Graham Foster has just started PhD research at the English Research Institute of Manchester Metropolitan University. The Process A PhD does not start with enrolment. It doesn’t even start with sending the application. After deciding to pursue a research degree, there is what I shall henceforth call The Process – a long toil to complete a worthy and original research proposal to submit with your application.
The Process began for me in May 2006, sixteen months before I enrolled. I wasn’t expecting to have to begin researching before my position at the English Research Institute was confirmed, but The Process turned out to be a rewarding (and frustrating/infuriating) experience. Before I get into my own experiences, I should make some attempt at explaining what universities are looking for in their prospective research students. Research Departments, especially in Literature or the Arts, are after a new, exciting proposal. They value originality, either in research dealing with something completely unexplored, or research that will approach an existing body of work from a new angle. I went for the former, researching how the terrorist attacks of 9/11 affected contemporary North American literature. There is a but, however. It could be a fairly big but, depending on your chosen research topic. Nowadays universities also have to worry about completion rates. This is something to do with incoming funding, a topic which I know very little about so I won’t get into that. What I can comment on is how it affects the prospective student and their research proposals. They are judged through the filter of completion rates, and it’s something that universities worry about. So the questions they ask will be: - 1. Will this student be able to finish the PhD?
- 2. Is this research proposal a realistic topic that will stand-up to the rigorous investigation a PhD requires?
Put a different way, it is almost like the publishing process for a novel. Publishers want the most original novels coming off their presses, but they judge every incoming manuscript on its commercial value. The trick is to find a balance. My advice is, even though I’ve spent the last few paragraphs writing about this, is not worry about it. Concentrate on the proposal and the rest will take care of itself. Five hundred vital wordsWhich brings us back to The Process. As I said, I started work on my proposal over a year before enrolment and I can confidently state that I needed all of that time. I wouldn’t think a proposal could be knocked up in any less than six months, unless you are some kind of genius savant. The proposal I had to submit with my final application form had to be 500 words long. Not much to fit all of your learned and original statements into. To start with I forgot about this word limit and went nuts. I read everything I could get my hands on relating to my chosen subject, I wrote long, rambling paragraphs about what I wanted to study, and I made a rough bibliography of everything I had read, relevant or not. I was left with a document that was about 3000 words long, not including the bibliography. I was lucky enough to have a contact at the university who was happy to look over my drafts of the proposal, and even show them to colleagues. I received much feedback, most of it very helpful, some of it mind-boggling, a little of it demoralising. Over the course of that year my draft proposal went back and forth countless times, each time getting meaner, leaner and closer to its final fighting weight. Where’s the money?Lest I forget, I should mention at this stage another aspect of The Process. That of applying for funding. In tandem with writing the many drafts of the proposal, each research student (or at least those without trust funds) needs to think about where the money to study is going to come from. My options were: a grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and a research studentship at the university. Both require much work, and you are expected to apply for them. Besides, you might as well get used to all of this grubby money-chasing, postgraduate study relies on this, whether it be for general study or field trips to various weird and wonderful world locations. If you are applying for external funding, the university will probably have to back your application. They didn’t do this with me, the reason being that the American literature specialist was on sabbatical and therefore they couldn’t supply me with the adequate support. Once I found this out, it was too late to do anything about it. So it’s important to check and check and check. Email the necessary people. Make sure that you know what is going on at every stage of The Process, especially when it comes to funding. Remember that research departments are dealing with more than just your application, and that things can slip down cracks. As for the internal studentship, the competition is fierce. With me there were five people up for two lots of money. Doesn’t sound so bad, you may think. But every one of your competitors is just as prepared as you, maybe more so. They have all been through The Process and know exactly what they are talking about. Eventually, it comes down to an interview. In mine, I was faced with a panel of five academics, each asking probing questions about my proposal. I was prepared and dealt with this well, but I still didn’t get the funding. I guess I wasn’t prepared enough. Despite all of this, even once you enrol, The Process isn’t over. There are more forms to fill in and more drafts of your proposal to complete – but this time you have to begin your study at the same time. But don’t worry, you’ll be an expert in no time… Read Graham's first blog: PhD blog 1: my path to enrolment | 
