How to Apply
The application process is in two parts:
- You need to submit a standard online application form (including references) by Wednesday 15 February 2012 at the latest. You can do this here. Your referees will also need to submit references directly to the School by this date.
- You also need to submit a PDS Funding Application Form, along with a Research Proposal to the School Postgraduate Office (contact details given on the form) by 5pm, Friday 2 March 2012.
Research Proposal
As part of your Funding Application, you need to submit a 1000 word Research Proposal. Guidance for this can found below.
References
You will also need two references for the PDS competition to be submitted by Friday 2 March 2012.
Please click on our INTERACTIVE FORM and, at the end, click 'submit' to submit it to the University. The deadline for receipt of references is Friday 2 March 2012.
You should inform your referees that you are applying for funding. References that do not provide a detailed appraisal of your academic development and suitability for your proposed programme of study, but are simply a general statement of support, may disadvantage even the strongest applicant.
Referees should comment under the following headings:
Quality of Work
Please provide a realistic appraisal of the applicant's abilities, based on the quality of their academic performance to date. Include comments on the applicant's overall performance in his/her degree and performance on individual modules or courses. Please give examples to illustrate your comments.
For professional referees, please draw on your experience of the applicant's work to give an appraisal of the applicant's professional performance to date. Please highlight the applicant's strengths in the area in which he/she plans to study and work, and note any weaknesses the applicant may have. Please give examples to illustrate your comments.
Academic performance to date
If the student is currently undertaking their degree, and if you are permitted to do so, please include details of their marks. Where the applicant has a joint degree, please include performance in both disciplines. For assessment purposes, it is important that all marks are given and not only the ones relating to the subject applied for.
Potential for postgraduate study
Please provide an assessment of the applicant's aptitude and preparedness for the proposed course or programme of study, and for continuing to doctoral study. In the creative and performing arts, please provide an assessment of the applicant's aptitude and preparedness for the proposed programme or programme of study, and for continuing to doctoral study or to a career in research in the higher education sector.
Please provide an assessment of the suitability of the programme, the applicant's potential to complete the studies successfully, his/her motivation and commitment, and any r elevant intellectual skills the applicant possesses. You should say how the proposed programme or programme of work relates to the applicant's experience to date, and to his/her future plans. You should make your comments in the context of the applicant's proposed programme of study or programme of work, as the assessors will be looking at the applicant's preparedness for the programme, not just at their abilities. You may wish to address questions such as how the applicant has developed and improved during their undergraduate or postgraduate career.
You should comment on factors such as the applicant's:
- conceptual ability;
- problem-solving skills;
- capacity for independent thought;
- potential for innovation;
- organisational skills;
- communication skills;
- ability compared to other relevant groups or individuals, of whom you have had experience.
Professional referees should also comment on the applicant's professional commitment, motivation and potential. It would be helpful to say how the professional experience the applicant has gained has built on his/her academic studies and how it will prepare the applicant to pursue the programme of study and proceed to doctoral research or, in the creative and performing arts, to proceed to doctoral study or to a career in research in the higher education sector.
Forms and Guidance
- President's Doctoral Scholar (PDS) Award Funding Application Form (Word Document, 58 KB)
- Guidance on How to Write a Research Proposal (Word Document, 36 KB)