Studentship assessment criteria

About the project

If you are applying for a University studentship, the following selection criteria will be used by academic schools to help them make a decision on your application.

Candidates should note that the criteria below is intended to provide some indication on how their applications will be assessed. They are not intended to be used as a strict mark scheme but to enable academic colleagues to make a sensible and balanced assessment of the application as a whole. Additional assessment criteria may be in place for some Centres for Doctoral Programmes or Doctoral Training Partnerships which are part funded by the UKRI.

Assessement criteria

How this will be assessed

How this will be assessed

Qualifications and experience | Degree level, grade and subject/relevance | Application form

Qualifications and experience

Relevant work experience/research experience | Application form; Interview

Application form; Interview

Previous published work | Application form; Interview

Strength of research proposal and/or personal statement | Does the personal statement show a genuine interest to do a PhD? | Application form; Interview

Strength of research proposal and/or personal statement

Does the candidate have an understanding of what a PhD is? | Application form; Interview

Does the candidate have the motivation to do a PhD? | Application form; Interview

Has the candidate shown a keen interest in the specific project applied for? | Application form; Interview

Is there a reasonable attempt to understand key literature in the proposed area of research? | Application form; Interview

Is the proposed project sensible, demonstrating knowledge around the proposed area? | Application form; Interview

Does the proposal offer novelty or have the potential for high impact? | Application form; Interview

Potential to perform well | Are the references supportive of a candidate able and motivated to conduct academic research? | References; Interview

Potential to perform well

Was the candidate able to perform well in the interview? | References; Interview

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Research areas