phd psychology research proposal sample pdf

Research Proposal Example/Sample

Detailed Walkthrough + Free Proposal Template

If you’re getting started crafting your research proposal and are looking for a few examples of research proposals , you’ve come to the right place.

In this video, we walk you through two successful (approved) research proposals , one for a Master’s-level project, and one for a PhD-level dissertation. We also start off by unpacking our free research proposal template and discussing the four core sections of a research proposal, so that you have a clear understanding of the basics before diving into the actual proposals.

• Research proposal example/sample – Master’s-level (PDF/Word)
• Research proposal example/sample – PhD-level (PDF/Word)
• Proposal template (Fully editable) 

If you’re working on a research proposal for a dissertation or thesis, you may also find the following useful:

• Research Proposal Bootcamp : Learn how to write a research proposal as efficiently and effectively as possible
• 1:1 Proposal Coaching : Get hands-on help with your research proposal

PS – If you’re working on a dissertation, be sure to also check out our collection of dissertation and thesis examples here .

FAQ: Research Proposal Example

Research proposal example: frequently asked questions, are the sample proposals real.

Yes. The proposals are real and were approved by the respective universities.

Can I copy one of these proposals for my own research?

As we discuss in the video, every research proposal will be slightly different, depending on the university’s unique requirements, as well as the nature of the research itself. Therefore, you’ll need to tailor your research proposal to suit your specific context.

You can learn more about the basics of writing a research proposal here .

How do I get the research proposal template?

You can access our free proposal template here .

Is the proposal template really free?

Yes. There is no cost for the proposal template and you are free to use it as a foundation for your research proposal.

Where can I learn more about proposal writing?

For self-directed learners, our Research Proposal Bootcamp is a great starting point.

For students that want hands-on guidance, our private coaching service is recommended.

Psst… there’s more!

This post is an extract from our bestselling short course, Research Proposal Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this .

14 Comments

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Examples of research proposals

How to write your research proposal, with examples of good proposals.

Research proposals

Your research proposal is a key part of your application. It tells us about the question you want to answer through your research. It is a chance for you to show your knowledge of the subject area and tell us about the methods you want to use.

We use your research proposal to match you with a supervisor or team of supervisors.

In your proposal, please tell us if you have an interest in the work of a specific academic at York St John. You can get in touch with this academic to discuss your proposal. You can also speak to one of our Research Leads. There is a list of our Research Leads on the Apply page.

When you write your proposal you need to:

• Highlight how it is original or significant
• Explain how it will develop or challenge current knowledge of your subject
• Identify the importance of your research
• Show why you are the right person to do this research
• Research Proposal Example 1 (DOC, 49kB)
• Research Proposal Example 2 (DOC, 0.9MB)
• Research Proposal Example 3 (DOC, 55.5kB)
• Research Proposal Example 4 (DOC, 49.5kB)

Subject specific guidance

• Writing a Humanities PhD Proposal (PDF, 0.1MB)
• Writing a Creative Writing PhD Proposal (PDF, 0.1MB)
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Psychology Research Proposal

Proposal maker.

Proposals, whatever they may be, may it be a wedding proposal , business proposal , or a research proposal , all have a similar goal. It is to hear the word “yes” from the mouths of the recipient. Despite that, these proposals give different feelings to the proposer. If you are here to get tips on coming up with a research proposal, you get what I mean. Don’t worry, this article will help you get ideas on how to devise your psychology research proposal.

6+ Psychology Research Proposal Examples

1. cognitive psychology research proposal.

2.  Psychology Counselling Research Proposal

3. Undergraduate Psychology Research Proposal

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4. PhD Psychology Research Proposal

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5. Forensic Psychology Research Proposal

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6. Social Psychology Research Proposal

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7. Psychology Research Grant Proposal

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What Is a Psychology Research Proposal?

A psychology research proposal is an academic document that a person submits to propose a research project, specifically in the field of clinical psychology. The purpose of research proposals is to outline the research questions and summarize your selected research topic. Another necessary reason for creating this proposal is to present ways that you think would be best in conducting the study and justifying it.

How to Compose a Reliable Psychology Research Proposal

There’s a time psychology students dread. It’s the moment that signifies the beginning of hell week or maybe hell month. It is when the professors ask their students to submit their research proposals.  Coming up with a psychology research proposal might cost you a lot of sleepless nights. To get back the sleep that you deserve, instead of pulling your hair out, read this article and follow the steps mentioned below. 

1. Formulate a Working Title

The title of your educational research should reflect what your study will discuss. Omit unnecessary words. Only keep those words that contribute to the meaning and the impact of your title. Make your title engaging to attract the attention of the readers. It is necessary to take a moment to think about a research title that is both powerful and meaningful.

2. Construct Your Abstract

Abstracts should be short and concise. That said, it should be at least a hundred words and three hundred words at most. Describe your research in your proposal but don’t include too many details yet. A good abstract would provide an introduction to the key objectives and the hypothesis of your proposed research.

3. Include Necessary Components

There are necessary components that make an abstract complete. After your title and abstract statement, you should also include the research scope and your methodology. This segment will explain who your respondents are and how you will deal with possible problems you will encounter while conducting your study. Also, you should include the resources that you will use in the process.

4. Devise Your Appendices

Appendices have sections A to E. Appendix A is where you should cite a list of your sources. In the second section, Appendix B is where you should present your project timeline . Your list of skills and achievements relevant to the research belongs in Appendix C. You should detail your budget plan in Appendix D and print your approval letter in the last appendix.

What are interesting psychology research topics?

You can choose from plenty of compelling topics. Discrimination, social cognition, propaganda, gender roles, and bullying are some examples of it. Whatever topic you choose, the quality of your paper depends on how well you carry out your research. Even the most boring topics can be made interesting by a good researcher.

What are the differences between quantitative and qualitative approaches?

These approaches are two very different things. Qualitative research focuses more on analyzing and interpreting ideas, theories, and data. The methods employed in this approach are discourse analysis, content analysis, and thematic analysis. In contrast, quantitative research deals more with statistics and numbers and often involves a research survey , experiment, and testing hypotheses.

What are the qualitative approaches?

You can apply different approaches in conducting qualitative research. The most common ones are narrative research, action research , ethnography, grounded theory, and phenomenological research. Although all of these falls under the qualitative approach, they incorporate different data collection. Researchers implementing these approaches have varying aims. They also have different perspectives in the direction they should take in conducting their thesis.

The study of psychology focuses on people’s minds and cognitive behavior and how they function in different social settings and environments. That said, there are still a lot of mysteries about how people process their thoughts. If your goal is to uncover one of them, take your first step by composing a foolproof psychology research proposal and get it approved.

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Write a PhD Psychology Research Proposal That Will Be Quickly Approved

Come up with compelling research proposal ideas psychology.

Before embarking on a psychology proposal, it is important to understand its main components. Only this way you can properly lay the groundwork for future study. The first and arguably the most crucial step when you write research proposal psychology is selecting a topic that genuinely interests you.

• Follow your passion. Choose psychology research proposal topics that genuinely excite you. Passion for your field of study will keep you motivated throughout the project.
• Evaluate innovation. Ask yourself how your PhD research will contribute to the psychology field, solve current problems, or expand existing knowledge.
• Utilize credible resources. When reviewing existing literature, ensure you use only credible, recent, and relevant sources.

It’s also worth noting that winning PhD projects often involve an interdisciplinary approach. Therefore, you can try to develop sociology research topics or ones in related areas to make your psychology proposal more convincing and applicable.

Deciding on Your PhD Research Psychology Question

After selecting a topic, you should formulate a clear and compelling question to focus the PhD study efforts efficiently.

• Conduct extensive research on your chosen psychology area. This will allow you to find gaps in the existing literature and formulate your question(s) based on them.
• Determine which aspects of your topic have been poorly addressed and explore those areas to decide on study scope and limitations.
• Ensure that the question is clearly stated and conveys the importance of your study. Justify the value of the PhD study question.

Structural Components of a Psychology Research Proposal Example

Now that we understand how to choose a topic and formulate a question, let’s review the main components of a research proposal in psychology.

The abstract, typically 250 to 350 words in length, provides a concise summary of your entire PhD proposal psychology. It’s the brief with research keywords everyone can review to familiarize themselves with your main paper without reading it. Thus, the abstract only repeats the statements from a research proposal. You should prepare it after writing a whole paper.

• Table of contents. Following the abstract, include a table of contents to help readers navigate your proposal.
• Introduction

This states the main PhD psychology research problem you set, describes the context, and formulates the research questions. To make your work easier, consider questions such as:

Who would be interested in your topic? What about existing research in the field? Are there any missing aspects or knowledge gaps? How will your project contribute to the field? How is your study important & applicable? Why?

• Study question(s). Clearly state your questions and explain why they are worth investigating. Those should reveal the essence of the problems examined in the PhD study and their import.
• Hypotheses (if applicable). Hypotheses should be included if the study involves examining the relationship between variables. Hypotheses should be clear statements about the expected outcomes of your PhD research psychology.
• Purpose of the study. Outline the purpose of your psychology PhD research with rationales. Consider reasons such as the lack of previous research on the topic or the potential for considerable results.
• Topic background. Describe the issues related to the proposed PhD study, including ones identified from a literature review. Summarize the main advances and controversies in the psychology field to demonstrate your awareness of the current situation and its trends.
• Literature review

An in-depth literature review is the foundation of any PhD project. This is true whether you’re developing practical solutions as a part of a Ph.D. in clinical psychology project or working on theoretical concepts. You should demonstrate familiarity with the most prominent theories and publications on your topic. Include past studies that provide data related to your research proposal topics in psychology. Describe how these studies are related to your project.

Identify gaps in the current literature. Outline what previous researchers have suggested and how your PhD project will address neglected or under-researched areas. State how your work will contribute to the field knowledge or disprove existing psychology theories.

• Proposed methodology

Explain your approach and methodology comprehensively. Specify whether you are using qualitative or quantitative methods, your sampling method, sample size, data collection instruments, and why you believe this methodology is the most suitable.

• Analysis of the results. Describe which methods you will use to analyze and interpret your data once collected.
• Scope and limitations of the study. Acknowledge any limitations, scope, or delimitations of your study.
• Conclusion. Keep your summary of the research proposal psychology brief, but be sure to emphasize key details and the significance of your PhD work.
• Bibliography. Include a bibliography of your proposal’s reliable sources and references.
• Timeline. If required by your institution, provide a timeline outlining the phases and estimated timelines for completing your project.
• Appendices. If you have additional materials not used when writing research proposal psychology, add them here. You can use tables or diagrams, samples of questionnaires, interview briefs, etc.

We also invite you to explore this psychology research proposal example and seek other topic-relevant samples to visualize expert recommendations and tips on structure.

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Valuable Notes and Tips for Writing Research Proposal Psychology

The proposed PhD research must be realistic and feasible to achieve the expected results within a typical degree program. A PhD in research psychology usually takes three years full-time (or two years for an MPhil).

Strong psychological research proposals can and should create a positive first impression and showcase your potential to be a good researcher. They should also confirm that your ideas are focused, innovative, and have academic value.

Although you should prepare your PhD proposal yourself, you can always ask for help. You can discuss its contents with your intended supervisor and seek their recommendations. Feel free to ask someone else to review and comment on the proposal to ensure it is sufficiently clear. These could be a PhD researcher from your current or previous institution, your peers, or even an expert from a writing service. Such professional PhD assistance is often more valuable. It’s because the experts from whom you buy research proposal always have enough time and resources to help you comprehensively.

Avoid using long sentences and technical jargon to make your proposal clear and understandable to all the readers. Even if the committee is made up entirely of PhDs in psychology, it will be excellent practice for you to create papers that can be distributed to other specialists.

Your psychology research proposal should be well-structured, aesthetically designed, and professional-looking. It is vital to carefully check it for typos and spelling errors, consistent style, and accurate referencing. There should be no font inconsistencies or issues with headings or citations. If you include figures, they should be accompanied by captions underneath.

The Diversity of Psychology Research Proposal Topics

There are some thematic psychology research proposal ideas that you can consider. This list is not exhaustive, but we’ve prepared one to demonstrate the diversity of available study areas. Psychology is a reputable and popular science, comprising many directions, including ones related to other subjects.

1. Clinical Psychology:

• The effectiveness of virtual reality therapy in treating phobias.
• Analysis of the correlation between childhood trauma and the development of personality disorders in adulthood.

2. Social Psychology:

• Gender bias in leadership role and its impact on organizational dynamics.
• The features of prejudice and strategies for decreasing implicit bias.

3. Cognitive Psychology:

• The relationship between memory and aging: How does memory change as we get older?
• Cognitive processes involved in decision-making and risk-taking behavior.

4. Developmental Psychology:

• The impact of parental engagement on adolescents’ academic achievement.
• Gender identity development in transgender and non-binary individuals.

6. Forensic Psychology:

• Profiling serial killers: An analysis of common psychological traits.
• Eyewitness testimony reliability: Factors influencing accuracy and false memories.

There are many ways to find a topic for writing a psychology research paper . Start with something that interests you, and then narrow this area down. If the subject of your interest is already researched enough, you can try to approach it from another angle. For example, you may consider some cognitive psychology aspects within physical psychology models. Another great option is to apply some effective psycho practices in other fields like business, sociology, education, etc.

Let Us Help You With a Psychology Research Proposal

Writing an original proposal is not easy. It must reveal your research proposal ideas psychology and demonstrate your professional readiness to work on the project. The paper involves detailed planning, a solid understanding of the study area, and a systematic approach to developing each component. Moreover, it should engage and lead to approval of your future research. Sounds complicated, doesn’t it? Especially if you choose an in-demand PhD program with many competitors for one spot. In such a case, getting expert help is not cheating but an effective tool to get this opportunity.

We have the leading field experts who are well-versed in academic writing and the intricacies of PhD proposals that win. We’ll assign you a subject-relevant PhD specialist with the best knowledge of your research area. This way, you will get a high-quality and 100% original PhD paper that will impress your committee and be quickly approved.

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Writing your research proposal

When applying to study for a PhD or MPhil in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, you will typically need to send us an initial 500-word research proposal.

The content and structure of your research proposal will be influenced by the nature of the project you wish to pursue. The guidance and suggested headings provided here should help you to structure and present your ideas clearly.

Your initial research proposal

When writing your initial research proposal, you can either address it to the School generally, or to a specific supervisor if you have one in mind. 

Potential supervisors in the School will review your initial research proposal, and get in touch with you to discuss it. Your proposal may change following this conversation. Depending on the supervisor and the outcome of this discussion, you may be asked to produce a longer research proposal of between 2,000 and 4,000 words.

Tips on writing a research proposal

Before you write your research proposal, we strongly recommend that you check our  research page  and  individual supervisor profiles  to view our areas of expertise.

• You should avoid the use of overly long sentences and technical jargon.
• It is important that the proposed research is realistic and feasible so that the outcomes can be achieved within the scale of a typical research degree programme. This is usually three years full-time for a PhD (or two years for an MPhil). 
• A strong research proposal can and should make a positive first impression about your potential to become a good researcher. It should demonstrate that your ideas are focused, interesting and realistic.

Although you should write your proposal yourself, it is best if you discuss its contents with your proposed supervisor before you submit it. If this is not possible, then try to get someone else (such as an academic at your current or previous institution) to read and comment on it to ensure that it is sufficiently clear.

Your proposal needs a clear working title that gives an indication of what you want to study. You are not committed to continuing with the same title once you begin your studies.

Research question

For many projects, you'll usually address one main question, which can sometimes be broken down into several sub-questions. However, it's OK to have two or three research questions where appropriate.

In your research proposal, you'll need to state your main research question(s), explain its significance, and locate it within the relevant literature, in order to set out the context into which your research will fit. You should only refer to research that is directly relevant to your proposal. 

Questions to address in your research proposal

You will need to address questions such as:

• What is the general area in which you will be working, and the specific aspect(s) of that area that will be your focus of inquiry?
• What is the problem, shortcoming, or gap in this area that you would like to address?
• What is the main research question or aim that you want to address?
• What are the specific objectives for the proposed research that follow from this?
• Why is the proposed research significant, why does it matter (either theoretically or practically), and why does it excite you?
• How does your work relate to other relevant research in the department?

Methodology

You will need to explain how you will go about answering your question (or achieving your aim), and why you will use your intended approach to address the question/aim. 

Questions you might need to address include:

• What steps will you take and what methods will you use to address your question? For instance, do you plan to use quantitative or qualitative methods?
• How will your proposed method provide a reliable answer to your question?
• What sources or data will you use?
• If your project involves an experimental approach, what specific hypothesis or hypotheses will you address?
• What specific techniques will you use to test the hypothesis? For example, laboratory procedures, interviews, questionnaires, modelling, simulation, text analysis, use of secondary data sources.
• What practical considerations are there? For example, what equipment, facilities, and other resources will be required?
• What relevant skills and experience do you have with the proposed methods?
• Will you need to collaborate with other researchers and organisations?
• Are there particular ethical issues that will need to be considered (for example, all projects using human participants require ethical approval)?
• Are there any potential problems or difficulties that you foresee (for example, delays in gaining access to special populations or materials) that might affect your rate of progress?

You will need to provide a rough timeline for the completion of your research to show that the project is achievable (given the facilities and resources required) in no more than three years of full-time study (or part-time equivalent) for a PhD, and two years for an MPhil.

Expected outcomes

You need to say something about what the expected outcomes of your project would be.

How, for example, does it make a contribution to knowledge? How does it advance theoretical understanding? How might it contribute to policy or practice?

If you are aiming to study for a PhD, then you need to say how your proposed research will make an original contribution to knowledge. This is not essential if you are aiming to study for an MPhil, although you will still need to show originality in the application of knowledge.

List of references

You will need to provide a list of any key articles or texts that you have referred to in your proposal.

References should be listed in the appropriate style for your subject area (e.g. Harvard). You should only reference texts that you think are central to your proposed work, rather than a bibliography listing everything written on the subject. 

Format and proofreading

Make sure that your proposal is well structured and clearly written. It is important that you carefully check your proposal for typographical and spelling errors, consistency of style, and accuracy of references, before submitting it.

The proposal should be aesthetically well presented, and look professional (e.g. no font inconsistencies, headings clearly identifiable). If you include figures, then they should be accompanied by captions underneath).

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Research proposal

Your research proposal is your opportunity to show your prospective supervisor that you have interesting ideas, and that you have some idea of how to test them.

It should consist of about two sides of A4, including references and it should include:

• clear empirical objective
• some idea of the research methods you would use
• some theoretical background

Firstly you need to lay out the theoretical background to your research question, and then provide a rationale for testing a hypothesis or two. You should briefly outline your methods, your sample, and the various techniques you hope to use. Finally give a brief statement of how the data will be analysed, and outline what various findings might lead to.

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• Sample Proposals

FREE 10+ Psychology Research Proposal Samples in PDF | DOC

A research study needs to undergo a proposal first before it could officially start. This is true to all fields of study and different industries, and the psychology field is no exception to that. Whether you are a psychology student, or an expert in the field, conducting a research proposal can help you prepare for the actual research work. You will face a lot of limitations such as time, money, environment, equipment, and ethics, your research is not feasible, or you’re not just ready to do a more in-depth study of your research. To prepare yourself to write a research proposal, you need to plan your strategy and think of the steps you need to do. To give you an idea how to create research proposal , read the article below.

Psychology Research Proposal

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Psychology research refers to a scientific method of research in the psychology field where psychologists, psychology students, or anyone in the psychology field conducting a systematic study for analysis of various experiences and behaviors of individuals or groups of people. Psychology research can be used in educational, occupational, and clinical applications.

Research proposals are usually required to make and submit before you can commence to the actual research. The proposals are evaluated to improve the research study and to see if the research is practical and ethical, and if the researcher understands the study well and has enough resources to pursue the research study.

The sections below discuss the general format of a research proposal:

The first of the proposal s to create a title that indicates what will your study be about. Remember the title of your study can still be changed while you’re conducting your research, so the title that you will create now is still the initial title.

The next part of your research proposal is stating your main research questions . Explain its significance, and relate it with the relevant literature review. Most format of the typical research questions usually addresses one main question, and be broken down into several sub-questions. However, some researchers have two or three research questions where appropriate.

The next part of your research proposal is to state your research objectives must contain the following: the topic of your research and its general significance and the key ideas that led you to create your research question, and the hypotheses you conjured in your study based on your analysis from your literature review.

This part of the research proposal is where you lay out all the studies, such as published studies, journals, articles, books, magazines, and laboratory results of experiments, that will support and justify the necessity of your research.

The next part of your research proposal is to describe how you will do your research methodology to answer your research questions and why you will use this approach to address the question. Furthermore, you need to discuss who will be your target audience to be the participants of the study, what will be the procedure to be done, and the materials, instruments, equipment, and budget you will need for your research.

You will also need to provide a timeline of when your research will start until when it will be completed.

The last part of your proposal is explaining what will be the expected outcomes of your research. Explain how your research makes a contribution to the field of psychology knowledge,  how it contributes to advance theoretical understanding, and how it contributes to psychology policies or practices.

The five types of psychological research are naturalist observation, survey method, case study , correlational design, and experimental method.

There are various types of research methodology. These are quantitative , qualitative, descriptive, analytical , applied, fundamental, and exploratory.

• Types of disorder: Examples could be about e ating disorders, depression, phobias, or personality disorders.
• Topics related to human cognition: Examples could be dreams, false memories, attention, perception, speech disorders, problem-solving, or judgment.
• Analysis of a famous experiment: In your research paper, you can choose to summarize the experiment, analyze the ethics of the research, or evaluate the implications of the study.

Once you’re done writing the proposal don’t forget to include a bibliography where you will list all the materials that you used as reference of your research study proposal.The reference is usually done in APA style, but you can ask your professor if there are other references style that they want you to follow. Make sure you follow the proper format of the APA citation since evaluators are also critical about that. If you’re planning to start your research proposal now, you can download our free sample templates to guide you!

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Funding for Research

Doing research isn’t limited to certain disciplines—it’s open to everyone at WSU.

Since 2015, WSU’s Grants & Sponsored Projects Department has funded more than 300 projects in 13 departments for:

• analyzing software
• discovering new teaching techniques
• composing new music
• studying psychology
• understanding Ebola

Through Grants & Sponsored Projects, students can make great scientific discoveries, psychological analyses, and explore other diverse opportunities.

by Grants & Sponsored Projects since 2015

Student Grants

WSU provides financial assistance to support student research and creative projects as well as presentations at local, regional, and national conferences.

You may be eligible to apply for up to 3 different University-funded research or creative mentoring grants as an undergraduate at WSU.

Early-Year Research & Creative Mentoring

This grant option is for students who have earned no more than 50 credits at the time of application. 

You’ll work with WSU faculty or staff mentors on research or creative projects in a range of fields and disciplines. 

You’ll also learn skills in various aspects of research like: 

• Planning 
• Basic principles 
• Critical inquiry protocols 
• Tracking data 
• Reporting findings 
• Presenting findings 

Students receive $300 for participating. An additional payment of up to $300 per project may be available to assist mentors with purchasing supplies, although not all projects will receive supply funding. 

• Full-time undergraduate students who have completed less than 50 credit hours at the time of application
• First-generation college and historically marginalized student applicants will be given first consideration
• All majors, colleges, and undeclared students are eligible
• Winona and Rochester students may apply
• Transfer and non-traditional students may also apply
• Students may apply more than once but will only be eligible to complete one project
• Current PSEO students are not eligible

Complete the Student Application Form on Qualtrics at the beginning of the fall semester and check for the appropriate deadline.

In your application, you’ll be asked about:

• your career and professional interests
• the reason you’re applying to the program
• your preferred project ranked from a list of available projects

If selected by a mentor, your work on the project will be completed during the Spring semester. You’re expected to present your project at a cohort discussion during Research & Creative Achievement Day.

Undergraduate Research & Creative Projects Grant

This grant option is for full-time undergraduate students who have earned 60 or more credits. 

You may pursue this kind of project at the same time as your capstone or other culminating project for your academic program. Or you may complete an Undergraduate Research & Creative Project as a research or creative support for subjects outside of your major.

You may receive a maximum of $600 for your research and creative projects during your academic career.

• Full-time undergraduate students who will have completed 60 or more credits at the time of application.
• Faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

Refer to  Policy/Procedure 3-22 and 3-25  for information on eligible payments.

Complete the  Undergraduate Research & Creative Project Form  in WarriorSpace.

Submission deadlines are Sept. 15, Dec. 1, and Feb. 1.

Watch a tutorial  about how to submit an Undergraduate Research and Creative Project application.

In your application, you’ll be asked to provide details about yourself, your project, and your budget along with a letter of endorsement from a faculty sponsor.

You’ll also be asked to submit a proposal document that includes:

• Research problem or creative purpose statement
• Research methodology or creative strategy
• Expected project outcomes
• Project schedule and expected completion date
• Description of your readiness for the proposed project
• Statement of where and how results of the project will be presented
• Bibliography

See all this come together by checking out a  sample Psychology Research Application  (PDF).

Your application will be reviewed by a team of faculty and staff, who will then select only a few applications to receive funds.

Undergraduate Travel & Virtual Presentation Grant

Travel & Virtual Presentation grants are also available for full-time undergraduate students who have earned 60 or more credits and whose research may include a presentation at a conference, seminar, or other venue.

You may receive a maximum of $600 for travel support during your academic career. If two or more students choose to co-present a project, the maximum total award for the team is $1,200.

Proposals must be submitted at least 30 days before the conference starting date.

Complete the  Student Research & Creative Presentations Travel Support Grants form  on WarriorSpace.

Watch a tutorial  about how to submit a Travel Support Grant application.

In your application, you’ll be asked to provide details about yourself, your project and presentation, and travel plans along with a letter of endorsement from faculty sponsor.

You’ll also be asked to confirm your presentation by submitting an acceptance message from the conference’s sponsor and an abstract of your paper or presentation.

See all this come together by checking out these sample applications:

• Sample Travel Application – Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies  (PDF)
• Sample Travel Application – Physics  (PDF)

Faculty & Staff Funding

Grants & Sponsored Projects target searches for funding sources using many comprehensive databases, some of which are private subscription databases.

Contact us if you’d like to learn more about conducting searches or if you’d like us to conduct a search for you. We’re happy to help.

You can also complete a Faculty/Staff Interests Profile (PDF), which is a survey of your interests to help us assist you with a funding search.

Internal Funding Resources

ASF Professional Improvement Funds Awards are available to ASF employees to support professional development such as:

• formal coursework and workshops
• conferences
• travel to other sites to observe a process
• technologies, licensure, and certification programs
• other activities

For more information, please email Justin Loehr at [email protected] .

ASF Sabbatical Awards  support extended leave for ASF employees to undertake additional studies or other endeavors that will enhance the member’s contribution to the University.

IFO PIF (Professional Improvement Funds) Awards are available to IFO employees to support professional development such as:

• completion of terminal degree programs
• scholarship research and creative activities
• scholarly presentations
• professional travel
• professional development workshops
• activities directly related to the 5 criteria in Article 22 of the Minnesota State/IFO collective bargaining agreement and an individual’s Professional Development Plan

For more information, please email Patrick Clipsham at [email protected] .

IFO Sabbatical Awards are available to enhance professional development, support department goals, and meet instructional, service, or research priorities of the University.

Special Project Award  grants support WSU faculty and staff conducting unique one-time projects that lead to innovative research, curriculum and new program development, and scholarly publication.

For more information, please email Phil Sonnenberg at [email protected] .

External Funding Resources

• Foundation Center — national database  
• Grants.gov — search engine for all federal grants  
• Minnesota Council on Foundations  — state database  
• National Science Foundation — federal grants promoting science  
• STEM Grads Science – federal grants  
• STEM Undergrads Science – federal grants  
• Summer Research Programs – regional and national database 
• U.S. Department of Education — higher education eligible

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Writing a research proposal

A guide for writing a research proposal for all MScR, MPhil and PhD degrees in the School of GeoSciences. 

If you are applying with your own project, you need to include a research proposal with your application. The proposal should not exceed four (4) pages in length for PhDs and two (2) pages for MScR.

Your proposal should contain the following headings:

Please upload a PDF document in A4, font size 11, Arial or another sans serif font equivalent in size. 

Further guidance

The University has provided a comprehensive guide on writing a proposal.  

You can view or download it as a PDF:

This article was published on 2024-07-01

Proposal Format for Dec 2024 PhD admission

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