If your area of interest is not advertised in our current projects, you can apply with your own research topic. You will need to submit a full research proposal. 

A personal statement is not acceptable as a research proposal. Your personal statement should address your motivations, qualifications and experiences to justify why you are applying to complete a PhD.

Please note that the requirements for professional doctorate programmes may vary and you will need to check the individual programme requirements to see if a research proposal is required and whether you need to identify a potential supervisor: 

1. The first step is to review the PhD programme pages for specific programme structures and entry requirements

Then read the more detailed guidance below to help you develop a research proposal and find a supervisor. 

2. Write a research proposal

A research proposal is a summary of your proposed research, including an outline of the topic, what is novel about the proposed research, your main research questions, and the methods you intend to use. 

Your research proposal is unique to your proposed research and, therefore, must be original and written by you.

You are welcome to contact one of our academics to discuss your proposed project before making an application. The research interests of all our academic staff can be found via the links available in the Find a supervisor section below.

3. Find a supervisor 

If there is a member of staff whose research interest matches your own, we recommend that you contact them directly with a copy of your research proposal and discuss it further with them before you apply. 

Please visit the appropriate College below to view the details of the staff within the department to see which one has the most relevance to your area of interest. Alternatively, visit our Expert Directory.

Please be advised that a formal decision on your application can only be made once the formal application has been submitted via the online application form.

If you are applying for the Aston Business School and have not identified a supervisor, please contact the relevant Departmental PhD Lead with your Research Proposal: 

Accounting
Dr Mahmoud Elmarzouky
m.elmarzouky@aston.ac.uk

Economics, Finance and Entrepreneurship
Vahid Jafari-Sadeghi
v.jafari-sadeghi@aston.ac.uk

Marketing and Strategy
Reza Marvi
r.marvi@aston.ac.uk

Operations and Information Management
Victoria Uren
v.uren@aston.ac.uk

Work and Organisation
Kanimozhi Narayanan
k.narayanan@aston.ac.uk

Aston Law School
Simon Lee
s.lee@aston.ac.uk

4. Continue to follow the steps on the 'How to apply' page