You may know what you want to research. You may have already started reading around it. But turning that idea into a PhD proposal raises a different set of questions.
- What exactly is the research problem?
- Is there a convincing gap?
- Are your research questions actually answerable?
- What is your contribution to the larger discipline?
- Do you need a theoretical framework?
- Which methods make sense for your research question(s)?
- And how do you bring all of that together into a proposal that a potential supervisor can follow and support?
Across the two days, early-career researchers and PhD candidates from Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Warwick and Nottingham will take you through the different stages of developing a proposal, from refining the research problem and questions to literature, theory, methodology, proposal writing, supervisor fit and funding.
But this is not just a series of talks.
You will work on your own research ideas throughout the workshop, using the TAL PhD Proposal Blueprint. There will be two dedicated Proposal Labs where you will work in smaller breakout rooms with our facilitators and mentors and receive feedback on how your project is developing.
By the end of the workshop, the aim is for you to leave with a much clearer blueprint for your proposal: your research problem and provisional questions, literature and potential gap, contribution, conceptual direction, research design and methods, proposal structure, and your next steps towards approaching supervisors and developing a full draft.
10–11 October 2026
Online | 9:00am–2:30pm BST
Please note there are limited places for this workshop as it is intended to be a small group workshop.
Who is this workshop for?
This workshop is for prospective PhD applicants in the humanities, arts and social sciences who already have a research idea they want to develop into a proposal.
You do not need to arrive with a finished proposal or a perfectly formulated research question. But you should be able to explain, in a few sentences, what you want to study, why you are interested in it, and the kind of question or problem you may want to investigate. You should also have done some preliminary reading around your topic.
This workshop is not designed for those who are still at the very beginning of deciding what they might want to pursue for a PhD. If your starting point is still quite broad, for example, "I want to do something on gender," "I'm interested in AI," or "I want to do a PhD, but I'm not yet sure what I want to research", we recommend spending some more time developing and narrowing your research interests before joining the workshop.
Workshop aim
A good PhD proposal is not simply a collection of separate sections on literature, theory, methodology, and outcomes. It needs to make a coherent pitch for a research project: What is the problem/gap in our understanding of that particular problem? What do we not yet understand? What question will you answer? Why does it matter? What evidence/data will you need? And can the project actually be done/is it feasible?
Over the two days, we will work through these questions in sequence. Alongside taught, interactive sessions, participants will work on their own projects in breakout rooms with the workshop facilitators and mentors.
Participants will use a structured TAL PhD proposal blueprint throughout the workshop, so that the work done in one session feeds into the next.
By the end of the workshop, participants should be able to:
- Clearly articulate a research problem and provisional research question(s)
- Map the key literature and identify a potential research gap
- State the project's contribution and significance
- Identify a theoretical or conceptual direction, where appropriate
- Propose an appropriate research design and methods
- Structure their research proposal section by section
- Identify and approach potential supervisors and target universities
- Use a personalised proposal blueprint to begin or revise the full proposal
Building the intellectual core of your project
The central question for Day 1 is: What exactly is your research trying to understand, and why is it worth pursuing?
9:00–9:30
Welcome: What is a PhD proposal actually doing?
What supervisors, departments and funding panels look for in a proposal; how the different parts of a proposal fit together; introduction to the TAL PhD Proposal Blueprint.
Speaker: Dr Kanupriya Sharma, Post-Doc Research Fellow in Sociology & Social Policy, University of Nottingham
Speaker: Dr Kanupriya Sharma, Post-Doc Research Fellow in Sociology & Social Policy, University of Nottingham
A brief introduction to what a PhD proposal is expected to do and what supervisors, departments and funding panels are assessing when they read one. We will introduce the TAL PhD proposal blueprint that participants will work on over the two days and look at how the different parts of a proposal need to work together.
Facilitator: Haimanti Mukhoti
9:30–10:15
1. From a Research Interest to a Research Problem and Question
Narrowing your research idea; identifying the problem or puzzle; developing strong and feasible research questions. Includes a live-worked example.
Speaker: Sonakshi Grover, PhD Candidate in International Development, University of Oxford
Speaker: Sonakshi Grover, PhD Candidate in International Development, University of Oxford
How do you move from "I am interested in this topic" to a question that could sustain a PhD?
The session will look at narrowing a broad research idea, identifying what specifically needs explaining or understanding, distinguishing a topic from a research problem, developing an overarching research question and possible sub-questions, and assessing whether those questions are focused and feasible.
The mentor will take one broad research idea and develop it live to show how it moves from an area of interest to a researchable problem and question.
Facilitator: Kanupriya Sharma
10:15–10:30 · Break
10:30–11:15
2. Literature Review, Research Gap and Contribution
Mapping the relevant literature; synthesising debates and themes; identifying a defensible research gap; explaining what your project will contribute and why it matters.
Speaker: Dr Darshini Nadarajan, PhD in Education, University of Oxford
Speaker: Dr Darshini Nadarajan, PhD in Education, University of Oxford
What is the literature review actually doing in a PhD proposal?
This session will look at how to identify the scholarly conversations that matter to your project, organise literature around arguments, debates and themes rather than individual authors, and synthesise rather than simply summarise what you have read.
We will then look at how to identify a defensible research gap, move beyond simply saying "this has not been studied before", and explain what your project will contribute and why that contribution matters.
Facilitator: Haimanti Mukhoti
11:15–12:00
3. Theory and Conceptual Framing
What theory and concepts actually do in a research project; whether your project needs a theoretical framework; connecting theory to your questions and analysis.
Speaker: Radhika Pradhan, PhD Candidate in Gender Studies, LSE
Speaker: Radhika Pradhan, PhD Candidate in Gender Studies, LSE
Does every PhD proposal need a theoretical framework? What is the difference between using a theory and using a concept?
This session will look at what theory and concepts actually do within a research project, how they relate to the research questions and eventual analysis, when a theoretical framework is useful, and when a conceptual approach may make more sense. It will also address the common problem of introducing theories without showing what they actually help the researcher understand.
Facilitator: Kanupriya Sharma
12:00–12:45 · Break
12:45–1:30
Proposal Lab 1: Build Your Project Spine
Work on your own research problem, questions, literature, gap, contribution, and conceptual direction in small breakout rooms, with feedback from the team.
Facilitators and Day 1 mentors
Facilitators: Sonakshi, Darshini, Radhika, Kanupriya, and Haimanti
Participants will now apply what they have learnt during the morning to their own research ideas. Using the TAL PhD proposal blueprint, participants will work on their research problem, research questions, relevant literature, potential gap, contribution, and conceptual direction.
Participants will work in smaller breakout rooms with facilitators to identify what is already working in their project and where the logic still needs strengthening.
By the end of Day 1, participants should be able to explain the intellectual core of their proposed PhD clearly to someone else.
1:30–2:00
Open Q&A / Proposal Clinic
Bring questions about your own project or anything covered during Day 1.
Facilitators
An optional open space for participants to ask questions about their projects, proposals or anything covered during Day 1.
Designing the research and building the proposal
The central question for Day 2 is: What data/evidence would you need to answer your research question convincingly, and how will you design the research to obtain and analyse it?
9:00–9:15
Day 1 Recap: From Question to Research Design
Moving from what you want to understand in deciding what evidence you need and how you will obtain it.
Speaker: Haimanti Mukhoti, PhD Candidate in Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Warwick
Speaker: Haimanti Mukhoti, PhD Candidate in Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Warwick
A short recap of Day 1 before moving from what you want to understand to how you are going to investigate it.
The key principle for this introductory session is that your research design and methods should follow from your research question. Methods should not simply be selected because they are familiar or sound sophisticated.
Facilitator: Kanupriya
9:15–10:00
4. Working with Archives, Documents and Texts
Designing archival and textual research; identifying, selecting and analysing sources; navigating access, feasibility, limitations and ethics; and justifying your methodological choices.
Speaker: Feryal Banday, PhD Candidate in English, University of Cambridge
Speaker: Feryal Banday, PhD Candidate in English, University of Cambridge
What kinds of research questions can be answered through archives, documents and texts?
This session will introduce different ways of designing archival and textual research, including what can count as an archive, document or textual source, how sources are identified and selected, and different approaches to their analysis. It will focus on the key choices applicants need to make: identifying appropriate sources, defining the scope of the material, navigating access and feasibility, recognising the limitations and silences of archives, and addressing ethical considerations. It will also consider how to explain and justify archival and textual methods within a PhD proposal.
Facilitator: Haimanti
10:00–10:15 · Break
10:15–11:00
5. Designing a Qualitative Research Project: Approaches, Methods and Analysis
Qualitative approaches and methods, from interviews and focus groups to ethnography and case studies; selecting participants or cases; navigating access and ethics; analysing qualitative data; and justifying methodological choices.
Speaker: Preeti Pratishruti Dash, PhD Candidate in Law, University of Cambridge
Speaker: Preeti Pratishruti Dash, PhD Candidate in Law, University of Cambridge
How do you decide which qualitative methodology and methods will best answer your research question?
This session introduces different ways of designing qualitative research, distinguishing between methodological approaches, methods of data collection and methods of analysis. We will explore approaches such as ethnography, case study, phenomenology and grounded theory, alongside methods including interviews, focus groups, observation, life histories, and visual and participatory methods.
The session will focus on the key choices applicants need to make: selecting participants or cases, choosing methods that fit their research questions, navigating access and ethics, and planning analysis. We will also briefly introduce comparative and mixed-methods designs, with a particular focus on how to justify methodological choices rather than simply listing methods in a proposal.
Facilitator: Kanupriya
11:00–11:15 · Break
11:15–12:00
6. Writing the Research Proposal
Bringing the project together into a coherent proposal; section structure, academic writing, referencing, word limits, tailoring and common mistakes.
Speaker: Shagun Bhargava, PhD Candidate in Criminology, University of Cambridge
Speaker: Shagun Bhargava, PhD Candidate in Criminology, University of Cambridge
How do you bring all of these elements together into a proposal that makes sense to someone encountering your project for the first time? This session will work through the overall structure of a proposal, from the research problem and literature to the questions, contribution, conceptual framing, methodology, feasibility, and timeline.
It will cover what belongs in each section, academic writing and signposting, referencing, working with different university word limits, tweaking proposals to meet supervisory needs, and common proposal-writing mistakes.
Facilitator: Kanupriya
12:00–12:45 · Break
12:45–1:15
7. Finding the Right Supervisor, University and Funding
Finding intellectual and supervisory fit; approaching potential supervisors; tailoring your proposal; identifying PhD funding and scholarships.
Speaker: Dr Kanupriya Sharma, Post-Doc Research Fellow in Sociology and Social Policy, University of Nottingham
Speaker: Dr Kanupriya Sharma, Post-Doc Research Fellow in Sociology and Social Policy, University of Nottingham
This session moves from developing the proposal to thinking strategically about where to apply. We will look at how to identify universities and departments that genuinely fit your project, find potential supervisors through their research, assess how closely their work needs to align with yours, and use their recent publications to understand intellectual fit.
We will also cover when and how to approach potential supervisors, what to include in the first email, how a proposal may need to be adapted for different departments, and how to begin identifying funded PhDs, university funding and external scholarships.
Facilitator: Haimanti
1:15–2:00
Proposal Lab 2: Build Your Proposal Blueprint
Bring both days together and develop your own section-by-section proposal blueprint, with targeted feedback in breakout rooms.
Facilitators and Day 2 mentors
Facilitators: Feryal, Preeti, Shagun, Kanupriya and Haimanti
Participants will bring together the work from both days and develop a rough section-by-section blueprint for their proposal, covering the research question, gap, contribution, conceptual approach, research design, methods and analysis, feasibility and overall proposal structure.
Participants will work in breakout rooms with facilitators and mentors, who will provide targeted feedback on what is already strong, what still needs to work, and what should be prioritised after the workshop.
2:00–2:30
Final Proposal Clinic and Next Steps
Identify what still needs work and develop your next steps towards further reading, supervisor contact, drafting, feedback and submission.
Facilitators
We will finish by helping participants identify their next steps after the workshop: further reading, refining the question, contacting potential supervisors, developing the first full draft, seeking feedback and preparing for submission.
There will also be time for final questions with the facilitators and mentors.
Registrations are now open
Early registration
£99
Offer ends 30 September 2026, 11:59 PM BST, or after the first 15 registrations, whichever comes first.
Standard registration
£120
Available from 1–9 October 2026, subject to availability. Only 30 places available in total.
Please register through this link now:
Register nowCancellation and Refund Policy
All workshop registrations are non-refundable. If The Application Lab cancels the workshop and does not offer a suitable alternative, participants will receive a full refund.