Applying

The School welcomes applications from any student interested in pursuing research at postgraduate level.

Applicants should complete an on-line Postgraduate Application Form and submit a detailed and focused research proposal.

 

Research Proposal

A research proposal as part of the application should include many or all of the following:

• a set of research questions which clearly outline what you want to accomplish in your research;
• an indication that you are familiar with the literature in your field and how it will guide your research;
• the research methodologies that you will use in your research;
• the necessary resources you will need to carry out your research.
  For example, this could include a participant pool for empirical studies, or archive or corpus resources for research on texts.
  
• evidence of your previous research success. This could include research undertaken at the undergraduate or Masters level, or research carried out privately;
• identify a member of academic staff in the School would have specialist expertise to supervise your topic.

Any additional evidence (previous research experience, published research, specific research skills, etc.) will be favourably considered.

As part of developing a successful application, it would be helpful to first make a provisional inquiry (as opposed to a complete application) in order to: 

• gauge whether a prospective project can be supervised in the School of English; 
• whether the project is likely to be viable at the PhD level.

All inquiries should be forwarded in the first instance to the Postgraduate Administrator in the School of English.

 

Areas of supervision

The School of English encourages applications for postgraduate research, and individual members of staff have particular areas of expertise for research supervision.  There is information about staff research expertise on the School website.  Please note that given the number of applications we receive, we are unable to supervise all prospective projects – even where those projects are of the highest quality.

 

Making an Application

Please apply for a place as a Research Student as early as possible, particularly if you wish to apply for funding.

The University has an application form (also available on-line, see Related Links section above) which you must complete. If you apply using the on-line application form you must ensure that your supporting documents (references, IELTS score etc) must be forwarded via post (Recorded Delivery or similar is preferred to ensure you have a receipt) to the Admissions Office at the University as soon as possible. Any offer made by the School can only be made on a conditional basis until all supporting documentation is received.

 

Visa Information for International students

From 6 April 2012, to secure a tier 4 visa, international students will need to show living expenses of £800 per month - a total of £7200 in their bank accounts, as opposed to £5600 previously (£600 per month).

Further information for international students is available on the following International Office web pages:
Visas and funding
Scholarships, fees and finance

 

 

The application process

1.  Getting your application form

Please complete your application and reference forms. 

If you would prefer to receive your application form in the post, please contact the University Admissions Office (see Related Links section above.)

2.  Obtaining references

If you apply on-line your referees will be contacted via email by the University Admissions Office.

If you apply on paper, please ask the two people who are writing a reference to complete the reference form and return it you in a sealed envelope with his/her signature across the seal.

3.  Research Proposal

As part of your application you will be required to produce an outline of your research proposal (a minimum of 500 words) see above.  

4.  Sending your application form

You can either apply in hard-copy via the post or on-line. 

If you are applying via post, please post your application form, transcripts, certificate and/or references as applicable (if applying on paper make sure that you've completed all of the sections on the application form and signed it) to the following address:

The University Admissions Office
The University of Nottingham
University Park Campus
Nottingham
NG7 2RD
UK

If you applying on-line please complete the on-line application form and send your supporting documents through the post to the above address as soon as possible.

Please do not send your application form or supporting documents to the School of English.

 

What Happens Next

You will be sent an acknowledgement letter and your application will be forwarded to the School by the University Admissions Office for prompt consideration.

It normally takes two to three weeks from the receipt of your application and supporting documents for a decision to be made on Research Student applications.

Once a decision has been made, the University Admissions Office will contact you to let you know if you will be made an offer and if there are any conditions associated with that offer.

If you applied on-line you can track your application at any time using the Postgraduate Admissions portal (if you sent the University a paper application you may still use this facility but it will take a little while for your application record to appear).

UK/EU applicants intending to apply for Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) or Economic Social Research Council (ESRC) funding should download an application form from the relevant website and contact the School of English to confirm that you wish to apply for this funding. Please be aware that to be eligible to apply for AHRC or ESRC funding you must have been made a firm offer of a place at the University of Nottingham and accepted this place. Early application is therefore essential.

If you require further information about your application to the School of English please contact our Postgraduate Administrator.

 

Back to top