need to satisfy ourselves that these are of equivalent standard to UK qualifications. You should also provide the names of two academic referees who know your recent academic work. 

If English is not your first language, you'll need to provide proof of a minimum IELTS Academic English score of 7.0 overall, gained within the past two years, with a minimum of 6.5 in all components. This is the standard required for MPhil, MPhil/PhD, Direct PhD and Professional Doctorate students. 

Alumni discount

If you graduated from UEL you may be eligible for a postgraduate course discount. If you progress directly with no gap year, you may receive a discount of up to 25 per cent; alternatively, you will receive a 10 per cent discount.

To apply, or for advice please contact our admissions team: