Self funded research degree (MPhil/PhD) Please state on your application if you are applying for a MPhil or PhD.

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Research Office
Location:  Newport, Shropshire TF10 8NB
Post Type:  Full Time
Closing Date:  23.59 hours BST on Saturday 31 August 2024
Interview Date:  To be confirmed
Reference:  2023-2024-RRH

This form is only to be used by those self-funded applicants seeking a place on a research degree programme at Harper Adams University (MPhil or PhD).

Applicants must have their own, their employer's or their Government's funding. A letter of "Confirmation of funding" must be attached/uploaded during the application process.

Candidates should supply a brief research proposal of 2-4 pages.  This should include a brief literature review to the research question including identification of the knowledge gaps, clearly identify the aims of the research and briefly detail the methodology and resources required. 

If candidates do not have a specific research proposal prepared, then they should write two or three sentences on an academic area of interest in which they wish to study for a PhD.

If a more detailed proposal is required for an external funding body, then candidates should discuss this with potential supervisors before they write the proposal.

Please state on your application if you are applying for a MPhil or PhD.

Where you are required to upload a document that is not appropriate, please upload a word document stating "Not Applicable".

Please note that due to the time required to conduct the recruitment process, a minimum time to be able to provide an offer letter is typically two weeks.

For international students (non UK/EU), the closing date for applications for a October 2024 start is 31 May 2024.  

For UK/EU students, the closing date for applications for a October 2024 start is 31 August 2024.   

If you have not received contact within 4 weeks of submission please assume we have been unable to support your application at this stage.

Harper Adams University is one of the premier UK Higher Education institutions focused on the land-based and food supply chain sector. With around 2,800 undergraduate students, plus those completing postgraduate, research and CPD programmes, Harper Adams University is the UK's largest single provider of higher education for these subjects.  Programmes fall into eleven broad subject areas – but none operate in isolation. Community and collaboration are key at Harper Adams, meaning everyone, including staff, students and industry partners, benefits from a close network of knowledge and opportunity exchange. Situated in Shropshire, the campus and the surrounding area provide an excellent working and living environment for staff and students alike.

Harper Adams is consistently positioned highly in a range of national ratings, performance measures and league tables. The University has been the highest performing modern university in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide for the last four years, climbing to 17th place in the overall league table. In the 2020 guide Harper Adams was named Modern University of the Year and runner-up University of the Year. In the 2019 Whatuni? Student Choice Awards, based on student reviews, Harper Adams won the Student Support category for the fifth time – the only university to have taken the title since the awards began - and won the category for best job prospects for a fourth year running. In the 2020 QS World Rankings for Agriculture and Forestry published in March 2020, Harper Adams was ranked first in the UK for academic reputation and second in the world for its reputation with employers.

Harper Adams University is internationally recognised for the quality of its research, as evidenced by the Research Excellence Framework 2022. In order to maintain and uphold the high standards of our research, we continue to undertake initiatives to ensure that integrity, ethics and excellence are at the core of our research activities and fully embedded in our research culture.