College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Award (CRA)
Moray House School of Education and Sport offers one fully-funded College Research Award across any area of study within our doctoral programmes, for studies commencing in 2024-25.
The award provides full tuition fees with an annual stipend. The stipend will be set to the UKRI level for 2024/25. The UKRI level for 2023/24 is currently £18,622 for full-time students, or the pro rata equivalent for part-time students.
As a student with us, you will work with some of the most influential academics in your chosen field and learn about the very latest developments in your subject. Those chosen exemplify the high standards the University of Edinburgh sets for its research students and the investment that we make in their potential.
Who can apply
The College Research Award has a high number of applicants, and as a result, is highly competitive. Therefore, only applicants who have already secured an offer from Moray House School of Education and Sport to undertake PhD studies as from October 2024 can apply for the scholarship.
Candidates for the College Research Award must be seeking to start their first year of full-time or part-time PhD study in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences within the academic year 2024-25. MSc by Research programmes are not eligible.
Applying and deadlines
Please carefully read the information below before starting your application process.
STEP 1: PhD Application
Your completed PhD admission application must have been made via the University of Edinburgh online application system by Monday 11 December 2023. This means that all your supporting documentation (research proposal, academic references, copies of qualifications/transcripts) must, where available, also be uploaded.
Please liaise closely with your referees to ensure they supply the required reference by this date. If a degree result or test of English competency is pending, we can consider your application and, where appropriate, make you an offer conditional upon supplying these at a later date.
Information about our PhD programmes, how to write a proposal, and potential supervisors is available on our website, along with a template for writing your proposal.
Only those applicants who have been made an offer (conditional/unconditional) before Thursday 25 January 2024 to undertake PhD studies with us as from October 2024 can move on to Step 2.
STEP 2: Scholarship application
Once you have secured an offer, you can apply for the CRA scholarship. The online scholarship application form can be accessed via MyEd/ApplicantHub (EUCLID).
When logging in to MyEd, you will need your University User Name and password. If you require assistance, please visit our support and guidance pages. The scholarship deadline is Thursday 1 February 2024, 13:00 pm UK time.
Statement
In the form, you will be asked to provide a statement. Write the statement by answering these four questions:
- Why have you chosen Moray House and the supervisors specified above for your application?
- How will your research project add value to the research being undertaken at Moray House?
- Why are you a particularly suitable candidate for a scholarship?
- What do you expect the impact of your research to be?
Assessment criteria
The assessment consists of two parts: your research proposal and statement (the latter is part of the application on EUCLID). Your application will be assessed by a Panel against the following criteria.
The proposal must not exceed 5 A4 pages (excluding references and timetables). Applicants are asked to use Calibri size 11 font size and refrain from changing the paragraph spacing (single, with 6pt after each paragraph) or the page margins.
| Score | (10-8) | (7-5) | (4-1) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Format | The proposal demonstrates excellent ability to follow instructions. | The proposal demonstrates ability to follow instructions. | The proposal demonstrates limited awareness of instructions. |
| Background knowledge | The proposal exhibits critical use of concepts and the literature. | The proposal exhibits satisfactory use of concepts and the literature. | The proposal is mostly descriptive, with little ability to articulate a critical perspective. |
| Originality | The aims/RQs are extremely original and have the potential to make an outstanding contribution to the field. The research gap is logically justified. | The aims/RQs are original and have the potential to make a good contribution to the field. The research gap is logically justified. | The aims/RQs offer little originality. The research gap is not logically justified. |
| Planning | The proposal includes an original, coherent, effective, and doable methodology. | The proposal includes a clear, effective, and doable methodology. | The proposal lacks a methodology that aligns with the aims/RQs; it may prove problematic at the level of implementation. |
| Discourse | The proposal is effectively organised and written. The applicant demonstrates excellent knowledge and use of general and specific academic vocabulary. | The proposal is satisfactorily organised and written. The applicant demonstrates knowledge and use of general and specific academic vocabulary. | The proposal lacks textual organisation. The applicant demonstrates little awareness of general and specific academic vocabulary. |
The applicants are expected to answer the four statement questions listed above.
| Score | (5-4) | (3-2) | (1) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discourse | The statement is extremely coherent. | The statement is coherent. | The statement lacks coherence. |
| Impact | The applicant demonstrates excellent awareness of the academic & societal impact of their proposal. | The applicant demonstrates awareness of the academic & societal impact of their proposal. | The applicant demonstrates little awareness of the academic & societal impact of their proposal. |
Notification
Decisions will be made by May 2024.
Tips for writing a successful proposal
Your proposal should provide insight into what you plan to research, how you will conduct your research, and the contribution(s) it will make. At this stage, your proposal provides evidence of your ability to write, think, create, and argue. It also helps indicate how your research will fit into the institution and its goals.
A strong proposal:
- Contains a clear proposition and/or question
- Sets up outcomes that can be delivered
- Contains several propositions which are then connected to the structure
- Is intelligible to non-experts
- Has a relevant audience
- Demonstrates critical thinking.
Remember to follow the template form.
Related links
Postgraduate Research Student Office
College Research Award - Further information on Student Funding