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When considering courses, pay close attention to important information like entry requirements, fees and any additional costs, start dates, contact hours, and modes of delivery.

Our subject hub pages provide all the details you need, including a list of core and optional modules for taught degrees, and areas of study for research programmes.

Postgraduate students join us at all stages of life, so we accept a wide range of qualifications as the basis for entry. This includes undergraduate degrees, postgraduate diplomas, and professional qualifications.

For some courses, we can look at your previous academic achievements or career and life experience through Accreditation of Prior Learning.

If you’d like to discuss your suitability for any of our postgraduate courses, you’ll often find a named academic contact on each of our course pages.

Applying

Made your decision? Simply click the ‘Apply Now’ button on the webpage of your chosen course.

You'll need to register to create an account on our OneUni portal. This means you can save progress on your application rather than completing it all at once.

As part of your application, you’ll need to include a personal statement, one or two references depending on the type of course, copies of completed qualification certificates and transcripts, and evidence that you meet our English language entry requirements where appropriate.

Start dates

Applications for most courses open one year prior to the start date. You can apply for a research degree at any time, although some subjects encourage you to enrol at a specific point of the year (usually January, May, or October). Check the webpage of your chosen course for details on available start dates.

Places are limited for some courses so it’s best to apply as early as possible, especially if you are hoping to secure funding or accommodation. Be aware of any deadline dates if you are applying for loans or financial support.

If you are applying for an MA/MSc by Research, an MPhil, or a PhD , you will need to identify a supervisory team or staff member that has expertise in the area you want to research, before you apply.

Discover more on our research pages and by browsing the research repository for details of academics and research studies relating to your own field. Once you have identified a potential supervisor, contact them via email to discuss your proposed project and suitability.

You may need to produce a research proposal (depending on the subject area), which provides an overview of the topic you intend to research.

Writing a research proposal

Your proposal is the starting point of your research. There isn’t a prescribed format for the structure of a research proposal, but the following section headings are generally considered to be important: working title, introduction, overview of your research, literature review, methodology, and timescales.

Some subjects have specific requirements, so please check the relevant course page or speak to your potential supervisor or supervisory team.

For a PhD, your proposal should be 3,000 to 5,000 words (excluding references). A Master’s by Research requires a proposal of between 1,000 and 2,000 words.

Top tips for a good research proposal

• Have a clearly stated research idea, question, or problem and be persuasive.
• Demonstrate how it is addressing a gap in the current knowledge and research.
• Develop a well-structured proposal (poorly formed or rambling proposals may raise concerns that the thesis could be the same).
• Be reasonable and realistic in terms of scope.
• Show passion for the topic.
• Refine and edit your proposal before it is submitted.
• Make sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors.
• Leave the reader interested, excited, and wanting to know more.
• Demonstrate an understanding of research methods and research approaches and be clear that these are appropriate for your research question(s).
• Refrain from using discipline-specific jargon unless it is absolutely necessary to communicating your idea effectively.

After you've applied, your application will be reviewed, and we’ll be in contact if we require any further information.

Depending on which course you have applied for, you may be invited for an interview or audition.

You can track the progress of your application at any time by logging in to your OneUni account.

If you receive an offer from us, you can accept it by logging in to OneUni and following the on-screen instructions.