Institute of Education - The University of Stirling

If you are thinking about applying for a post-graduate research degree at The Stirling Institute of Education, it is vital that you familiarise yourself with the research currently being undertaken here. You are strongly encouraged to make initial contact with a potential supervisor for your project. This is the member of staff whose research interests most closely match yours. It is best to email this person or phone them to discuss what the possibilities are. This can then be followed up by you developing a research proposal in consultation with your potential supervisor. Make sure you put your potential supervisor's name on the application form, in the section 'Department applied for'. Going through this process will significantly enhance your chances of becoming accepted as a PhD student in the IoE!

The Stirling Institute of Education accepts applications for doctoral research for both the three (+3) and four-year (1+3) programmes. If you wish to apply for the three-year programme you normally must satisfy the selectors that you have already completed relevant research method training or already have relevant knowledge and/or experience of research in an area related to your research topic. In addition, you will be required to submit a 2000 word research proposal with your application. For guidance on how to write a good research proposal, a pro-forma which specifies the structure of your proposal can be downloaded from here.

The Stirling Institute has ESRC research training recognition (1+3) and applicants for the PhD degree can apply for ESRC and Institute Research Studentships. Click here for more information on studentships.

male student sitting at a desk writing Click here to view a list of our current postgraduate research students with an indication of their area of research.