bps dissertation guide

How to make the most of your dissertation

• Description

This 90 minute on-demand webinar will cover what can be expected from the psychology dissertation process within a university setting, the key skills that will be developed (including ethical competence), the role of a supervisor, and some of the resources that students can use for further general support. 

You will be provided with supporting resources including presentation slides, case studies and a reflective template worksheet.

This webinar is available in English only and was originally delivered in October 2023. You will have access to the recording and resources for 8 weeks from date of enrolment. 

Learning outcomes

• Explain the dissertation process, from developing the project until the write-up.
• Define and explain the key skills developed during the dissertation.
• Be aware of and explain the ethical implications in relation to developing and undertaking a dissertation project.
• Explain the role of a dissertation supervisor and the support that they may be able to offer.
• Reflect upon psychology areas that may be of interest.

Is this course right for me? 

This webinar is most suitable for;

• Undergraduate psychology students within their second or final year at university. Students can be on any psychology course or specialism as this webinar will not focus upon one area of specialism. 
• Students within their second year at university can be unsure about what to expect during the dissertation process and may need some further guidance on this. While completing dissertations, final year students are often unsure about why the dissertation process is important and where they can go to for support outside of their institution. 

There are no pre-requisites for this webinar as it is mainly for information and guidance only, although it is suggested that students be within their second or final year of their undergraduate psychology course at university. 

Please note, this webinar is not suitable for those on post- graduate courses. 

Webinar presenters

Dr Laura Jenkins

Dr Laura Jenkins completed her undergraduate Psychology degree at Northumbria University in 2011 before the completion of her MRes Psychology degree in 2012. In 2016, Laura was awarded a PhD in Psychology which enabled her to develop the key research skills needed for study development.

Laura has held academic positions at Northumbria University, Oxford Brookes University and the University of Strathclyde before moving to Loughborough University in 2018. Throughout her teaching career, Laura has taught on numerous Psychology modules including cognition, statistics, personality and individual differences, biological psychology, questionnaire design, qualitative methods, development and social psychology.

Laura is currently the module co-lead of the psychology dissertation module within Loughborough University and works closely with staff and students during this role to support the process of completing the final year project. 

Laura is a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol) with the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Booking on behalf of an organisation?

If you or your colleagues are looking to book onto this course as a group you can make savings by booking ten or more places. To find out more about our packages contact [email protected]

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In order to request a quote for 5 or more learners, please complete this form . If you are looking to book for fewer than 5 learners please proceed directly to requesting an invoice by completing the invoice request form .

To request an invoice please complete this  form . We also provide  guidance   to support this process. Please note, to raise an invoice you will need to provide a Purchase Order. Once the invoice has been paid we will provide your learners with details of how to access their learning. 

How To Write A Dissertation Or Thesis

8 straightforward steps to craft an a-grade dissertation.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Expert Reviewed By: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | June 2020

Writing a dissertation or thesis is not a simple task. It takes time, energy and a lot of will power to get you across the finish line. It’s not easy – but it doesn’t necessarily need to be a painful process. If you understand the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis, your research journey will be a lot smoother.  

In this post, I’m going to outline the big-picture process of how to write a high-quality dissertation or thesis, without losing your mind along the way. If you’re just starting your research, this post is perfect for you. Alternatively, if you’ve already submitted your proposal, this article which covers how to structure a dissertation might be more helpful.

How To Write A Dissertation: 8 Steps

• Clearly understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is
• Find a unique and valuable research topic
• Craft a convincing research proposal
• Write up a strong introduction chapter
• Review the existing literature and compile a literature review
• Design a rigorous research strategy and undertake your own research
• Present the findings of your research
• Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Step 1: Understand exactly what a dissertation is

This probably sounds like a no-brainer, but all too often, students come to us for help with their research and the underlying issue is that they don’t fully understand what a dissertation (or thesis) actually is.

So, what is a dissertation?

At its simplest, a dissertation or thesis is a formal piece of research , reflecting the standard research process . But what is the standard research process, you ask? The research process involves 4 key steps:

• Ask a very specific, well-articulated question (s) (your research topic)
• See what other researchers have said about it (if they’ve already answered it)
• If they haven’t answered it adequately, undertake your own data collection and analysis in a scientifically rigorous fashion
• Answer your original question(s), based on your analysis findings

In short, the research process is simply about asking and answering questions in a systematic fashion . This probably sounds pretty obvious, but people often think they’ve done “research”, when in fact what they have done is:

• Started with a vague, poorly articulated question
• Not taken the time to see what research has already been done regarding the question
• Collected data and opinions that support their gut and undertaken a flimsy analysis
• Drawn a shaky conclusion, based on that analysis

If you want to see the perfect example of this in action, look out for the next Facebook post where someone claims they’ve done “research”… All too often, people consider reading a few blog posts to constitute research. Its no surprise then that what they end up with is an opinion piece, not research. Okay, okay – I’ll climb off my soapbox now.

The key takeaway here is that a dissertation (or thesis) is a formal piece of research, reflecting the research process. It’s not an opinion piece , nor a place to push your agenda or try to convince someone of your position. Writing a good dissertation involves asking a question and taking a systematic, rigorous approach to answering it.

If you understand this and are comfortable leaving your opinions or preconceived ideas at the door, you’re already off to a good start!

Step 2: Find a unique, valuable research topic

As we saw, the first step of the research process is to ask a specific, well-articulated question. In other words, you need to find a research topic that asks a specific question or set of questions (these are called research questions ). Sounds easy enough, right? All you’ve got to do is identify a question or two and you’ve got a winning research topic. Well, not quite…

A good dissertation or thesis topic has a few important attributes. Specifically, a solid research topic should be:

Let’s take a closer look at these:

Attribute #1: Clear

Your research topic needs to be crystal clear about what you’re planning to research, what you want to know, and within what context. There shouldn’t be any ambiguity or vagueness about what you’ll research.

Here’s an example of a clearly articulated research topic:

An analysis of consumer-based factors influencing organisational trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms.

As you can see in the example, its crystal clear what will be analysed (factors impacting organisational trust), amongst who (consumers) and in what context (British low-cost equity brokerage firms, based online).

Need a helping hand?

Attribute #2:   Unique

Your research should be asking a question(s) that hasn’t been asked before, or that hasn’t been asked in a specific context (for example, in a specific country or industry).

For example, sticking organisational trust topic above, it’s quite likely that organisational trust factors in the UK have been investigated before, but the context (online low-cost equity brokerages) could make this research unique. Therefore, the context makes this research original.

One caveat when using context as the basis for originality – you need to have a good reason to suspect that your findings in this context might be different from the existing research – otherwise, there’s no reason to warrant researching it.

Attribute #3: Important

Simply asking a unique or original question is not enough – the question needs to create value. In other words, successfully answering your research questions should provide some value to the field of research or the industry. You can’t research something just to satisfy your curiosity. It needs to make some form of contribution either to research or industry.

For example, researching the factors influencing consumer trust would create value by enabling businesses to tailor their operations and marketing to leverage factors that promote trust. In other words, it would have a clear benefit to industry.

So, how do you go about finding a unique and valuable research topic? We explain that in detail in this video post – How To Find A Research Topic . Yeah, we’ve got you covered 😊

Step 3: Write a convincing research proposal

Once you’ve pinned down a high-quality research topic, the next step is to convince your university to let you research it. No matter how awesome you think your topic is, it still needs to get the rubber stamp before you can move forward with your research. The research proposal is the tool you’ll use for this job.

So, what’s in a research proposal?

The main “job” of a research proposal is to convince your university, advisor or committee that your research topic is worthy of approval. But convince them of what? Well, this varies from university to university, but generally, they want to see that:

• You have a clearly articulated, unique and important topic (this might sound familiar…)
• You’ve done some initial reading of the existing literature relevant to your topic (i.e. a literature review)
• You have a provisional plan in terms of how you will collect data and analyse it (i.e. a methodology)

At the proposal stage, it’s (generally) not expected that you’ve extensively reviewed the existing literature , but you will need to show that you’ve done enough reading to identify a clear gap for original (unique) research. Similarly, they generally don’t expect that you have a rock-solid research methodology mapped out, but you should have an idea of whether you’ll be undertaking qualitative or quantitative analysis , and how you’ll collect your data (we’ll discuss this in more detail later).

Long story short – don’t stress about having every detail of your research meticulously thought out at the proposal stage – this will develop as you progress through your research. However, you do need to show that you’ve “done your homework” and that your research is worthy of approval .

So, how do you go about crafting a high-quality, convincing proposal? We cover that in detail in this video post – How To Write A Top-Class Research Proposal . We’ve also got a video walkthrough of two proposal examples here .

Step 4: Craft a strong introduction chapter

Once your proposal’s been approved, its time to get writing your actual dissertation or thesis! The good news is that if you put the time into crafting a high-quality proposal, you’ve already got a head start on your first three chapters – introduction, literature review and methodology – as you can use your proposal as the basis for these.

Handy sidenote – our free dissertation & thesis template is a great way to speed up your dissertation writing journey.

What’s the introduction chapter all about?

The purpose of the introduction chapter is to set the scene for your research (dare I say, to introduce it…) so that the reader understands what you’ll be researching and why it’s important. In other words, it covers the same ground as the research proposal in that it justifies your research topic.

What goes into the introduction chapter?

This can vary slightly between universities and degrees, but generally, the introduction chapter will include the following:

• A brief background to the study, explaining the overall area of research
• A problem statement , explaining what the problem is with the current state of research (in other words, where the knowledge gap exists)
• Your research questions – in other words, the specific questions your study will seek to answer (based on the knowledge gap)
• The significance of your study – in other words, why it’s important and how its findings will be useful in the world

As you can see, this all about explaining the “what” and the “why” of your research (as opposed to the “how”). So, your introduction chapter is basically the salesman of your study, “selling” your research to the first-time reader and (hopefully) getting them interested to read more.

How do I write the introduction chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this post .

Step 5: Undertake an in-depth literature review

As I mentioned earlier, you’ll need to do some initial review of the literature in Steps 2 and 3 to find your research gap and craft a convincing research proposal – but that’s just scratching the surface. Once you reach the literature review stage of your dissertation or thesis, you need to dig a lot deeper into the existing research and write up a comprehensive literature review chapter.

What’s the literature review all about?

There are two main stages in the literature review process:

Literature Review Step 1: Reading up

The first stage is for you to deep dive into the existing literature (journal articles, textbook chapters, industry reports, etc) to gain an in-depth understanding of the current state of research regarding your topic. While you don’t need to read every single article, you do need to ensure that you cover all literature that is related to your core research questions, and create a comprehensive catalogue of that literature , which you’ll use in the next step.

Reading and digesting all the relevant literature is a time consuming and intellectually demanding process. Many students underestimate just how much work goes into this step, so make sure that you allocate a good amount of time for this when planning out your research. Thankfully, there are ways to fast track the process – be sure to check out this article covering how to read journal articles quickly .

Literature Review Step 2: Writing up

Once you’ve worked through the literature and digested it all, you’ll need to write up your literature review chapter. Many students make the mistake of thinking that the literature review chapter is simply a summary of what other researchers have said. While this is partly true, a literature review is much more than just a summary. To pull off a good literature review chapter, you’ll need to achieve at least 3 things:

• You need to synthesise the existing research , not just summarise it. In other words, you need to show how different pieces of theory fit together, what’s agreed on by researchers, what’s not.
• You need to highlight a research gap that your research is going to fill. In other words, you’ve got to outline the problem so that your research topic can provide a solution.
• You need to use the existing research to inform your methodology and approach to your own research design. For example, you might use questions or Likert scales from previous studies in your your own survey design .

As you can see, a good literature review is more than just a summary of the published research. It’s the foundation on which your own research is built, so it deserves a lot of love and attention. Take the time to craft a comprehensive literature review with a suitable structure .

But, how do I actually write the literature review chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this video post .

Step 6: Carry out your own research

Once you’ve completed your literature review and have a sound understanding of the existing research, its time to develop your own research (finally!). You’ll design this research specifically so that you can find the answers to your unique research question.

There are two steps here – designing your research strategy and executing on it:

1 – Design your research strategy

The first step is to design your research strategy and craft a methodology chapter . I won’t get into the technicalities of the methodology chapter here, but in simple terms, this chapter is about explaining the “how” of your research. If you recall, the introduction and literature review chapters discussed the “what” and the “why”, so it makes sense that the next point to cover is the “how” –that’s what the methodology chapter is all about.

In this section, you’ll need to make firm decisions about your research design. This includes things like:

• Your research philosophy (e.g. positivism or interpretivism )
• Your overall methodology (e.g. qualitative , quantitative or mixed methods)
• Your data collection strategy (e.g. interviews , focus groups, surveys)
• Your data analysis strategy (e.g. content analysis , correlation analysis, regression)

If these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these in plain language in other posts. It’s not essential that you understand the intricacies of research design (yet!). The key takeaway here is that you’ll need to make decisions about how you’ll design your own research, and you’ll need to describe (and justify) your decisions in your methodology chapter.

2 – Execute: Collect and analyse your data

Once you’ve worked out your research design, you’ll put it into action and start collecting your data. This might mean undertaking interviews, hosting an online survey or any other data collection method. Data collection can take quite a bit of time (especially if you host in-person interviews), so be sure to factor sufficient time into your project plan for this. Oftentimes, things don’t go 100% to plan (for example, you don’t get as many survey responses as you hoped for), so bake a little extra time into your budget here.

Once you’ve collected your data, you’ll need to do some data preparation before you can sink your teeth into the analysis. For example:

• If you carry out interviews or focus groups, you’ll need to transcribe your audio data to text (i.e. a Word document).
• If you collect quantitative survey data, you’ll need to clean up your data and get it into the right format for whichever analysis software you use (for example, SPSS, R or STATA).

Once you’ve completed your data prep, you’ll undertake your analysis, using the techniques that you described in your methodology. Depending on what you find in your analysis, you might also do some additional forms of analysis that you hadn’t planned for. For example, you might see something in the data that raises new questions or that requires clarification with further analysis.

The type(s) of analysis that you’ll use depend entirely on the nature of your research and your research questions. For example:

• If your research if exploratory in nature, you’ll often use qualitative analysis techniques .
• If your research is confirmatory in nature, you’ll often use quantitative analysis techniques
• If your research involves a mix of both, you might use a mixed methods approach

Again, if these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these concepts and techniques in other posts. The key takeaway is simply that there’s no “one size fits all” for research design and methodology – it all depends on your topic, your research questions and your data. So, don’t be surprised if your study colleagues take a completely different approach to yours.

Step 7: Present your findings

Once you’ve completed your analysis, it’s time to present your findings (finally!). In a dissertation or thesis, you’ll typically present your findings in two chapters – the results chapter and the discussion chapter .

What’s the difference between the results chapter and the discussion chapter?

While these two chapters are similar, the results chapter generally just presents the processed data neatly and clearly without interpretation, while the discussion chapter explains the story the data are telling  – in other words, it provides your interpretation of the results.

For example, if you were researching the factors that influence consumer trust, you might have used a quantitative approach to identify the relationship between potential factors (e.g. perceived integrity and competence of the organisation) and consumer trust. In this case:

• Your results chapter would just present the results of the statistical tests. For example, correlation results or differences between groups. In other words, the processed numbers.
• Your discussion chapter would explain what the numbers mean in relation to your research question(s). For example, Factor 1 has a weak relationship with consumer trust, while Factor 2 has a strong relationship.

Depending on the university and degree, these two chapters (results and discussion) are sometimes merged into one , so be sure to check with your institution what their preference is. Regardless of the chapter structure, this section is about presenting the findings of your research in a clear, easy to understand fashion.

Importantly, your discussion here needs to link back to your research questions (which you outlined in the introduction or literature review chapter). In other words, it needs to answer the key questions you asked (or at least attempt to answer them).

For example, if we look at the sample research topic:

In this case, the discussion section would clearly outline which factors seem to have a noteworthy influence on organisational trust. By doing so, they are answering the overarching question and fulfilling the purpose of the research .

For more information about the results chapter , check out this post for qualitative studies and this post for quantitative studies .

Step 8: The Final Step Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Last but not least, you’ll need to wrap up your research with the conclusion chapter . In this chapter, you’ll bring your research full circle by highlighting the key findings of your study and explaining what the implications of these findings are.

What exactly are key findings? The key findings are those findings which directly relate to your original research questions and overall research objectives (which you discussed in your introduction chapter). The implications, on the other hand, explain what your findings mean for industry, or for research in your area.

Sticking with the consumer trust topic example, the conclusion might look something like this:

Key findings

This study set out to identify which factors influence consumer-based trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms. The results suggest that the following factors have a large impact on consumer trust:

While the following factors have a very limited impact on consumer trust:

Notably, within the 25-30 age groups, Factors E had a noticeably larger impact, which may be explained by…

Implications

The findings having noteworthy implications for British low-cost online equity brokers. Specifically:

The large impact of Factors X and Y implies that brokers need to consider….

The limited impact of Factor E implies that brokers need to…

As you can see, the conclusion chapter is basically explaining the “what” (what your study found) and the “so what?” (what the findings mean for the industry or research). This brings the study full circle and closes off the document.

Let’s recap – how to write a dissertation or thesis

You’re still with me? Impressive! I know that this post was a long one, but hopefully you’ve learnt a thing or two about how to write a dissertation or thesis, and are now better equipped to start your own research.

To recap, the 8 steps to writing a quality dissertation (or thesis) are as follows:

• Understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is – a research project that follows the research process.
• Find a unique (original) and important research topic
• Craft a convincing dissertation or thesis research proposal
• Write a clear, compelling introduction chapter
• Undertake a thorough review of the existing research and write up a literature review
• Undertake your own research
• Present and interpret your findings

Once you’ve wrapped up the core chapters, all that’s typically left is the abstract , reference list and appendices. As always, be sure to check with your university if they have any additional requirements in terms of structure or content.  

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

20 Comments

thankfull >>>this is very useful

Thank you, it was really helpful

unquestionably, this amazing simplified way of teaching. Really , I couldn’t find in the literature words that fully explicit my great thanks to you. However, I could only say thanks a-lot.

Great to hear that – thanks for the feedback. Good luck writing your dissertation/thesis.

This is the most comprehensive explanation of how to write a dissertation. Many thanks for sharing it free of charge.

Very rich presentation. Thank you

Thanks Derek Jansen|GRADCOACH, I find it very useful guide to arrange my activities and proceed to research!

Thank you so much for such a marvelous teaching .I am so convinced that am going to write a comprehensive and a distinct masters dissertation

It is an amazing comprehensive explanation

This was straightforward. Thank you!

I can say that your explanations are simple and enlightening – understanding what you have done here is easy for me. Could you write more about the different types of research methods specific to the three methodologies: quan, qual and MM. I look forward to interacting with this website more in the future.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions 🙂

Hello, your write ups is quite educative. However, l have challenges in going about my research questions which is below; *Building the enablers of organisational growth through effective governance and purposeful leadership.*

Very educating.

Just listening to the name of the dissertation makes the student nervous. As writing a top-quality dissertation is a difficult task as it is a lengthy topic, requires a lot of research and understanding and is usually around 10,000 to 15000 words. Sometimes due to studies, unbalanced workload or lack of research and writing skill students look for dissertation submission from professional writers.

Thank you 💕😊 very much. I was confused but your comprehensive explanation has cleared my doubts of ever presenting a good thesis. Thank you.

thank you so much, that was so useful

Hi. Where is the excel spread sheet ark?

could you please help me look at your thesis paper to enable me to do the portion that has to do with the specification

my topic is “the impact of domestic revenue mobilization.

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• Careers & education
• Find your career in psychology

Postgraduate study and qualifications

Postgraduate study and training is a requirement to become a Chartered Psychologist and to register as a practitioner psychologist with the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC).

Postgraduate study

• Conversion courses

Postgraduate research degrees

Society qualifications, further information.

The exact nature of the training you will need to complete will depend on the field of psychology you want to work in.

In order to pursue a postgraduate qualification you will normally need to have a 2:1 or higher from an undergraduate degree accredited by the society.

Graduates with a 2:2 or lower grade will not normally be accepted unless they have achieved a higher qualification, such as a masters degree.

You should always check with the university to find out their specific entry requirements.

Search for an accredited postgraduate course

In general course organisers will want you to demonstrate sufficient knowledge and ability before they will consider you as a candidate for postgraduate study. Usually this will mean having completed an MSc or MPhil in which you have successfully completed an applied research project, preferably one which is relevant to the area of psychology you wish to pursue.

Many postgraduate training programmes will also require you to have significant relevant work experience in order to demonstrate that you are a dedicated candidate in possession of some real-world, applied psychological knowledge. This experience may have to be gained in a voluntary capacity rather than as part of a paid position.

Why should I take a conversion course?

If you are a graduate in a subject other than psychology, or you have a psychology degree that isn't accredited by the society, you may be able to gain Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership by taking a society accredited conversion course.

Conversion courses normally take at least a year to complete, however the actual timescale can vary dependent on the course provisions and any previous psychological study which you may have undertaken. Some institutions may also allow you to study online.

For further information about entry requirements, fees, funding and course duration, we encourage you to contact the relevant institution directly.

Search for an accredited conversion course

Types of postgraduate research degree

What is a doctoral degree.

A doctoral degree is the highest academic qualification that universities can award. Study periods are typically three to four years (full time) or six to eight years (part time).

Doctoral candidates operate at a level of independence above that expected of an undergraduate or postgraduate student, and are expected to undertake independent research, under the guidance of one or more supervisors, within the wider institutional, professional or subject-based research community.

A doctoral student is examined on the basis of a thesis, portfolio, clinical practice or other output, which must demonstrate the research question, critically evaluate the extent to which it has been addressed, and make an original contribution to knowledge. 

Why are there different Doctoral Qualifications?

All doctoral degrees are designed to prepare the candidate to make a contribution to knowledge through original and independent research.

However, the context in which doctoral candidates undertake their research may vary between the different qualifications available, as well as the way the programme is structured.

Doctoral qualifications awarded in the UK include the PhD, the professional doctorate, the practice-based doctorate and the doctorate by publication.

If you are thinking of entering doctoral research, it is important that you explore the different types of doctoral qualifications available and consider which of these will best suit your needs. Undertaking Doctoral research is a highly individual experience.

What are the entry requirements for doctoral degrees?

Individual Universities specify different entry requirements for their Doctoral Degrees. Prospective doctoral candidates need to check the specific requirements at the institution at which they wish to study.

Increasingly, doctoral candidates possess a masters degree, but in some subjects it is usual to begin a doctoral programme with a bachelors degree or its professional equivalent.

Some universities offer a combined masters and doctoral award (sometimes known as the 1+3 model) that enables a candidate to undertake a masters degree and, assuming satisfactory progress, enter directly into doctoral research at the same institution.

Finding a place

Securing a masters or PhD place is a complicated business. Not only do you have to find a topic you will want to spend the next few years of your life investigating and a supervisor who you trust to guide you, you also have to secure the money to allow you to do this.

However, hundreds of people every year manage to negotiate this process and secure funded masters and PhD places. 

Do you have the necessary qualifications?

Before you start hunting for a place, it is important to be aware that PhD places are increasingly being awarded to people who have masters or first-class honours degrees rather than those with second-class degrees (and below).

What do you want to do?

For MSc courses in research methods, you are best to look at departmental websites, advertisements on the noticeboards in your current university department and the list of accredited courses on the ESRC website.

As these are taught courses it should be a straightforward process to identify a course and its components for this kind of masters degree.

For both MPhil and PhD courses, this is a less well structured process. The first thing to do is to decide on what area you want to study.

This will constrain the search space and determine whom you need to talk to get further information. You don't need a fully formed proposal at this stage, but do try to identify the area that you want to work in.

Remember that a PhD will position your academic career in a particular area of research and, since you will have to invest time and effort in building up a knowledge base and publishing work, it can be difficult to break away from your PhD into other areas.

Where do you want to do it?

The next stage is to identify a university and a supervisor who you will want to work with for the next two to four years. The most common way of getting a PhD place is through enquiries to departments and potential supervisors, and many people elect to do an MSc or PhD at the institution where they have already studied, supervised by people they already know.

However, if you cannot or do not want to do a masters or PhD at your current university, a good strategy is to talk to people who work in your chosen area about departments and supervisors.

One of the important things to find out about any institution you are considering is the potential for obtaining a funded place and, in particular, whether they are accredited to receive funding from the research councils (ESRC, EPSRC, BBSRC and MRC).

If a department is accredited you will have a much better chance of getting funding, and accredited departments may have higher retention rate. To get research council funding you either put together a research proposal with your potential supervisor or are nominated by the department to receive an award, depending on the Research Council that you are applying for.

The final piece of advice is to believe in yourself, persevere, and to not be afraid to ask questions of the institutions/supervisors you speak to. Remember that you are choosing them as much as they are choosing you.

There are a number of potential sources of funding for postgraduate study, and considerable variation in the application procedures and deadlines. However, almost without exception, they require the support of a host department and a prospective supervisor.

This means that applying for a place to study is the first thing you should do. Departments who offer you a place should then be able to advise you on which type of funding to seek.

You should bear in mind that all sources of funding are likely to be highly competitive, and departments may even be required to rank their candidates in terms of whom they think are strongest.

For this reason it is important to begin the application process early and to give serious thought to the precise area in which you want to conduct research, and what questions you will try to address.

Sources of funding for postgraduate research degrees fall into four categories:

• Research councils
• Universities

Doing PhD research

If you are passionate about psychology and want to familiarise yourself with various viewpoints about what a PhD in Psychology actually involves before weighing up the benefits and costs of doing one, read on.

One way is to look at the standards set by national bodies like the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. The Society's Guidelines for Assessment of PhDs in Psychology and Related Disciplines are also a useful reference tool for prospective doctoral students.

Another way is to look at the requirements of individual institutions. Often you will find that a PhD is viewed in terms of 'learning outcomes'. As well as showing you the areas that are central to your proposed area of research, they allow you to start forming an idea of the ways you might be able market yourself for life after the PhD.

A doctoral dissertation in psychology can normally be expected to be between 70,000 and 100,000 words long, and once you have removed weekends, holidays, teaching, family and personal commitments and illness from the approximately 1000-day allocation to do a PhD (according to a full-time, three-year model), you may actually have less than 500 working days to complete it.

So, depending on the kinds of data collection you embark on, you are likely to draw on evening and weekend time. If you're studying animal learning or memory you may find yourself working alone in a darkened laboratory over the weekend. If you are researching with specialist, low-incidence populations you may find yourself travelling the length and breadth of the country at unsociable hours. Of course, the kinds of research questions you will be able to pursue will depend upon your availability as a part-time or full-time PhD student.

A prompt completion not only leads to career, financial and personal benefits: it also means that both you and the university avoid institutional penalties for delayed submission or extension of your studies.

Teaching responsibilities

Undertaking teaching responsibilities such as demonstration sessions, seminar teaching, marking and sessional lecturing, is a good way to gain experience for a future career in academia. However, most PhD funding agencies stipulate the maximum number of teaching hours a student is permitted to undertake in any one teaching year.

Monitoring of progress

It is normal practice for universities to have guidelines for the submission of an end-of-first-year report (in the case of a full-time student) by both student and supervisors.

Progress will be charted against the framework for supervision set up in the first phase of the registration for a degree.

At the end of the full-time degree, or at the end of the second year in the case of a part-time degree, normal practice requires recommendation for transfer to a doctorate (rather than masters level) programme of study. Although the methods for doing so vary, standard practice involves the appointment of a panel at a departmental or faculty level.

To ensure that your thesis meets the UK national standard, external examination is through a viva, which serves as a check that the thesis is the student's own work. Crucially, it looks at your competency in defending and talking about your research.

Resources available for support in preparing a viva include our  Guidelines for the Assessment of the PhD in Psychology and Related Discipline .

PhD supervision

Any early steps you can take in finding and applying for a supervisor will be a great help in ensuring a smooth passage to the award of a doctorate.

However the supervisor-student match is just one of many professional relationships you will build during your PhD, so it is always worth thinking about the other kinds of audiences you may encounter, as well as when you hope to share your findings with, and receive feedback from, other students, academics, and editors.

Supervisor-student match

Some experts in higher education research degrees view best practice as involving joint supervision between two or more supervisors rather than just one. As well as being a good practical precaution, this approach can offer the student alternative viewpoints and enable supervisors to bring different topic areas to the supervision process.

The way you choose your match will depend on the kind of research topic area you have selected, and what mix of characteristics and skills you expect your supervisors to bring to the table.

Of course, one pitfall is the potential for each supervisor to leave the responsibility to others. So it is worth establishing early on with your supervisors the kinds of roles you would expect them to play, and how this might change over the course of the doctorate.

One way to promote successful supervision is to negotiate what you might reasonably expect of each other, and what roles your supervisor(s) might be expected to play. It may also be useful to draw up a supervision 'contract' that provides an explicit record for both you and your supervisor(s).

The questions below have been designed help to identify topics which you may wish to discuss with your supervisor(s). 

• What is the framework for supervision including arrangements for regular supervisory meetings?
• Is there agreement about the stages that the student will be expected to have completed at certain points in the research?
• What is the role of each supervisor?
• What kinds of assistance can the supervisor offer in terms of identifying a topic?
• Does the topic fall within the expertise of the supervisor?
• Can the PhD be completed with the resources available?
• Is the topic suitable for the award of PhD?
• What training opportunities are available at the university?
• Meeting student regularly and frequently at the intervals agreed at the beginning of the research programme
• Assisting in defining topic of research – what will be the scope of the 'problem' area?
• Can the project be completed within study period?
• Is the nature of the research problem worthy of a PhD?
• Are supervisors aware of research training on offer at the university?
• Does the supervisor expect to respond promptly and constructively to submitted work?
• Stick to monitoring timetable agreed at beginning of project?
• Does the supervisor anticipate any periods of absences?
• Will the supervisor take an active role in introducing students to range of different audiences?
• Can they nominate examiners in time, so that the viva can go ahead as soon as possible after submission of thesis?
• Will the student come to supervisory meetings with a clear and prepared agenda?
• Will the student be able to maintain progress according to timetable agreed with supervisor?
• Will the student present written material in time for comment and attempt a record of work attempted.
• Is the language presentation good enough for a thesis?
• Will the student be able to negotiate a form of guidance and kind of comment they find helpful?
• Will the student recognise supervisors have other demands on their time?

Support for PhD students

The Psychology Postgraduate Affairs Group ( PsyPAG ) supports all aspects of postgraduate work in the UK. PsyPAG is funded by and closely affiliated with the Society and it is run by postgraduates on a voluntary basis.

Every year PsyPAG holds a conference at a UK university. In addition to providing an ideal setting for postgraduates to present their work to a friendly audience, the conference is an opportunity to meet and form friendships with other postgraduates.

Studying for a higher Degree can be very lonely at times, particularly if there are only a few postgraduates in the department, and talking to other postgraduates who may have experienced similar problems can often help.

The group also produces PsyPAG Quarterly, a free publication sent to every Psychology department in the UK and made available online on the PsyPAG website. It contains reflections on issues relevant to postgraduates, reviews of conferences, and articles on areas of interest, and aims to provide readers with engaging and useful information about postgraduate events, issues and opportunities.

PsyPAG also funds numerous workshops designed to allow postgraduates to develop both the skills central to their discipline and their more generic abilities, in areas such as teaching, assessment, and dissemination of their research. Workshops are held on both qualitative and quantitative methods and postgraduates can apply for funding from PsyPAG to host a workshop on a particular topic or area of interest.

In addition PsyPAG also awards bursaries to postgraduates to allow them to present their work at conferences that might otherwise be financially unattainable. This scheme has allowed many postgraduates to present their work at national and international conferences, to mix with key experts in their field, and to become part of respected worldwide academic communities. 

Any postgraduate who is studying a psychology-related course (PhD or Masters) at a UK institution is eligible to stand for the PsyPAG committee, whose membership is constantly changing as existing members complete their PhDs. This presents many opportunities to become actively involved in PsyPAG.

Find out more information about PsyPAG , including how to apply for bursaries and how to stand for committee positions. 

Research Board

The British Psychological Society  Research Board  is committed to promoting and supporting psychological science and its applications.

A core element of this is a strong commitment to providing various forms of support for postgraduate research students. Schemes supported by the Board include:

• Bursaries to assist postgraduate students presenting papers and posters at the Annual Conference of the society
• Travel grants for visits to other institutions in the UK, Europe and elsewhere in the world
• The award for outstanding research carried out during the completion of a Doctoral Degree
• A joint award with the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology

As the Board is committed to supporting postgraduate research students in general, it is not necessary to be a member of the Society to submit an application under these schemes.

In addition to accrediting courses, the society offers its own qualifications for candidates that wish to take a more independent approach to learning.

We currently offer qualifications in the following areas:

• Clinical neuropsychology
• Counselling psychology
• Educational psychology (Scotland)
• Forensic psychology
• Health psychology
• Occupational psychology
• Sport and exercise psychology

Candidates and their supervisors will need to make appropriate arrangements for access to academic facilities and support throughout the period of training. This may involve arranging library access at local universities and might include buying into modules of training courses.

Supported by events, workshops and supervision, candidates undertake a high standard of training to become eligible for Chartered membership which, in turn, makes them eligible to apply to the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) or registration. 

Candidates enroled for the society's independent route qualifications must ensure that they have appropriate professional liability insurance.

Can I apply from outside the UK?

Our qualifications are work based learning designed to enable people to develop and demonstrate the competencies required for practice in the UK. This page provides some additional information for those who may not be familiar with the UK context.

Professional recognition

Some of our qualifications are approved by the  Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)  and people who are awarded one of the approved qualifications are eligible to apply to the HCPC for registration. It is a legal requirement that anyone who wishes to practice using a title protected by the Health Professions Order 2001 is on the HCPC Register.

Entry Requirements

You must be a Graduate Member of the society with  Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership . The GBC is awarded to those who have qualifications in psychology awarded at the equivalent of a UK second class honours degree which covers a range of areas of psychology. When you apply for Graduate Membership of the Society your application for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership will be considered at the same time.

In order to be eligible to enrol for one of our qualifications applicants from overseas must meet the same requirements as applicants from the UK.

Co-ordinator of Training/ Co-ordinating Supervisor

Before enroling you must have a Co-ordinator of Training or Co-ordinating Supervisor. 

He or she will:

• Be a Chartered Member of the Society
• Be a registered practitioner psychologist
• Be a full member of the relevant Division
• Have undertaken the appropriate training for the role

You might find an appropriate person to take on this role within your employment or you may need to pay someone privately to provide this service. More information about Co-ordinators of Training/ Co-ordinating Supervisors can be found with the information on the relevant qualification.

Work based learning/Supervised practice

When you apply to enrol you will need to show us that you are in a position to complete the supervised practice elements of the qualification. This means you will need to demonstrate that you have a paid or voluntary position where you will be able to undertake your supervised practice. The majority of your supervised practice will need to be undertaken in the UK and you will need to tell us about the supervised practice you have arranged in the UK so that we know you will be able to meet this requirement.

If you would like further information, contact the Qualifications team . 

Securing funding is one of the main hurdles graduates face when it comes to postgraduate study. Funding opportunities will vary, dependent on the field of psychology (link is external) you want to pursue. There are a number of websites that offer information about postgraduate funding. A few examples are listed below:

• GOV.UK - Funding your postgraduate course
• Postgraduate Studentships
• Prospects - Funding my further study

Awards and grants

The BPS also runs a number of awards schemes for postgraduate psychology students and provides several grants through its Research Board and its Education and Training Board. 

I applied for a postgraduate course and have been asked to confirm my non-UK qualifications to give me the GBC – how can I do this?

We don’t automatically accredit international qualifications. Each one is assessed on an individual basis.

You'll need to  apply for Graduate membership  and attach a copy of your official academic transcript (translated into English where appropriate) and the relevant payment.

Qualification eligibility

To be eligible for Graduate membership and the GBC we'll assess that your qualification(s) meet all of the following:

From a recognised university institution

The society uses the World Higher Education Database (WHED) as a reference for identifying a recognised university institution.

At least 50% psychology

Psychology modules/subjects must make up at least half of those required for the qualification to be awarded.

Equivalent to at least a British Bachelors Second Class Honours Degree

The society follows guidance from UK ENIC when assessing the standard of qualifications. UK ENIC provides comparability information for international qualifications with those in the UK.

Cover, with the required breadth and depth, the following eight core areas:

• psychobiology
• cognitive psychology
• social psychology
• developmental psychology
• individual differences
• conceptual and historical issues in psychology
• coverage of a specialist/applied area

If you have any queries, please contact the Customer Support Team . 

What is an accredited conversion programme?

Graduates who haven't taken an accredited programme in psychology may undertake a conversion course. Conversion courses provide an opportunity for graduates to build on their first-degree qualification to become eligible for the Society's Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership.

The course will usually consist of at least one full year (approximately 45 weeks full-time, or its part-time equivalent) and typically comprise either 120 or 180 credits.

Applicants to conversion programmes must normally have a degree at any level which has not been accredited by the Society (whether in psychology or another subject). For conversion programmes comprising 180 credits, this is the only entry requirement set by the Society, although individual providers may set other requirements that they expect their applicants to meet.

Previous studies

For awards comprising only 120 credits, applicants will need to have previously studied the equivalent of at least 60 credits of psychology at the undergraduate level  (level 4 or above; level 7 in Scotland) .  If you haven't done 60 credits or more of psychology study, you can usually do a bridging or access course (often a certificate in psychology) first.

A small number of conversion course providers also welcome applicants who have completed a Society-accredited programme and therefore are already eligible for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership. They typically offer their courses in more specialist areas that may offer interesting further study opportunities for psychology graduates.

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Dissertation and Thesis Information

Contains information on submission requirements, checklist guides, accessibility, timelines and more.

For more information, visit UC’s Electronic Thesis/Dissertation Information webpage.

The Academic Writing Center offers free workshops to graduate students on important writing concepts.

Obtain handouts for writing support including APA and MLA support, Writing Guides, research writing support, statement of purpose, diversity statement, creating a CV and more.

Contact Information:

• Location: Learning Commons 2510B French Hall West
• Phone: 513-556-3244
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: Graduate Tutoring and Writing Support

The National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) Dissertation Success Curriculum is designed to provide the skills, strategies, and support that advanced graduate students need to overcome the three biggest obstacles to finishing their dissertation: perfectionism, procrastination, and isolation. The program is built on the assumption that there is only one way to complete a dissertation: WRITE IT!

For more information, create a FREE (through UC) NCFDD account and view the Dissertation Success Curriculum webpage.

Utilize ProQuest to read other dissertations or theses from your school or field to help guide your process.

To view submitted theses and dissertations, visit ProQuest .

Resources for Dissertators lists helpful books and chapters that can inform your writing process and links to guides for thesis and dissertations, grant writing support, and more.

To view these dissertation resources, visit the The University of Wisconsin - Madison Writing Center website.

Joan Bolker, Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day.  Available for loan through DAAP’s library .

Scott Rank, How to Finish Your Dissertation in Six Months, Even if You­ Don’t Know What to Write .

Paul J. Silvia, How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing . Available for loan through Langsam Library .