Postgraduate Research Degrees in the School of English 

Making an Application 

Applications go through three phases: 

1. Making an initial M.Litt or PhD Inquiry 

2. Developing the Research Proposal 

3. Submitting a Formal Application 

 
The School receives many postgraduate research admissions and supervision inquiries every year. It is strongly advised that you develop your proposal in consultation with a relevant staff member, rather than applying online without contacting the School beforehand.  

To make the processing of initial expressions of interest more efficient for prospective applicants and for staff, we now require prospective PhD or M.Litt. applicants to fill in an inquiry template. 

For PhD / M.Litt  inquiry, please use this inquiry template  

For Doctor in Philosophy, Literary Practice please use the inquiry template found here . 

Once you have completed this template you may forward it to the staff member who you feel would be a suitable PhD supervisor, or send it to the School’s Director of Postgraduate Teaching and Learning (Dr Jane Carroll, EnglishDPTL@tcd.ie ) for circulation if no suitable supervisor seems immediately apparent. Dr Carroll will forward these details on to relevant colleagues.  At that stage, if a member of staff is interested in following up with you re: your proposed project, they will generally be in touch within 1-2 weeks.   

The list of staff research interests and supervision interests can be found here: . You should consult it before filling in the inquiry template. Do not contact MORE THAN ONE staff member with your initial query. It causes confusion and delays when a prospective applicant emails several staff members with the same query at once.  

If a staff member is interested in your initial project outline (as contained within the template) and has supervision capacity, they may ask you for further information and they may subsequently agree to work with you as you develop your research proposal.  

IMPORTANT: You must not apply online for a Doctor in Philosophy, Literary Practice unless you have been pre-approved to do so by the School – all unauthorised applications will be rejected.  

All applicants to the MLitt, PhD and Doctor of Philosophy, Literary Practice programmes in Trinity College Dublin must submit a research proposal as part of the application process. This proposal serves a number of functions:  

• It is used by academic assessors to determine whether the applicant has identified a clear focus for their PhD.  

• It should provide the assessors with confidence that the applicant has the necessary background understanding and competence to undertake the research.  

• Finally, a research proposal is a very specific genre of academic writing and so is used by assessors to evaluate the academic writing skill set of the applicant.  

The research proposal is a high-stakes component of the application process. It requires time and investment by the applicant to ensure that it makes a convincing argument in support of the application. Schools may differ in the specific requirements for research proposals, but there are some core elements that will always be expected. 

Your research proposal represents your thinking at this stage in the research process. It is not a binding commitment to a specific research question, and it is not at all unusual for PhD candidates to find that the thesis they ultimately submit has developed in a quite different direction to that outlined in their research proposal. However, the research proposal will be an important consideration for the School in finding a supervisor with the necessary domain expertise to support you in a successful PhD experience. The more specific you are about your research interest, the better the chances of finding a good match. Sometimes, even strong PhD applicants cannot be accepted into a School because there is no supervisor with the relevant domain expertise. Understanding this from the start makes it more likely you will not be disappointed later in the PhD process. 

Please note that an initial expression of interest from an academic member of staff is not in itself a guarantee of acceptance. All PhD applications are assessed by the prospective supervisor and by the School’s postgraduate admissions committee.  

Before you start consider the following: 

• Have you discussed your ideas with your potential supervisor? Does the supervisor expect to review your proposal before you submit it? 

• Have you checked whether there are specific requirements within the School to which you are applying? 

• A PhD must make an original contribution to knowledge -- Have you a clear idea of what makes your project original? What contribution will it make? 

• Are you confident that you have identified key background literature/evidence relevant to your proposal? You are not expected to have thoroughly explored the literature – that can happen once you are accepted into the PhD programme. You are expected to be aware of key publications or research within the domain you intend exploring. You may not be able to access all of these resources, but demonstrating your awareness of their existence is important. 

• Have you identified a topic that genuinely interests you? Undertaking a four-year programme of research requires an equal mix of passion and persistence. It is very important that you are excited by the area you have chosen. 

• Have you considered what kinds of research questions most interest you? Have you decided what research methods are compatible with your research interest and your material?   

In writing your research proposal remember: 

• Be clear and concise in your writing. The proposal should not normally exceed 4,000 words, but there is no prescribed limit on word count.  

• Your proposal will be read by a number of assessors, and some may not have expertise specific to your topic. Write the proposal in a way that makes it easy for a non-expert reader to understand. 

• Be aware of the importance of referencing conventions within your discipline. The bibliography is not included in the word count but is an important source of evidence that you are familiar with the foundational literature in your area of interest. 

• Check for grammatical and typographical errors. These can distract the reader and detract from the essence of your proposal. 

Key elements in a research proposal: 

Any research proposal must address at least the following questions: 

1. What is the question/puzzle/phenomenon you want to investigate? 

2. Why is that question/puzzle/phenomenon important? 

3. How are you going to explore/investigate it? 

These questions are usually addressed through the following core sections: title; project abstract; literature review; an outline of the proposed project and a statement on methodology; a preliminary bibliography (listing 30-50 items of primary and secondary literature).  

Title: This should be concise and give an idea of your area of study. It can (and will) change over the course of your studies, but a clear title helps to make sure your project is identifiable.  

Abstract (200-300 words) 

Begin with a brief abstract or a precis for the project. This section should give a clear, concise description of your main research aims and objectives and offer an overview of the project. If you already have a well-formulated research question, this section should set that out for the reader.  If you have already identified a supervisor, please name them here. Don’t be fooled into thinking that this short section will be the easiest part – often it is much easier to write this section after you have completed a full draft of your proposal.  

(Preliminary) Literature Review (1,000-1,500 words) 

In this section, you demonstrate your knowledge of the existing critical discussion about your chosen topic, identify the gap in knowledge or disagreement within the field, and indicate the contribution to scholarship the proposed project will make in relation to the existing critical literature 

A literature review is not a summary of everything you have read. It is your opportunity to show why your research is important considering your critical review of existing knowledge and what the impact would be, if you successfully resolve the puzzle that you have described. Key points to consider include: 

• What are the main relevant concepts within the area of interest? (Consider any specific terminology you may need to define). 

• What are the key theories and questions within this area? (Consider selecting a sub-set of these to ensure you keep your focus tight). 

• What empirical support exists for (or against) these theories? 

• What are current key gaps in knowledge or areas of disagreement? 

• How does your proposed focus of research address a current gap or area of disagreement? 

• Why is addressing that gap/disagreement important? How will your research make a valuable contribution? 

Outline of the Proposed Project and statement on methodology (800-1,500 words) 

This section is where you explain how you intend answering the question you have outlined above and demonstrate your understanding of the research process. This section should give a chapter-by-chapter outline of the proposed dissertation and set out the methodologies you intend to use in your research. You might also mention any specific resources that may be critical to your research (archival sources, interviews, other materials). You may already have a clear vision of the sequence of steps that will form your research plan but that is not always the case: research plans evolve as questions become clearer and more focused. What you are setting out is your plan at this point. In reviewing this section, make sure that you have clearly demonstrated your understanding of the research process and that your proposed project is feasible within the time-frame allowed for the PhD.  

For Doctor of Philosophy in Literary Practice applicants, you will need to outline both the creative and the critical elements of your project.  

Preliminary Bibliography (no set word count): 

Consider the bibliography as your opportunity to demonstrate your awareness of the existing academic literature base as well as your competence in the conventions of citing existing sources. Ensure it includes all and only those sources you have cited in the proposal and that the references are sufficiently recent to indicate you are in touch with the latest developments in the field. Quantity is not the most important measure here – relevance, importance and accuracy are weighted much more heavily. There is no set word limit for the bibliography but we recommend 30-50 items of primary and secondary literature).  

Questions?  

If you have further questions, contact the School’s Director of Postgraduate Teaching and Learning, Dr Jane Carroll [EnglishDPTL@tcd.ie] 

3. Submitting a Formal Application 

You should use the ‘Doctor in Philosophy, English’ application link or, if you have already been approved by the School, the Doctor in Philosophy, Literary Practice link.  
In addition to the application form, you will need to submit:  

• Research proposal (please use the guidelines provided above) 

• transcripts;  

• degree certificates;  

• a CV;  

• proof of English competency, if English is not your native language;  

• two academic references; 

•  and a writing sample or writing samples. For an M.Litt or Structured PhD we suggest a sample of approximately 5,000 words. For the Doctor in Philosophy, Literary Practice, applicants must submit two writing samples: one piece of creative work (5000 words) and one critical essay (3000 words).   

 
Applications will not be considered until all documents are submitted, including both references. It is the responsibility of the applicant to make sure that all the necessary documents are uploaded as soon as possible after an initial application is opened online, and to check with referees to make sure that they have uploaded their references.   
 
Acceptance depends on several criteria: your undergraduate degree (normally at least an upper-second class standard or GPA of 3.3 is required), the viability and originality of your research proposal, and the strength of your supporting academic references.  
 
Applicants should also note that that the demand for research places in the School of English at Trinity College Dublin is high, and that sometimes excellent candidates are turned down because of the unavailability of staff to supervise in that area.