Doctoral researchers are central to what HERE does, and we want to help you produce research that is rigorous, original, and fun to create. If you study for a PhD with HERE, you’ll be part of a group that values working together and asking hard questions. You’ll have access to supervisors with expertise on your topic, high-quality research training, opportunities to present your work, and opportunities to meet key scholars in the field. We want to hear from applicants with a strong academic record and a sharp interest in a particular research problem related to higher education.
Our PhD Programme
We are based in the Manchester Institute of Education and offer a PhD in Education. Information about this programme, its entry requirements, and application materials can be found at:
Developing a research proposal
Applying for a PhD begins with developing an excellent research proposal. Before you get in touch, please think carefully about whether HERE is a good fit for you and your project topic. The proposals that work best:
- present your topic with clarity and confidence, setting out your research questions, your methodological approach and why it matters;
- show that you know the current debates in the field and explain how your project adds to them;
- include a plan for funding;
- are realistic about scope, methods, and timescale.
We strongly advise that you don’t reshape your topic to fit what we do (we want to hear about the research you care about) or use AI to write your proposal or your introductory email (we want to hear about your own ideas in your authentic voice).
Identifying a supervisor
We strongly recommend that you identify a potential supervisor and work with them to strengthen your research proposal before you apply. This means you will likely need to initially contact a potential supervisor around 4-6 months prior to your application.
Please note that we can’t supervise every topic related to higher education, so it is important to check whether your interests match ours. To identify a potential supervisor, please take a look through our research areas and staff profiles. This website is a good place to start, as it includes bios of what our members are interested in:
Contacting a Supervisor
We offer two options for contacting a potential PhD supervisor:
- Email one potential supervisor whose topical interests align with your proposal topic, OR
- Email us at here@manchester.ac.uk if you would like advice about which of our members would be a good fit for your topic idea
Please do not email more than one person at a time or share multiple topic ideas with different potential supervisors. Reading PhD proposals in good detail can take some time, but please rest assured that we will ensure that your ideas find the right scholar who is most strongly connected to your research topic.
We ask that prospective doctoral researchers contact us with a brief email that includes a draft research proposal and a CV that demonstrates your prior study and work experiences, including the outcomes of your previous university degrees.
If we think you might be a good match, we’ll invite you to apply through the University’s online admissions system and help you with the next steps. Please note that a positive first reply is not an offer of a place on the programme.
Funding a PhD
Please note that HERE does not offer direct funding for PhD researchers. You can find more information about available funding through our university and externally at:
