When a research master’s interests you, a well-known department or an appealing supervisor profile can be a starting point. It is not yet evidence that your proposed project fits the programme or that someone can supervise it. A useful next step is to connect your research question, your preparation and the department’s current work, then identify what the application process actually asks you to do.
The worksheet approach below helps you investigate fit. It is not an instruction to contact every academic or a prediction of admission, supervision or funding.
Read the programme’s process first
Find the official page for the degree and intake. Does it ask for a research proposal, a statement of interests, a project choice or another document? Does it encourage contact with potential supervisors, require it or give a different route for questions? Record those instructions before preparing an enquiry.
Oxford’s research-proposal guidance provides a useful institutional example: not all research courses require a proposal, and the course page determines the requirements. Its advice on contacting a potential supervisor is conditional on the course page recommending or permitting contact. Those are Oxford’s instructions; check the actual process at every other institution separately.
Turn a broad interest into a question
Write a few sentences describing what you want to understand. Identify the setting, the problem and what remains unresolved. Then note what led you to that interest: coursework, a project, relevant reading or experience you can explain accurately.
For a purely hypothetical example, “sustainable transport” is a wide interest. A student might narrow it to understanding a particular travel choice in a defined setting. That is still a question to develop, not an approved or proven research project. The purpose of narrowing is to make the discussion concrete enough for you to investigate relevant expertise and feasibility.
Read current work with a purpose
Use official departmental and staff pages to identify the research areas that appear relevant. Read enough of the linked work to explain the connection in your own words. Do not treat a shared keyword as evidence that the methods, subject or level of study match your proposed work.
Keep a short reading note: the source, the question it addresses, the approach you understood and why it connects to your interest. If you cannot explain the connection yet, mark it as a reading task. A long list of names is less useful than a few sources you have considered carefully.
Check the resources and preparation your idea needs
List the methods you might need to learn, the information or materials your idea would depend on and the uncertainties that could affect the scope. These are planning questions, not assumptions that a department will provide access or that a project has approval.
Ask yourself what you can already demonstrate and where further preparation is needed. If your idea depends on access to participants, specialist equipment or a dataset, keep that dependence visible. Discuss the appropriate feasibility and approval processes through the university’s stated route rather than treating an interesting topic as a ready-to-run project.
Prepare a fit note before any permitted enquiry
Create a brief private note linking three things: your proposed question, evidence of your preparation and the department’s relevant work. Finish with the particular issue you need clarified. Check factual details against the original sources and avoid describing a staff member’s interests more broadly than their current page supports.
If the programme permits an enquiry, this preparation helps you make it specific and respectful. Follow the published contact instructions and supply only what is requested. Do not send confidential employer material, personal participant information or a completed document you are not authorised to share.
Keep a reply separate from a decision
A useful discussion can help clarify a direction without settling the application. Read any response for what it actually says and ask for clarification through the prescribed process when necessary. An unanswered enquiry is also unresolved; it does not establish rejection or acceptance.
Keep supervision, admission and funding as separate questions unless the institution’s official process explicitly connects them. Revisit your choice between taught and research study if the work you discover differs from what you expected. Use your statement-of-purpose evidence map to keep your account of preparation accurate.
Finish with the most important missing evidence: a programme instruction, a clearer research question or a feasibility issue. Resolving that gap is a more useful next step than assuming that a prominent name or a positive exchange has secured a place.
Official example checked 4 October 2026. Requirements and staff availability can change; consult the current programme instructions. Any required proposal must follow the institution’s authorship and assistance rules.
