AHRC Application

Barcode

So, this month I'm applying to the AHRC for Master's funding, and have been told to come up with a research proposal. Although I have some idea of what I intend to research, I'm unsure how detailed such a proposal needs to be. Obviously, I don't want to rush everything, but I simply do not have the time on top of all my other essays and exam revision to read even more papers to produce a super-detailed proposal.

Anybody with experience of applying to the AHRC? I'm not expecting funding, since the consensus is that you pretty need to be on track for a 1:1, which oh, all of one or two people may get in my whole year out of about 150. However, the application process is necessary since if I'm turned down, I'll then be able to apply for uni grants and so on.

My subject is philosophy. Any advice on writing this thing is much appreciated.

melancholly

Anyone I know who's had to submit a research proposal for an ESRC grant has had a lot of help from whoever plans to be their supervisor. Obviously you need to have input, it's your work, but they'll have done this lots and will know exactly what to include. In some cases supervisors have written the entire thing and students' put their names to it... I don't know anything specific to the AHRC but it reflects well on a supervisor if you get AHRC funding so I imagine they should be pretty helpful.

Joey_3

I am hoping to apply for AHRC funding this year also, however I believed that you only needed to produce a research proposal if you were studying Physics. If you do have to write one anyway, I echo the thoughts of melancholly in that you should be able to receive help from your supervisor.

I had been told that the forms would not be available until February, however I've just checked the AHRC site and it seems they're out already so I shall be contacting my University where I have been offered a place on a Masters course on Monday.

zar

Try your university library for books for research students as some of them have a chapter on writing research proposals - if I remember correctly this one does.

Barcode

Thanks for that.

Yes, I'm going to talk to my supervisor next week and have managed to narrow down my interests to three fairly specific philosophical problems. Any one should be suitable.

I've been told that it helps if the supervisor is some sort of worldwide expert in the field (well, obviously); whilst my department is highly rated, I'm not sure we have any 'big names', at least not in the area I want to go into.

As for a supervisor writing it - to me, that's ethically wrong. If a student can't come up with a proposal, then maybe they shouldn't receive funding.

melancholly

Barcode wrote:

As for a supervisor writing it - to me, that's ethically wrong. If a student can't come up with a proposal, then maybe they shouldn't receive funding.

It's one of those horrible situations where to be able to write a good enough proposal, you need to know a lot about an area, more than the vast majority of 3rd year undergrads. I know some research councils use a points system, and so not including the 'right' things will just count you out.... That's why having help from someone is so important! And while you may well be partially right, a student has to be good enough for a supervisor to want (or have the potential to be good), then it's all about jumping through the hoops to get funding however possible.

(and it's also worth noting that your proposal isn't all that binding - for example in a lot of the sciences, if someone publishes work that makes your study redundant, you change tack rather than sticking to what you originally said - the proposal is all about getting money, rather than about planning out what work you'll do for a year!)

Barcode

I agree with you, and I'm finding it hard to write my proposal despite having some fairly narrowly defined topics. So I expect the final result will be heavily influenced by my supervisors input: I'd stop short at even hinting that they should write any of it though.

It's good there is some flexibility with regards to the proposal - in my subject, I often find myself changing my ideas halfway through writing something.

liz24

I'm currently studying for a master's in History having gained funding from the AHRC and I just wanted to let you know what my experience of it has been,

If anyone is going to make an application, the first place they should look is at the AHRC website. Make sure you follow the instructions they provide for filling out the form precisely! In addition, you will also find the annual reports for each competition on there (not sure where but they are there) which are really useful as they give you an idea of the level of competition and what the panels look for in an application and what they don't like.

Your research proposal is a really important part of the application process and I wouldn't advise anyone getting their supervisor to write it for them - remember they will be giving you a reference too! By all means ask them for advice (the AHRC does in fact like applicants to have proof of contact with their supervisor, but bear in mind this may not be possible if you don't know who your supervisor will be - I had minimal contact but it seemed to work out OK). Remember that you have a relatively small space to write it in and not only do you have to write a proposal, you have to explain why you want to do the course at the institution you have applied for particularly, plus something about the graduate training provided and how it is suitable for your research - your department should have some sort of document outlining their provision for this, either on the internet or at the department. Don't neglect this as it is important!

In terms of your academic qualifications, yes a first is usually necessary but not always - check out the graphs on the website. However, a first, even a really high one, is not the be-all-and-end-all - I know of people who did fantastically well, say an average of 80% from Oxbridge, who didn't get funding - basically it's impossible to say with any certainty who will get it. You are also ranked, both by your first institution and then by the institution you are applying for, so how you did compared to other people on your course and the standard of your application against other applications also makes a difference.

I hope this helps somebody - the thing to remember with it is even if you think you haven't got a hope in hell of getting funding, you should apply anyway, as you never know. I honestly did not think I would ever get the funding but it turned out really well. Good luck!