• the application form is sent to the postgraduate research tutor who discusses it with staff with relevant expertise
• you may be asked to provide further information, or be invited for an interview
• a decision is made on your application and you are sent a letter confirming whether you have been accepted. There are many reasons why your application could be turned down, including lack of availability of relevant staff to supervise.

Information for when you have been accepted

Supervision

As a postgraduate research student in the Institute, you have a lead supervisor (your Director of Studies), plus at least one and sometimes two other supervisors. The supervisory team must between them have substantial experience of previously supervising research degrees. They must also have sufficient subject expertise to match your selected topic. The supervisory team has to be approved within the Institute and by the University Research Degrees Committee.

Resources

If you are a full-time student, as a minimum you are provided with a filing cabinet and access to a desk, phone and photocopier. Where there are other resources vital to the research project, such as the provision of software or support for fieldwork, these will be agreed at the time of acceptance into the Institute.

Research training

As a full-time student you have the opportunity to undergo training in both the research methods central to your project and in more general skills which you identify as contributing to your general development. This may involve taking accredited masters modules or attending workshops or following an independent course of study. These opportunities are varied according to your needs if you are a part-time or overseas student. The training programme is agreed at the start of the research degree.