UCL DIVISION OF PSYCHOLOGY AND LANGUAGE SCIENCES

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How do I develop a research proposal in Language and Communication?

An extremely important part of all graduate student applications to UCL is the research proposal. Proposals enable us to consider how clear you are about your own research ideas as well as how appropriate your ideas are for our department.

For applicants with relevant research experience, and/or research training at Masters level, a research proposal should be relatively straightforward.

If you do not have a recent research background and/or are unsure as to how to develop your proposal then it is advisable to contact a potential supervisor to informally discuss your ideas. It is perfectly acceptable for your potential supervisor to offer advice on a proposal but it should, ultimately, be you own work.

All submitted proposals should:

• be 1000-1500 words in length (including key references)

• clearlystate the research question and its importance

• contain specific details of experimental or other kinds of studies and data that will be used to address the research question.

• be well supported by relevant theoretical and methodological knowledge.

• be presented logically and clearly with suitable subheadings as required.

• be based on the applicant’s own ideas.