Research degree routes of study

Before applying for a research degree at Edge Hill University, you should discuss your proposed research with the relevant academic department (if applying to join the PhD or MRes route of study) or relevant professional doctorate leader via [email protected]. 

Please be aware that you must be able to attend the intended entry point’s institutional induction. This is a condition of all offers. See ‘when will you start’ for induction information.

You must possess:

• A good honours degree (upper 2nd class honours or higher)
• A Masters level qualification is preferred for applicants to doctoral degrees
• If English is not your first language, or if you are from a country whose national language is not English, you will need to be able to demonstrate English language proficiency to a minimum standard of IELTS 7.0 (or any equivalent recognised by the University). The International Team can offer advice.

• Professional doctorates only: If you do not have the standard academic qualifications stated above, you may still apply for the Professional Doctorate provided you have substantial professional – or other relevant – experience and can demonstrate an understanding of research methodology and its application. Please discuss this with the relevant professional doctorate leader via [email protected].

Further details for all research degree applications can be found on the e-prospectus links above. International and EU application requirements are outlined on these pages, with further information provided on the International Office website.

Applicants are encouraged to search for specific keywords related to their research area of interest on Pure the research repository for the University. This will help you to find academic staff working in the research area that you are interested in.

Please note that you are welcome to speak with prospective supervisors however all supervisory teams are arranged and approved by the Graduate School. It is not guaranteed that you will be able to undertake your research degree with the supervisors identified in your application.

Please refer to the list of links below which will take you to the Edge Hill Course Prospectus. All deadlines are advertised on the relevant ‘apply’ pages.

Studentships

If you are applying for a studentship, you must submit your application by the closing date on the studentship advertisement.

All other applicants are expected to apply by the deadlines outlined on the e-prospectus.

MRes applicants

As part of your application you will need to submit:

• a research proposal that should not exceed 1,000 words – See detailed guidance on writing your research proposal under the ‘applicant guidance’ tab and here
• an academic CV
• a scan of your passport
• a scan of your degree certificates/transcripts

PhD applicants

As part of your application, you will need to submit:

• a research proposal that should not exceed 2,000 words – See detailed guidance on writing your research proposal under the ‘applicant guidance’ tab and here.
• an academic CV
• a scan of your passport
• a scan of your degree certificates/transcripts

International applicants, including those residing in the EU, will also need to provide evidence of meeting the English language requirements as part of their application. See details of accepted language paperwork.

Additional considerations

• If you are employed on a full-time contract and are applying to study full-time, please include a letter from your employer to confirm you are able to undertake your requested degree and that your employer will accommodate your study commitments.
• If you wish to study part-time, please provide a letter outlining why part-time study is preferred as part of your application. It is important to note that the University prioritises full-time applications. It may be possible to apply for a part-time PhD but applications must be approved by the PVC (Research) before an interview can be offered. Part-time PhDs normally take around four and a half years to complete but may take up to six.
• If you are applying with any type of funding support, including Research Council funding, evidence of this award should be provided when you apply.

References

You should also include details of two academic referees. It is the applicant’s responsibility to instruct your referees to send through this information at the point of application.

Your referees should send references directly to [email protected]:

• from their academic or professional e-mail accounts, or
• on their university or company headed paper.

As part of your application, you will need to submit:

• a research proposal that should not exceed 2,000 words. See detailed guidance on writing your research proposal under the ‘applicant guidance’ tab and here.
• an academic CV
• a scan of your passport
• a scan of your degree certificates/transcripts with your application at the point of application

International applicants, including those residing in the EU, will also need to provide evidence of meeting the English language requirements as part of their application. See details of accepted language paperwork.

References

You should also include details of two academic referees.

Your referees should send references directly to [email protected]:

• from their academic or professional e-mail accounts, or
• on their university or company headed paper.

Please instruct your referees to send through this information at the point of application.

Additional considerations

• If you are applying with any type of funding support, including Research Council funding, evidence of this award should be provided when you apply.

Incomplete applications cannot be considered so please do get in touch before you apply if you have any questions.

The next recruitment intake for our research degrees is October 2023, followed by February 2024.  

The institutional induction for October 2023 applicants will be on the Saturday 30 September with additional induction activity week commencing 02 October 2023.

You must attend the full induction programme, commencing on the date stated above. This is a condition of all offers.

The Graduate School will write to successful applicants with induction details in early September, for October starters, and December for February starters.

Each research degree has a maximum completion deadline so in order for you to be able to meet it:

• Full-time study means you need to commit 35 hours per week to your research project
• Part-time study means you need to commit 23.5 hours per week to your research project

The time you commit might be spent on a range of project-related activities (so not just reading, writing, data collection, and so on) but you will need to engage with the research culture in your department/faculty and across the University/sector, so you should carefully consider the amount of time you need to dedicate to your research project when making other commitments.

We do not offer research degrees by distance learning.

When the Graduate School receives an application for consideration, we are looking for the following:

• At the point of application to decide eligibility for interview we are looking for well designed, feasible, projects that are aligned with the research interests of members of staff that are qualified to supervise research students and have capacity to do so. You can look at possible supervisors by checking staff research profiles on Pure. We have to ensure that we have at least two members of staff able to supervise and two further members of staff who would be appropriate internal examiners.
  Following the guidance below in relation to the application form and the proposal and consulting appropriate staff is the best way to ensure that you make a strong application. If we think that an application should be considered in a different subject area from that indicated in your application, we will ensure it is considered in both areas.
• At the point of interview we have already established that your proposed project is well designed, appears viable, proposes a suitable original contribution to knowledge, and seems to be something we could supervise and examine. The focus at interview moves to whether the panel feels that you are well equipped to complete the project in good time to achieve a successful outcome. That means that the panel wants to know whether you have the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities and temperament for doctoral/MRes research.

The research proposal should not exceed 2,000 words in length for doctoral applications and 1,000 for MRes applications. The specific content and structure of the document should be discussed with prospective supervisors, in advance of submitting your application, as they will be able to make recommendations regarding the most suitable form for the proposal to take given the academic discipline in which you are working. There are, however, some general recommendations that can be made. We would normally expect the research proposal to include the
following:

• An abstract of no more than 200 words outlining the design of the research, including a clear statement of the proposed contribution to knowledge that will be made by the work: details should be in the proposal itself but should also be summarised in the abstract. An independent, significant and original contribution is required at doctoral level. The abstract is in addition to the proposal and so does not count in relation to the word limit on the proposal.
• Some evidence of familiarity with relevant literature and the place of the proposed research within a body of existing work: in designing research it is important to do so in light of existing work on the topic. The proposal should show a familiarity with relevant literature, the ability to critically evaluate that literature and the ability to identify gaps in existing research. It should not simply be a report on what others have said on the topic or the research that they have completed. Rather, it should show your ability to identify patterns in existing research, evaluate those as points of departure for new research, and place your proposed research within the context of that work.
• A clear statement of research questions and, where appropriate (but only where appropriate), hypotheses: the proposal should also indicate the relationship between each research question and the methods of data collection and analysis that have been designed to address them. Where appropriate, an indication of the relationships between the various research questions should be given. For example, there may be a primary question, elements of which may be addressed by tackling various subsidiary or ancillary questions. In addition, one might expect some discussion of how existing work in the relevant field relates to, and influences, the research questions.
• A rationale for any theoretical choices made in designing the research.
• A rationale for the methodological and epistemological choices made in designing the research.
• Evidence of some degree of awareness of conceptual issues relevant to the research: a central differentiating feature between doctoral level work and research at lower levels is the emphasis on conceptual matters at doctoral level. Many of the problems faced by researchers, even those engaged in work that is principally empirical, are conceptual rather than empirical. A high level
  of conceptual sophistication is a major element in distinguishing research that makes an original contribution to knowledge from research that does not. While we would expect your proficiency with conceptual matters to develop during the course of doctoral study, being able to show some familiarity with conceptual issues relevant to your proposed project provides some advantage at the point of application.
• Where relevant, details of the methods of data collection and the nature of that data, plus an account of the rationale for the choice of those methods.
• Where relevant, details of the methods of data analysis, plus an account of the rationale for the choice of those methods.
• Where appropriate, brief discussion of the primary ethical issues raised by the design of the research, along with an indication of how those issues might best be addressed.
• A discussion of practical issues, such as any financial or resource requirements, or requirements for additional training on the part of the student, along with timescales (such as Gantt chart) and any health and safety issues.
• All proposals with any significant resource requirements should include a fully itemised projected budget as an appendix to the proposal (not counted in the word limit). What we are looking for here is a realistic assessment of any costs, not an unrealistic attempt to be efficient, or, for that matter, unrealistic extravagance. Good financial planning is an important part of the design of a viable project.

Guidance on Outline Research Proposals for Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD) PGRs (maximum of 2,000 words excluding abstract and references)

General

Outline research proposals submitted to should be approximately 2,000 words in length. However, it is acceptable for the reference section to go beyond this. It is likely that you will complete the outline proposal with some guidance from a member of the department’s academic staff with an interest in the area of research in question. To be put in touch with a relevant member of staff, please contact the EdD leader, Professor Carol Robinson at [email protected]

The brief proposal should outline your proposed research, it may differ from the structure below but should include all of the following components.

The project title and applicant’s name should appear at the top of Page 1.

Abstract

No more than 200 words – to provide an overview of the research proposal, including a clear statement of the proposed contribution to knowledge within professional practice. The abstract is in addition to the proposal so does not count as part of the word limit of the proposal.

Introduction (background for research and your positioning)

Consider – Why do you want to do this research? Why is it important in your chosen setting(s) at this time? How does it relate to your professional practice? What is the background to the issue of your prosed research (such as what problem are you addressing?). Is the proposed research part of any larger issues?

Although your proposed research will stem from an aspect of your professional practice which you want to explore, it is also important to demonstrate evidence of awareness of conceptual issues relevant to the proposed research within your research proposal.

Aims and Research Questions

Include a clear statement of the research aim(s) and why the research important. What are the key question(s) to be addressed by the research?

You may want to comment on the limitations relating to your aims.

Literature Review

This should contain brief coverage of the relevant literature, such as would be found in a standard journal article. It should include an indication of research that has already been conducted in the area and its relevance to your proposed project. This section should demonstrate an awareness of the breadth of literature in relation to your research question, the major lines of argument in the field, and an awareness of relevant policy documents. The research proposal should demonstrate familiarity with relevant literature, the ability to critically evaluate that literature and the ability to identify gaps in existing research.

Theoretical Framework:

Outline any key theoretical approaches or theorists that you intend to draw on and explain their relevance for your study.

Research Design and Methodology:

This section should comprise sub-sections on how the research will be conducted and with whom, as well as a rationale for the methodological and epistemological choices made in the design of your research. Also include outline of primary ethical considerations raised by the design of the research, along with an indication of how these might be addressed.

Overview and design. Include brief details of how the research will be conducted, with a rationale for the choice of methods. In writing this section, it may be helpful to think about:

• Will the research be empirical, quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods?
• Why are you going to adopt this approach?
• How does your chosen approach fit your aims and research questions?

Participants. If relevant, provide details of who the participants will be, how many will be recruited and how they will be recruited.

Resources/Materials/Apparatus needed. The type and level of detail reported here should be consistent with that which would be reported in journal articles.

Analytic Strategy. For qualitative studies, appropriate details of the procedures for analysis should be given. For quantitative studies, include considerations in relation to the target sample size, and include details of statistical analysis to be used.

Ethical Considerations. All research within the Faculty of Education must be conducted in accordance with the Code of Ethics of Edge Hill University, and British Educational Research Association (BERA) guidelines should also be consulted. Any particular ethical issues likely to arise from the proposed research should outlined.

Contribution to knowledge within your professional field.

If you have not already done so, you should sum up by explaining how the work will make an original contribution to knowledge within your professional practice, as is required for the award of an EdD.

 Overall length should not exceed 2,000 words

 References

A reference list (not a bibliography) should be provided in Harvard format for all citations made within the outline proposal in question.

The application process for all research degree applications can be found on the e-prospectus.

International and EU application requirements are outlined on the e-prospectus, with further information provided on the International Office website.

Should you be invited to interview, it will last for 40 minutes in total (including your presentation). Following introductions, you will be asked to give your presentation, then the members of the panel will each ask you a few questions. The primary focus of the questions will be on the research, but there will also be some questions skills development (you should familiarise yourself with the Researcher Development Framework and the skills development agenda in doctoral/MRes education prior to interview).

It is very important that you keep your presentation to no more than ten minutes. We pay close attention to that because failing to do so demonstrates an inability to manage time and a disregard for the requirements. It also means that you will have less time in the interview to demonstrate to us that you are a suitable candidate. The interviews run to a tight schedule and we cannot extend any interview to allow us to complete our questions when a presentation has run over time.

It is important to realise that what we are particularly looking for is evidence that you are a rigorous thinker who understands what it is to design good research and so a good performance at interview is not a matter of defending your initial research design at all costs. It is better for the panel to see that you have recognised a problem and are thinking of solutions by identifying adjustments or alternatives to the design of the research than it is for the panel to have identified a problem and you to try to defend the design of the research in the face of that problem when that is really a lost cause. We are not looking for a perfectly designed project, research rarely proceeds exactly as it was initially designed, so our primary focus is on your potential for development, not necessarily on where you are now.

Availability of academic staff for interviews will be limited during University holidays, especially the summer, so you should plan the timing of your application around these restrictions. If you cannot be interviewed in time you will need to defer entry to the following academic year.

If offered a place, it will be dependent on your being cleared by the Admissions Office (or International Office as applicable), and meeting any conditions set by the interview panel.

Year 1, Semester 1 (normally one Wednesday and one weekend early in your first semester)

A series of mandatory sessions designed to introduce you to research-related considerations including research design, research project management, research data management, research ethics, and conceptual, epistemological and methodological matters.

Year 1 (normally Wednesdays and Saturdays)

You will customise a mini training programme from a wider selection available to all postgraduate research students to enable you to address matters appropriate to your broad research area.

Weekends, normally once a semester

A number of tailored workshops to support you with your PGR development including academic writing and progression. These are open to all postgraduate researchers to support ongoing research.

Year 1, semester 2 onwards

The needs analysis will shape this programme of training and development activity so it can address your individual needs. It may involve you attending sessions provided as part of taught Masters programmes across the University, departmental research seminars, and other training sessions offered by your department and others.

Year 1, semester 2 until the end of year 2

Professional doctorate only; this can differ depending on the subject so please see details of the specific professional doctorate.