Higher Degree by Research Application Process
The application process for entry into a Higher Degree by Research (HDR) program in the School of Social Science involves several steps. Becoming an HDR student in the School requires you to meet the entry requirements of the UQ Graduate School and also to gain the support of the School.
The School of Social Science only supports applications from candidates who clearly demonstrate the ability to complete a high-quality Higher Degree by Research. Obtaining School support is not an automatic process and requires the applicant to do more than simply meet minimum entry requirements.
We recommend that applicants start the School's process 2 to 3 months prior to the UQ Graduate School’s deadlines for online applications. This will allow the applicant sufficient time to gather the relevant documentation and to prepare a competitive research proposal, and afford the School sufficient time to review your application.
There are four steps to gaining support from the School. Throughout this application process the applicant must send application materials to the School’s HDR Liaison Officer (HLO), who will be your primary point of contact (hdr.socialscience@enquire.uq.edu.au). The HLO will liaise with, and assist, the applicant throughout the process.
3. Write the research proposal
Once you have obtained endorsement by an academic staff member to supervise your project, you will need to develop a full research proposal. This research proposal takes time to write and may require revisions based on the feedback by your prospective advisor. Your research proposal should be approximately 2,000 words in length (excluding the bibliography) and it should be fully referenced.
The proposal needs to address the following questions:
Research questions and significance: What are the major problems or issues that your thesis will attempt to solve? What major questions will it try to answer?
Relevant scholarship: What does current scholarship say about your major question? How does your thesis relate to what has already been written on your topic?
Method and evidence: What methods will you use to conduct your research? Will you use particular theories and/or schools of thought? What evidence, data sources, or texts will you be using?
Advisory team: How does the expertise of your proposed advisors match your project?
Preliminary bibliography: This needs to include approximately 10-20 relevant items and demonstrate that you have some familiarity with the major scholarly works in your proposed area of research.
You must upload your final research proposal to your application, as it is important to the scholarship decision-making process.