PhD research proposal

Applicants to the PhD programme are required to submit a research proposal of approximately 5,000 words which incorporates:

  • a statement of the research issue, setting out the temporal, geographic and conceptual limits of the work
  • the potential contribution of the research to theory and/or policy making
  • a concise formulation of the research issues
  • a brief review of the theoretical background and the main analytical approaches to be followed
  • a specification of the main expected methods of data collection and processing
  • proposed table of contents for the thesis
  • references and bibliography

Research proposal examples

Take a look at these examples of successful research proposals:

Compare @count study programme

  • @title

    • Duration: @duration
Compare study programmes