The first thing to do is to decide where your research interests lie.

Please take a look at the information on our research areas. We recommend that you identify at least one member of staff at UEA who might be your supervisor and that you contact them, expressing your interest. At this point you could attach your ideas for a preliminary proposal as most staff are willing to discuss early drafts of research proposals. It’s also advisable to read your potential supervisor's academic papers that are recent and related to your research interest. References to these can be found on individual staff members webpages.

  • Please take a look at our minimum entry requirements (see below) to check that you meet these before applying. Some projects have different requirements, so it’s worth checking individual projects before applying
  • For all general enquiries at this stage, please contact pgr.enquiries.admiss@uea.ac.uk
  • You can now fill in an application form, which must contain your formal research proposal. Guidance  below on how to write your research proposal
  • Once you've completed your online application and submitted it electronically, it will be checked by staff in the Postgraduate Research Service before being sent to academic selectors for consideration. Selection processes differ depending on the type of application you have made.

Applicants for research-led project opportunities will typically go through a shortlisting process and be interviewed by the supervisory team for the project.

If the project has dedicated funding, the best candidate at this stage will be made an offer including funding such as payment of fees and a stipend.

If instead the project has competition funding then there will be a further stage where a selection panel will compare the best candidates from a large number of projects, usually in similar disciplines. The panel will decide which candidates are the best overall. These candidates will be made an offer including funding such as payment of fees and a stipend. Other candidates may be kept on a reserve list and/or made an offer of a place not involving funding.

If there isn’t already an advertised project in your area of interest, you can apply with a research proposal you have written yourself. You will need to find an academic whose work is relevant to your interests and define the project you want to explore with them. Your proposal needs to give an idea of your research interests and intent. It can be refined later on with your supervisor. These potential supervisors will consider the application and will typically arrange to interview applicants who have written a good research proposal in their area of expertise.

If you are seeking funding then there will be a further stage where a selection panel will compare the best candidates who have submitted research proposals within the School and/or Faculty. The panel will decide which candidates are the best overall. These candidates will be made an offer including funding such as payment of fees and a stipend. Other candidates may be kept on a reserve list and/or made an offer of a place not involving funding.

We hope that you will accept the offer and look forward to welcoming you to UEA.

If you have questions about the conditions of your offer please contact the relevant Postgraduate Research Service team via the contact details on your offer letter. Please let us know immediately if you change your postal or email address for correspondence.

Further information on registration and induction will be sent to you, normally no later than four weeks before you start your studies. You will have access to a desk and computer in the Faculty, normally on a hot-desk basis, and central computing facilities around campus. Further to this, we also offer dedicated postgraduate Library study areas.

 

Before you begin your online application, it is worth first familiarising yourself with the generic entry requirements for postgraduate research at UEA. These are the 'Admissions Requirements for Postgraduate Research Degree Programmes' in the University's Regulations.

Attendance and Engagement Requirements

Information on accommodation and eligibility for University accommodation can be found on the UEA Accommodation pages. The University would normally recommend that students reside within 50 kilometres of the University to enable full engagement with their course. We expect all research students to meet with their supervisor on a regular basis, normally in person. Additionally, funding bodies may have further residency requirements.

Minimum Academic Requirements

The minimum academic requirement across the University for entry to a doctoral degree is either at least a 2:1 in a UK undergraduate degree, or a Master's degree, or equivalent. Some Schools and research degree programmes have higher or more specific requirements: please check the Faculty Graduate School and School pages for details.

Minimum English Language Requirements

If English is not your first language or you are from a country that is not on the UKVI list of English speaking countries, you may be required to provide evidence of proficiency in English language. This will be listed as a condition on your offer letter. Minimum English language requirements for Postgraduate Research programmes are given in the following table. These are given as IELTS scores but other tests may be accepted.

Faculty Programme Overall IELTS score Further requirements on IELTS component scores
Arts and Humanities All research degree programmes 7.0

At least 7.0 in Writing and 6.5 in other components 

Medicine and Health Doctorate in Clinical Psychology 7.0

At least 7.0 in each component

Medicine and Health PhD, MD, MSc by Research 6.5

At least 6.0 in each component

Science All research degree programmes 6.5

At least 6.0 in each component

Social Sciences All research degree programmes 7.0

At least 6.5 in each component


Our offer letter will detail the IELTS requirement of your course. You will also find a list of other English language equivalencies here.

You will be able to find out how to take these examinations from your college or University, or from the local office of the British Council.

INTO University of East Anglia offers a range of English courses for international students, enabling you to enter university at a variety of levels. INTO will be happy to advise you on your likely need for language training before you begin your studies. Further information can be found on the INTO website.

Where next?

If you meet the above requirements, and are interested in pursuing a research degree at UEA, we encourage you to begin preparing your online application. Information and advice on writing your proposal can be found here, and further information about our application process is available here.

If you have any questions, please contact Postgraduate Research Admissions Enquiries on pgr.enquiries.admiss@uea.ac.uk or +44 (0)1603 59 1709.

In an online application you may be asked to include an assessment of your training needs in your research proposal/research statement. Even if not, you may wish to include training needs assessment in your personal statement. Here you will find the current directory of personal and professional development modules available to UEA postgraduate research students.

You may find it helpful to browse this as a guide to training that our current research students undertake during their degrees. You may also wish to quote the titles of particular modules that you think would support your academic, personal or professional development.

Explore the training pathways

If you have not deferred an offer before, we will normally consider a request to defer until the next appropriate PGR entry date using your existing application. If you have deferred your offer previously and wish to extend it, you may need to make a new application and be interviewed again. Please log into your application account and start a new application for your chosen programme. Your new application will be pre-populated with your personal and contact information, so you shouldn’t need to enter this information again. You’ll simply need to enter your academic qualifications, course information, referee details, and upload your CV, personal statement and research proposal.

You may need to make a new application for postgraduate research if for example you have deferred an offer, changed or refined your proposal, or you have found another project you would like to apply for. Please log into your application account and start a new application for your chosen programme. Your new application will be pre-populated with your personal and contact information, so you shouldn’t need to enter this information again. You’ll only need to enter your academic qualifications, course information and referee details. You will also need to upload an appropriate CV, personal statement and research proposal/statement.

Our aim is to ensure that our admissions procedures are fair, efficient and clear. If you are unhappy with any aspect of the admissions procedure please email the Postgraduate Research Service.