Do I need to have a supervisor in place before applying for a PhD?

You do not need a supervisor in place before applying for a PhD, however if you are proposing your own research then you might find it useful to start by having a conversation with our academics. 

Contacting prospective supervisors provides a good opportunity to receive feedback on your research ideas and proposal. Their feedback can help identify any areas for improvement in your proposal, which will help you to tailor your proposal to match the expertise and research interests of academics at the University.

You can view our academics on PURE, the University’s online research explorer where you can find information about our academic and postgraduate researchers, research activities, outputs, Research Institutes and Centres.

For studentships, the supervisor’s information will be clearly listed in the advertisement. By reaching out to them, you can introduce yourself and discuss the research topic in more detail.