PhD & MPhil

Select an Area of Research you are interested in

A note on nomenclature: some Departments in the School refer to their graduate researchers as RHD students (Research Higher Degree) by which they mean PhD or MPhil students.

Your choice of research project/topic is critical because this is something you will study and research intensively over the next 2 - 3 years. It should be something that really interests you because you will need to sustain that interest for the duration of your research and the final writing of the thesis.

The following will assist you in your choice:

• Check the contents of the Research Project Booklets of the Department of your choice;
  1. Although these projects are primarily for Honours and Masters students, some Departments in the School also list projects available for RHD students;
  2. The Research Project Booklet will give an idea of the scope of research within a Department and will also provide valuable insights into the focus of research within the Research Groups;
  3. The Booklet will also show the supervisors for each of the projects and their contact details;
  4. The contents of the project booklet are updated in mid September each year.
• Narrow your focus to one or two research projects. Supervisors often include a short reading list following the description of the project. Make sure you read these;
• Have a really close look at your potential supervisor's research pages on the Departmental site, particularly any projects closely related to the one(s) that you have chosen;
• Check their recent publications which will be listed on their research pages or on their 'Find an Expert' pages;
• Contact the supervisor and arrange to meet them to discuss the possibility of working in their Research Group on the particular project you have chosen.  To get the most out of this meeting have ready a list of questions you can ask them about the research, their expectations etc;
• Contact other current graduate researchers in the same Research Group and find out more details about the research, what the supervisor is like to work for, what is the rest of the Research Group like etc. You will find their contact details on the Research Group or individual Project pages or in the Department Staff Directory;
• Contact anyone you know who has completed their PhD or MPhil/Masters and find out from them what were the most difficult aspects of their research, they may be able to give you valuable insights into the process.