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Doctoral School

Interested in a postgraduate research degree?

Applying for a research degree at Royal Holloway is slightly different to applying for a postgraduate taught course. The process is simple and all done online. 

You should start by contacting the Director of Postgraduate Education, for specific information on what research opportunities are available. You should provide details of your research interests and a summary of your academic qualifications, as well as let us know if you’re self-funded or if you require funding.

We’ll forward your enquiry to the relevant members of staff and they will give you detailed guidance on what is required for your application.

Alternatively, you can contact the Doctoral School, with details of the subject you would like to study, and we will send you information on who to contact and links to information about fees and funding. 

You may need to secure a supervisor in order to apply for your research project, then apply in our application form Royal Holloway Direct.

Some departments will also require a research proposal.

This should include:

  • the title of your proposed thesis
  • the main aims of your research
  • links to any previous work or hypotheses on the topic
  • information about available resources and any required
  • your planned research methods, and plan and timetable of work.

Your supervisor will be on hand to help.

Required documents

You may need to upload supporting documents to your application. These include:

  • a brief research proposal (if required)
  • academic transcripts
  • English language qualifications, if your first language is not English
  • an academic reference
  • resume or CV (if available) to show published work and any industrial experience.

We advise getting in touch with the Director of Postgraduate Education for your chosen research degree to inquire whether there is any other additional material they require you to submit in your application.”

Information on tuition fees for our research degrees can be found here.

There are a range of funding options available, including studentships, maintenance awards and scholarships, as well as research council funding. Check out your sources of funding.