Information for Prospective MPhil/PhD students

If you decide to apply, the following information should be included so as to ensure your application is processed quickly, with no delays.

1. The application form. All sections of the form should be filled in completely, clearly and legibly - this applies especially to names, addresses, qualifications and work experience. Application forms can be obtained and returned electronically. Alternatively printed forms can be obtained from http://www.lboro.ac.uk/prospectus/pg/essential/forms/index.htm. The form should be returned to the Postgraduate Office. The prospectus can be consulted online or ordered via e-mail.

2. Statement of your proposed research. A 4-5 page statement of your proposed research should be attached. While applicants are expected to design their own project, staff members are happy to guide you in the development of your research proposal - the Director of Research Degree Programme can put you in touch with an appropriate person. The research proposal is important as it allows staff to assess the suitability of your proposed research and to consider potential supervisors. Once your proposal has been reviewed, the Director of Research Degree Programme may encourage you to talk to your potential supervisors (in Loughborough if possible) about your application. This conversation will assist the department in making a decision about your application. The research proposal should specifiy:

Aims and Objectives

This section should lay out the purpose of the research, detailing specifically what the research will be investigating.

Context and Background

The proposal should include a page or so on context and background to put the research into some kind of framework. Questions which you might like to address:

• What are the key concepts and theories this research will be focusing upon?
• Why is this research necessary now?
• What research has been done before in this area?
• What is the current thinking in this area?
• How will this research break new ground?
• What benefits will arise from this research?
• Why is this research needed, and by whom?
• What are the key research questions this research will address?

You need to include a brief literature review to demonstrate that you have done some background reading in the area and are up-to-date with the latest research.

Methodology

You should include an outline of the methodology you propose to use. What research methods will be used in this research? What are you actually going to do? Are you going to use case studies? Are you going to undertake action research? Ethnography? How are you going to collect data? Will the focus be on quantitative or qualitative methods or both? Focus Groups? Interviews? Questionnaires? Some estimate of, for example, the number of case studies, where and when these will take place would also be welcome. A plan of work would also be useful, estimating what you are going to do in each year of study.

3. Quick contact. If you have a fax number and/or e-mail address where you can be contacted, please give those as well as your telephone number.

4. Educational qualifications.

• Be sure to include copies of all relevant documents relating to educational qualifications.
• If you have a transcript of degree results as well as a degree certificate, please include both.
• If your transcript and degree certificate are not in English or another major European language, please include an official translation.
• In addition, if English is not your first language, please include documentary evidence of your competence in English language.

5. References.

• You must provide the names of two referees: one academic reference and another one that can comment on your work experience. However, if you have been out of education for some time and have a variety of work experience, two employment references would be acceptable, preferably from different organisations.
• Please make sure that the persons you give as your referees are willing and able to provide a reference for you, and that you have given the correct address for us to contact them. In the case of some applications, delays are caused by referees not responding to our requests for references.
• Be sure to give full postal addresses for your referees. If you give a fax number, please check that the fax number is correct. We have often been unable to contact referees by fax because the number given on the application form is no longer in use.
• We do not mind if you submit references together with your application form. In such cases, the references should be in sealed envelopes, with the referee's signature across the seal to ensure origin and confidentiality.

This information is applicable to OVERSEAS students only:

6. English language qualifications.

• If your degree is not from an institution where English is the sole language of teaching, the University requires that you provide evidence of English language proficiency. This is normally in the form of a certificate with minimum IELTS result of 6.5 (with a minimum of 6.0 in each aspect, and a minimum of 6.5 in reading and 7.0 in writing) or a TOEFL result of 600. If you are sitting for a TOEFL, you should take the test at a time when the Test of Written English (TWE) is included. More details of English language requirements can be found at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/admin/ar/international/prospective/englishlang/pgr/index.htm.
• If you submit your application before you have gained evidence of English language proficiency, and you have been made a conditional offer of a place to this effect, please send us the IELTS or TOEFL certificate without delay.

The University will send you an acknowledgement when your application has been received. However, if you have not had a formal decision on your application within a reasonable time (i.e. about six weeks after submitting it), please contact us to enquire about the progress of your application.