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• How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

Published on October 12, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Tegan George. Revised on November 21, 2023.

A research proposal describes what you will investigate, why it’s important, and how you will conduct your research.

The format of a research proposal varies between fields, but most proposals will contain at least these elements:

Introduction

Literature review.

• Research design

Reference list

While the sections may vary, the overall objective is always the same. A research proposal serves as a blueprint and guide for your research plan, helping you get organized and feel confident in the path forward you choose to take.

Table of contents

Research proposal purpose, research proposal examples, research design and methods, contribution to knowledge, research schedule, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research proposals.

Academics often have to write research proposals to get funding for their projects. As a student, you might have to write a research proposal as part of a grad school application , or prior to starting your thesis or dissertation .

In addition to helping you figure out what your research can look like, a proposal can also serve to demonstrate why your project is worth pursuing to a funder, educational institution, or supervisor.

Research proposal length

The length of a research proposal can vary quite a bit. A bachelor’s or master’s thesis proposal can be just a few pages, while proposals for PhD dissertations or research funding are usually much longer and more detailed. Your supervisor can help you determine the best length for your work.

One trick to get started is to think of your proposal’s structure as a shorter version of your thesis or dissertation , only without the results , conclusion and discussion sections.

Download our research proposal template

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See an example

Writing a research proposal can be quite challenging, but a good starting point could be to look at some examples. We’ve included a few for you below.

• Example research proposal #1: “A Conceptual Framework for Scheduling Constraint Management”
• Example research proposal #2: “Medical Students as Mediators of Change in Tobacco Use”

Like your dissertation or thesis, the proposal will usually have a title page that includes:

• The proposed title of your project
• Your supervisor’s name
• Your institution and department

The first part of your proposal is the initial pitch for your project. Make sure it succinctly explains what you want to do and why.

Your introduction should:

• Introduce your topic
• Give necessary background and context
• Outline your  problem statement  and research questions

To guide your introduction , include information about:

• Who could have an interest in the topic (e.g., scientists, policymakers)
• How much is already known about the topic
• What is missing from this current knowledge
• What new insights your research will contribute
• Why you believe this research is worth doing

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As you get started, it’s important to demonstrate that you’re familiar with the most important research on your topic. A strong literature review  shows your reader that your project has a solid foundation in existing knowledge or theory. It also shows that you’re not simply repeating what other people have already done or said, but rather using existing research as a jumping-off point for your own.

In this section, share exactly how your project will contribute to ongoing conversations in the field by:

• Comparing and contrasting the main theories, methods, and debates
• Examining the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches
• Explaining how will you build on, challenge, or synthesize prior scholarship

Following the literature review, restate your main  objectives . This brings the focus back to your own project. Next, your research design or methodology section will describe your overall approach, and the practical steps you will take to answer your research questions.

To finish your proposal on a strong note, explore the potential implications of your research for your field. Emphasize again what you aim to contribute and why it matters.

For example, your results might have implications for:

• Improving best practices
• Informing policymaking decisions
• Strengthening a theory or model
• Challenging popular or scientific beliefs
• Creating a basis for future research

Last but not least, your research proposal must include correct citations for every source you have used, compiled in a reference list . To create citations quickly and easily, you can use our free APA citation generator .

Some institutions or funders require a detailed timeline of the project, asking you to forecast what you will do at each stage and how long it may take. While not always required, be sure to check the requirements of your project.

Here’s an example schedule to help you get started. You can also download a template at the button below.

Download our research schedule template

If you are applying for research funding, chances are you will have to include a detailed budget. This shows your estimates of how much each part of your project will cost.

Make sure to check what type of costs the funding body will agree to cover. For each item, include:

• Cost : exactly how much money do you need?
• Justification : why is this cost necessary to complete the research?
• Source : how did you calculate the amount?

To determine your budget, think about:

• Travel costs : do you need to go somewhere to collect your data? How will you get there, and how much time will you need? What will you do there (e.g., interviews, archival research)?
• Materials : do you need access to any tools or technologies?
• Help : do you need to hire any research assistants for the project? What will they do, and how much will you pay them?

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

Once you’ve decided on your research objectives , you need to explain them in your paper, at the end of your problem statement .

Keep your research objectives clear and concise, and use appropriate verbs to accurately convey the work that you will carry out for each one.

I will compare …

A research aim is a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear in your introduction at the end of your problem statement , before your research objectives.

Research objectives are more specific than your research aim. They indicate the specific ways you’ll address the overarching aim.

A PhD, which is short for philosophiae doctor (doctor of philosophy in Latin), is the highest university degree that can be obtained. In a PhD, students spend 3–5 years writing a dissertation , which aims to make a significant, original contribution to current knowledge.

A PhD is intended to prepare students for a career as a researcher, whether that be in academia, the public sector, or the private sector.

A master’s is a 1- or 2-year graduate degree that can prepare you for a variety of careers.

All master’s involve graduate-level coursework. Some are research-intensive and intend to prepare students for further study in a PhD; these usually require their students to write a master’s thesis . Others focus on professional training for a specific career.

Critical thinking refers to the ability to evaluate information and to be aware of biases or assumptions, including your own.

Like information literacy , it involves evaluating arguments, identifying and solving problems in an objective and systematic way, and clearly communicating your ideas.

The best way to remember the difference between a research plan and a research proposal is that they have fundamentally different audiences. A research plan helps you, the researcher, organize your thoughts. On the other hand, a dissertation proposal or research proposal aims to convince others (e.g., a supervisor, a funding body, or a dissertation committee) that your research topic is relevant and worthy of being conducted.

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How to write a research plan: Step-by-step guide

Last updated

30 January 2024

Reviewed by

Today’s businesses and institutions rely on data and analytics to inform their product and service decisions. These metrics influence how organizations stay competitive and inspire innovation. However, gathering data and insights requires carefully constructed research, and every research project needs a roadmap. This is where a research plan comes into play.

There’s general research planning; then there’s an official, well-executed research plan. Whatever data-driven research project you’re gearing up for, the research plan will be your framework for execution. The plan should also be detailed and thorough, with a diligent set of criteria to formulate your research efforts. Not including these key elements in your plan can be just as harmful as having no plan at all.

Read this step-by-step guide for writing a detailed research plan that can apply to any project, whether it’s scientific, educational, or business-related.

• What is a research plan?

A research plan is a documented overview of a project in its entirety, from end to end. It details the research efforts, participants, and methods needed, along with any anticipated results. It also outlines the project’s goals and mission, creating layers of steps to achieve those goals within a specified timeline.

Without a research plan, you and your team are flying blind, potentially wasting time and resources to pursue research without structured guidance.

The principal investigator, or PI, is responsible for facilitating the research oversight. They will create the research plan and inform team members and stakeholders of every detail relating to the project. The PI will also use the research plan to inform decision-making throughout the project.

• Why do you need a research plan?

Create a research plan before starting any official research to maximize every effort in pursuing and collecting the research data. Crucially, the plan will model the activities needed at each phase of the research project.

Like any roadmap, a research plan serves as a valuable tool providing direction for those involved in the project—both internally and externally. It will keep you and your immediate team organized and task-focused while also providing necessary definitions and timelines so you can execute your project initiatives with full understanding and transparency.

External stakeholders appreciate a working research plan because it’s a great communication tool, documenting progress and changing dynamics as they arise. Any participants of your planned research sessions will be informed about the purpose of your study, while the exercises will be based on the key messaging outlined in the official plan.

Here are some of the benefits of creating a research plan document for every project:

Project organization and structure

Well-informed participants

All stakeholders and teams align in support of the project

Clearly defined project definitions and purposes

Distractions are eliminated, prioritizing task focus

Timely management of individual task schedules and roles

Costly reworks are avoided

• What should a research plan include?

The different aspects of your research plan will depend on the nature of the project. However, most official research plan documents will include the core elements below. Each aims to define the problem statement, devising an official plan for seeking a solution.

Specific project goals and individual objectives

Ideal strategies or methods for reaching those goals

Required resources

Descriptions of the target audience, sample sizes, demographics, and scopes

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Project background

Research and testing support

Preliminary studies and progress reporting mechanisms

Cost estimates and change order processes

Depending on the research project’s size and scope, your research plan could be brief—perhaps only a few pages of documented plans. Alternatively, it could be a fully comprehensive report. Either way, it’s an essential first step in dictating your project’s facilitation in the most efficient and effective way.

• How to write a research plan for your project

When you start writing your research plan, aim to be detailed about each step, requirement, and idea. The more time you spend curating your research plan, the more precise your research execution efforts will be.

Account for every potential scenario, and be sure to address each and every aspect of the research.

Consider following this flow to develop a great research plan for your project:

Define your project’s purpose

Start by defining your project’s purpose. Identify what your project aims to accomplish and what you are researching. Remember to use clear language.

Thinking about the project’s purpose will help you set realistic goals and inform how you divide tasks and assign responsibilities. These individual tasks will be your stepping stones to reach your overarching goal.

Additionally, you’ll want to identify the specific problem, the usability metrics needed, and the intended solutions.

Know the following three things about your project’s purpose before you outline anything else:

What you’re doing

Why you’re doing it

What you expect from it

Identify individual objectives

With your overarching project objectives in place, you can identify any individual goals or steps needed to reach those objectives. Break them down into phases or steps. You can work backward from the project goal and identify every process required to facilitate it.

Be mindful to identify each unique task so that you can assign responsibilities to various team members. At this point in your research plan development, you’ll also want to assign priority to those smaller, more manageable steps and phases that require more immediate or dedicated attention.

Select research methods

Research methods might include any of the following:

User interviews: this is a qualitative research method where researchers engage with participants in one-on-one or group conversations. The aim is to gather insights into their experiences, preferences, and opinions to uncover patterns, trends, and data.

Field studies: this approach allows for a contextual understanding of behaviors, interactions, and processes in real-world settings. It involves the researcher immersing themselves in the field, conducting observations, interviews, or experiments to gather in-depth insights.

Card sorting: participants categorize information by sorting content cards into groups based on their perceived similarities. You might use this process to gain insights into participants’ mental models and preferences when navigating or organizing information on websites, apps, or other systems.

Focus groups: use organized discussions among select groups of participants to provide relevant views and experiences about a particular topic.

Diary studies: ask participants to record their experiences, thoughts, and activities in a diary over a specified period. This method provides a deeper understanding of user experiences, uncovers patterns, and identifies areas for improvement.

Five-second testing: participants are shown a design, such as a web page or interface, for just five seconds. They then answer questions about their initial impressions and recall, allowing you to evaluate the design’s effectiveness.

Surveys: get feedback from participant groups with structured surveys. You can use online forms, telephone interviews, or paper questionnaires to reveal trends, patterns, and correlations.

Tree testing: tree testing involves researching web assets through the lens of findability and navigability. Participants are given a textual representation of the site’s hierarchy (the “tree”) and asked to locate specific information or complete tasks by selecting paths.

Usability testing: ask participants to interact with a product, website, or application to evaluate its ease of use. This method enables you to uncover areas for improvement in digital key feature functionality by observing participants using the product.

Live website testing: research and collect analytics that outlines the design, usability, and performance efficiencies of a website in real time.

There are no limits to the number of research methods you could use within your project. Just make sure your research methods help you determine the following:

What do you plan to do with the research findings?

What decisions will this research inform? How can your stakeholders leverage the research data and results?

Recruit participants and allocate tasks

Next, identify the participants needed to complete the research and the resources required to complete the tasks. Different people will be proficient at different tasks, and having a task allocation plan will allow everything to run smoothly.

Prepare a thorough project summary

Every well-designed research plan will feature a project summary. This official summary will guide your research alongside its communications or messaging. You’ll use the summary while recruiting participants and during stakeholder meetings. It can also be useful when conducting field studies.

Ensure this summary includes all the elements of your research project. Separate the steps into an easily explainable piece of text that includes the following:

An introduction: the message you’ll deliver to participants about the interview, pre-planned questioning, and testing tasks.

Interview questions: prepare questions you intend to ask participants as part of your research study, guiding the sessions from start to finish.

An exit message: draft messaging your teams will use to conclude testing or survey sessions. These should include the next steps and express gratitude for the participant’s time.

Create a realistic timeline

While your project might already have a deadline or a results timeline in place, you’ll need to consider the time needed to execute it effectively.

Realistically outline the time needed to properly execute each supporting phase of research and implementation. And, as you evaluate the necessary schedules, be sure to include additional time for achieving each milestone in case any changes or unexpected delays arise.

For this part of your research plan, you might find it helpful to create visuals to ensure your research team and stakeholders fully understand the information.

Determine how to present your results

A research plan must also describe how you intend to present your results. Depending on the nature of your project and its goals, you might dedicate one team member (the PI) or assume responsibility for communicating the findings yourself.

In this part of the research plan, you’ll articulate how you’ll share the results. Detail any materials you’ll use, such as:

Presentations and slides

A project report booklet

A project findings pamphlet

Documents with key takeaways and statistics

Graphic visuals to support your findings

• Format your research plan

As you create your research plan, you can enjoy a little creative freedom. A plan can assume many forms, so format it how you see fit. Determine the best layout based on your specific project, intended communications, and the preferences of your teams and stakeholders.

Find format inspiration among the following layouts:

Written outlines

Narrative storytelling

Visual mapping

Graphic timelines

Remember, the research plan format you choose will be subject to change and adaptation as your research and findings unfold. However, your final format should ideally outline questions, problems, opportunities, and expectations.

• Research plan example

Imagine you’ve been tasked with finding out how to get more customers to order takeout from an online food delivery platform. The goal is to improve satisfaction and retain existing customers. You set out to discover why more people aren’t ordering and what it is they do want to order or experience. 

You identify the need for a research project that helps you understand what drives customer loyalty. But before you jump in and start calling past customers, you need to develop a research plan—the roadmap that provides focus, clarity, and realistic details to the project.

Here’s an example outline of a research plan you might put together:

Project title

Project members involved in the research plan

Purpose of the project (provide a summary of the research plan’s intent)

Objective 1 (provide a short description for each objective)

Objective 2

Objective 3

Proposed timeline

Audience (detail the group you want to research, such as customers or non-customers)

Budget (how much you think it might cost to do the research)

Risk factors/contingencies (any potential risk factors that may impact the project’s success)

Remember, your research plan doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel—it just needs to fit your project’s unique needs and aims.

Customizing a research plan template

Some companies offer research plan templates to help get you started. However, it may make more sense to develop your own customized plan template. Be sure to include the core elements of a great research plan with your template layout, including the following:

Introductions to participants and stakeholders

Background problems and needs statement

Significance, ethics, and purpose

Research methods, questions, and designs

Preliminary beliefs and expectations

Implications and intended outcomes

Realistic timelines for each phase

Conclusion and presentations

How many pages should a research plan be?

Generally, a research plan can vary in length between 500 to 1,500 words. This is roughly three pages of content. More substantial projects will be 2,000 to 3,500 words, taking up four to seven pages of planning documents.

What is the difference between a research plan and a research proposal?

A research plan is a roadmap to success for research teams. A research proposal, on the other hand, is a dissertation aimed at convincing or earning the support of others. Both are relevant in creating a guide to follow to complete a project goal.

What are the seven steps to developing a research plan?

While each research project is different, it’s best to follow these seven general steps to create your research plan:

Defining the problem

Identifying goals

Choosing research methods

Recruiting participants

Preparing the brief or summary

Establishing task timelines

Defining how you will present the findings

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How to write a research proposal for a Master's dissertation

Unsure how to start your research proposal as part of your dissertation read below our top tips from banking and finance student, nelly, on how to structure your proposal and make sure it's a strong, formative foundation to build your dissertation..

It's understandable if the proposal part of your dissertation feels like a waste of time. Why not just get started on the dissertation itself? Isn't 'proposal' a just fancy word for a plan?

It's important to see your Master's research proposal not only as a requirement but as a way of formalising your ideas and mapping out the direction and purpose of your dissertation. A strong, carefully prepared proposal is instrumental in writing a good dissertation.

How to structure a research proposal for a Master's dissertation

First things first: what do you need to include in a research proposal? The recommended structure of your proposal is:

• Motivation: introduce your research question and give an overview of the topic, explain the importance of your research
• Theory:  draw on existing pieces of research that are relevant to your topic of choice, leading up to your question and identifying how your dissertation will explore new territory
• Data and methodology: how do you plan to answer the research question? Explain your data sources and methodology
• Expected results: finally, what will the outcome be? What do you think your data and methodology will find?

Top Tips for Writing a Dissertation Research Proposal

Choose a dissertation topic well in advance of starting to write it

Allow existing research to guide you

Make your research questions as specific as possible

When you choose a topic, it will naturally be very broad and general. For example, Market Efficiency . Under this umbrella term, there are so many questions you could explore and challenge. But, it's so important that you hone in on one very specific question, such as ' How do presidential elections affect market efficiency?'  When it comes to your Master's, the more specific and clear-cut the better.

Collate your bibliography as you go

Everyone knows it's best practice to update your bibliography as you go, but that doesn't just apply to the main bibliography document you submit with your dissertation. Get in the habit of writing down the title, author and date of the relevant article next to every note you make - you'll be grateful you did it later down the line!

Colour code your notes based on which part of the proposal they apply to

Use highlighters and sticky notes to keep track of why you thought a certain research piece was useful, and what you intended to use it for. For example, if you've underlined lots of sections of a research article when it comes to pulling your research proposal together it will take you longer to remember what piece of research applies to where.

Instead, you may want to highlight anything that could inform your methodology in blue, any quotations that will form your theory in yellow etc. This will save you time and stress later down the line.

Write your Motivation after your Theory

Your Motivation section will be that much more coherent and specific if you write it after you've done all your research. All the reading you have done for your Theory will better cement the importance of your research, as well as provide plenty of context for you to write in detail your motivation. Think about the difference between ' I'm doing this because I'm interested in it ' vs. ' I'm doing this because I'm passionate, and I've noticed a clear gap in this area of study which is detailed below in example A, B and C .'

Make sure your Data and Methodology section is to the point and succinct

Link your Expectations to existing research

Your expectations should be based on research and data, not conjecture and assumptions. It doesn't matter if the end results match up to what you expected, as long as both of these sections are informed by research and data. 

Published By Nelly on 01/09/2020 | Last Updated 23/01/2024

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How to write a good research proposal (in 9 steps)

A good research proposal is one of the keys to academic success. For bachelor’s and master’s students, the quality of a research proposal often determines whether the master’s program= can be completed or not. For PhD students, a research proposal is often the first step to securing a university position. This step-by-step manual guides you through the main stages of proposal writing.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase using the links below at no additional cost to you . I only recommend products or services that I truly believe can benefit my audience. As always, my opinions are my own.

1. Find a topic for your research proposal

2. develop your research idea, 3. conduct a literature review for your research proposal, 4. define a research gap and research question, 5. establish a theoretical framework for your research proposal, 6. specify an empirical focus for your research proposal, 7. emphasise the scientific and societal relevance of your research proposal, 8. develop a methodology in your research proposal, 9. illustrate your research timeline in your research proposal.

Finding a topic for your research is a crucial first step. This decision should not be treated lightly.

Writing a master’s thesis takes a minimum of several weeks. In the case of PhD dissertations, it takes years. That is a long time! You don’t want to be stuck with a topic that you don’t care about.

How to find a research topic? Start broadly: Which courses did you enjoy? What issues discussed during seminars or lectures did you like? What inspired you during your education? And which readings did you appreciate?

Take a blank piece of paper. Write down everything that comes to your mind. It will help you to reflect on your interests.

Then, think more strategically. Maybe you have a rough idea of where you would like to work after graduation. Maybe a specific sector. Or even a particular company. If so, you could strategically alight your thesis topic with an issue that matters to your dream employer. Or even ask for a thesis internship.

Once you pinpoint your general topic of interest, you need to develop your idea.

Your idea should be simultaneously original, make a scientific contribution, prepare you for the (academic) job market, and be academically sound.

Freaking out yet?! Take a deep breath.

First, keep in mind that your idea should be very focused. Master and PhD students are often too ambitious. Your time is limited. So you need to be pragmatic. It is better to make a valuable contribution to a very specific question than to aim high and fail to meet your objectives.

Second, writing a research proposal is not a linear process. Start slowly by reading literature about your topic of interest. You have an interest. You read. You rethink your idea. You look for a theoretical framework. You go back to your idea and refine it. It is a process.

Remember that a good research proposal is not written in a day.

And third, don’t forget: a good proposal aims to establish a convincing framework that will guide your future research. Not to provide all the answers already. You need to show that you have a feasible idea.

If you are looking to elevate your writing and editing skills, I highly recommend enrolling in the course “ Good with Words: Writing and Editing Specialization “, which is a 4 course series offered by the University of Michigan. This comprehensive program is conveniently available as an online course on Coursera, allowing you to learn at your own pace. Plus, upon successful completion, you’ll have the opportunity to earn a valuable certificate to showcase your newfound expertise!

Academic publications (journal articles and books) are the foundation of any research. Thus, academic literature is a good place to start. Especially when you still feel kind of lost regarding a focused research topic.

Type keywords reflecting your interests, or your preliminary research idea, into an academic search engine. It can be your university’s library, Google Scholar , Web of Science , or Scopus . etcetera.

Look at what has been published in the last 5 years, not before. You don’t want to be outdated.

Download interesting-sounding articles and read them. Repeat but be cautious: You will never be able to read EVERYTHING. So set yourself a limit, in hours, days or number of articles (20 articles, for instance).

Now, write down your findings. What is known about your topic of interest? What do scholars focus on? Start early by writing down your findings and impressions.

Once you read academic publications on your topic of interest, ask yourself questions such as:

• Is there one specific aspect of your topic of interest that is neglected in the existing literature?
• What do scholars write about the existing gaps on the topic? What are their suggestions for future research?
• Is there anything that YOU believe warrants more attention?
• Do scholars maybe analyze a phenomenon only in a specific type of setting?

Asking yourself these questions helps you to formulate your research question. In your research question, be as specific as possible.

And keep in mind that you need to research something that already exists. You cannot research how something develops 20 years into the future.

A theoretical framework is different from a literature review. You need to establish a framework of theories as a lens to look at your research topic, and answer your research question.

A theory is a general principle to explain certain phenomena. No need to reinvent the wheel here.

It is not only accepted but often encouraged to make use of existing theories. Or maybe you can combine two different theories to establish your framework.

It also helps to go back to the literature. Which theories did the authors of your favourite publications use?

There are only very few master’s and PhD theses that are entirely theoretical. Most theses, similar to most academic journal publications, have an empirical section.

You need to think about your empirical focus. Where can you find answers to your research question in real life? This could be, for instance, an experiment, a case study, or repeated observations of certain interactions.

Maybe your empirical investigation will have geographic boundaries (like focusing on one city, or one country). Or maybe it focuses on one group of people (such as the elderly, CEOs, doctors, you name it).

It is also possible to start the whole research proposal idea with empirical observation. Maybe you’ve come across something in your environment that you would like to investigate further.

Pinpoint what fascinates you about your observation. Write down keywords reflecting your interest. And then conduct a literature review to understand how others have approached this topic academically.

Both master’s and PhD students are expected to make a scientific contribution. A concrete gap or shortcoming in the existing literature on your topic is the easiest way to justify the scientific relevance of your proposed research.

Societal relevance is increasingly important in academia, too.

Do the grandparent test: Explain what you want to do to your grandparents (or any other person for that matter). Explain why it matters. Do your grandparents understand what you say? If so, well done. If not, try again.

Always remember. There is no need for fancy jargon. The best proposals are the ones that use clear, straightforward language.

The methodology is a system of methods that you will use to implement your research. A methodology explains how you plan to answer your research question.

A methodology involves for example methods of data collection. For example, interviews and questionnaires to gather ‘raw’ data.

Methods of data analysis are used to make sense of this data. This can be done, for instance, by coding, discourse analysis, mapping or statistical analysis.

Don’t underestimate the value of a good timeline. Inevitably throughout your thesis process, you will feel lost at some point. A good timeline will bring you back on track.

Make sure to include a timeline in your research proposal. If possible, not only describe your timeline but add a visual illustration, for instance in the form of a Gantt chart.

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Writing the Research Plan for Your Academic Job Application

By Jason G. Gillmore, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Hope College, Holland, MI

A research plan is more than a to-do list for this week in lab, or a manila folder full of ideas for maybe someday—at least if you are thinking of a tenure-track academic career in chemistry at virtually any bachelor’s or higher degree–granting institution in the country. A perusal of the academic job ads in C&EN every August–October will quickly reveal that most schools expect a cover letter (whether they say so or not), a CV, a teaching statement, and a research plan, along with reference letters and transcripts. So what is this document supposed to be, and why worry about it now when those job ads are still months away?

What Is a Research Plan?

A research plan is a thoughtful, compelling, well-written document that outlines your exciting, unique research ideas that you and your students will pursue over the next half decade or so to advance knowledge in your discipline and earn you grants, papers, speaking invitations, tenure, promotion, and a national reputation. It must be a document that people at the department you hope to join will (a) read, and (b) be suitably excited about to invite you for an interview.

That much I knew when I was asked to write this article. More specifics I only really knew for my own institution, Hope College (a research intensive undergraduate liberal arts college with no graduate program), and even there you might get a dozen nuanced opinions among my dozen colleagues. So I polled a broad cross-section of my network, spanning chemical subdisciplines at institutions ranging from small, teaching-centered liberal arts colleges to our nation’s elite research programs, such as Scripps and MIT. The responses certainly varied, but they did center on a few main themes, or illustrate a trend across institution types. In this article I’ll share those commonalities, while also encouraging you to be unafraid to contact a search committee chair with a few specific questions, especially for the institutions you are particularly excited about and feel might be the best fit for you.

How Many Projects Should You Have?

While more senior advisors and members of search committees may have gotten their jobs with a single research project, conventional wisdom these days is that you need two to three distinct but related projects. How closely related to one another they should be is a matter of debate, but almost everyone I asked felt that there should be some unifying technique, problem or theme to them. However, the projects should be sufficiently disparate that a failure of one key idea, strategy, or technique will not hamstring your other projects.

For this reason, many applicants wisely choose to identify:

• One project that is a safe bet—doable, fundable, publishable, good but not earthshaking science.
• A second project that is pie-in-the-sky with high risks and rewards.
• A third project that fits somewhere in the middle.

Having more than three projects is probably unrealistic. But even the safest project must be worth doing, and even the riskiest must appear to have a reasonable chance of working.

How Closely Connected Should Your Research Be with Your Past?

Your proposed research must do more than extend what you have already done. In most subdisciplines, you must be sufficiently removed from your postdoctoral or graduate work that you will not be lambasted for clinging to an advisor’s apron strings. After all, if it is such a good idea in their immediate area of interest, why aren’t they pursuing it?!?

But you also must be able to make the case for why your training makes this a good problem for you to study—how you bring a unique skill set as well as unique ideas to this research. The five years you will have to do, fund, and publish the research before crafting your tenure package will go by too fast for you to break into something entirely outside your realm of expertise.

Biochemistry is a partial exception to this advice—in this subdiscipline it is quite common to bring a project with you from a postdoc (or more rarely your Ph.D.) to start your independent career. However, you should still articulate your original contribution to, and unique angle on the work. It is also wise to be sure your advisor tells that same story in his or her letter and articulates support of your pursuing this research in your career as a genuinely independent scientist (and not merely someone who could be perceived as his or her latest "flunky" of a collaborator.)

Should You Discuss Potential Collaborators?

Regarding collaboration, tread lightly as a young scientist seeking or starting an independent career. Being someone with whom others can collaborate in the future is great. Relying on collaborators for the success of your projects is unwise. Be cautious about proposing to continue collaborations you already have (especially with past advisors) and about starting new ones where you might not be perceived as the lead PI. Also beware of presuming you can help advance the research of someone already in a department. Are they still there? Are they still doing that research? Do they actually want that help—or will they feel like you are criticizing or condescending to them, trying to scoop them, or seeking to ride their coattails? Some places will view collaboration very favorably, but the safest route is to cautiously float such ideas during interviews while presenting research plans that are exciting and achievable on your own.

How Do You Show Your Fit?

Some faculty advise tailoring every application packet document to every institution to which you apply, while others suggest tweaking only the cover letter. Certainly the cover letter is the document most suited to introducing yourself and making the case for how you are the perfect fit for the advertised position at that institution. So save your greatest degree of tailoring for your cover letter. It is nice if you can tweak a few sentences of other documents to highlight your fit to a specific school, so long as it is not contrived.

Now, if you are applying to widely different types of institutions, a few different sets of documents will certainly be necessary. The research plan that you target in the middle to get you a job at both Harvard University and Hope College will not get you an interview at either! There are different realities of resources, scope, scale, and timeline. Not that my colleagues and I at Hope cannot tackle research that is just as exciting as Harvard’s. However, we need to have enough of a niche or a unique angle both to endure the longer timeframe necessitated by smaller groups of undergraduate researchers and to ensure that we still stand out. Furthermore, we generally need to be able to do it with more limited resources. If you do not demonstrate that understanding, you will be dismissed out of hand. But at many large Ph.D. programs, any consideration of "niche" can be inferred as a lack of confidence or ambition.

Also, be aware that department Web pages (especially those several pages deep in the site, or maintained by individual faculty) can be woefully out-of-date. If something you are planning to say is contingent on something you read on their Web site, find a way to confirm it!

While the research plan is not the place to articulate start-up needs, you should consider instrumentation and other resources that will be necessary to get started, and where you will go for funding or resources down the road. This will come up in interviews, and hopefully you will eventually need these details to negotiate a start-up package.

Who Is Your Audience?

Your research plan should show the big picture clearly and excite a broad audience of chemists across your sub-discipline. At many educational institutions, everyone in the department will read the proposal critically, at least if you make the short list to interview. Even at departments that leave it all to a committee of the subdiscipline, subdisciplines can be broad and might even still have an outside member on the committee. And the committee needs to justify their actions to the department at large, as well as to deans, provosts, and others. So having at least the introduction and executive summaries of your projects comprehensible and compelling to those outside your discipline is highly advantageous.

Good science, written well, makes a good research plan. As you craft and refine your research plan, keep the following strategies, as well as your audience in mind:

• Begin the document with an abstract or executive summary that engages a broad audience and shows synergies among your projects. This should be one page or less, and you should probably write it last. This page is something you could manageably consider tailoring to each institution.
• Provide sufficient details and references to convince the experts you know your stuff and actually have a plan for what your group will be doing in the lab. Give details of first and key experiments, and backup plans or fallback positions for their riskiest aspects.
• Hook your readers with your own ideas fairly early in the document, then strike a balance between your own new ideas and the necessary well referenced background, precedents, and justification throughout. Propose a reasonable tentative timeline, if you can do so in no more than a paragraph or two, which shows how you envision spacing out the experiments within and among your projects. This may fit well into your executive summary
• Show how you will involve students (whether undergraduates, graduate students, an eventual postdoc or two, possibly even high schoolers if the school has that sort of outreach, depending on the institutions to which you are applying) and divide the projects among students.
• Highlight how your work will contribute to the education of these students. While this is especially important at schools with greater teaching missions, it can help set you apart even at research intensive institutions. After all, we all have to demonstrate “broader impacts” to our funding agencies!
• Include where you will pursue funding, as well as publication, if you can smoothly work it in. This is especially true if there is doubt about how you plan to target or "market" your research. Otherwise, it is appropriate to hold off until the interview to discuss this strategy.

So, How Long Should Your Research Plan Be?

Learn more on the Blog

Here is where the answers diverged the most and without a unifying trend across institutions. Bottom line, you need space to make your case, but even more, you need people to read what you write.

A single page abstract or executive summary of all your projects together provides you an opportunity to make the case for unifying themes yet distinct projects. It may also provide space to articulate a timeline. Indeed, many readers will only read this single page in each application, at least until winnowing down to a more manageable list of potential candidates. At the most elite institutions, there may be literally hundreds of applicants, scores of them entirely well-suited to the job.

While three to five pages per proposal was a common response (single spaced, in 11-point Arial or 12-point Times with one inch margins), including references (which should be accurate, appropriate, and current!), some of my busiest colleagues have said they will not read more than about three pages total. Only a few actually indicated they would read up to 12-15 pages for three projects. In my opinion, ten pages total for your research plans should be a fairly firm upper limit unless you are specifically told otherwise by a search committee, and then only if you have two to three distinct proposals.

Why Start Now?

Hopefully, this question has answered itself already! Your research plan needs to be a well thought out document that is an integrated part of applications tailored to each institution to which you apply. It must represent mature ideas that you have had time to refine through multiple revisions and a great deal of critical review from everyone you can get to read them. Moreover, you may need a few different sets of these, especially if you will be applying to a broad range of institutions. So add “write research plans” to this week’s to do list (and every week’s for the next few months) and start writing up the ideas in that manila folder into some genuine research plans. See which ones survive the process and rise to the top and you should be well prepared when the job ads begin to appear in C&EN in August!

Jason G. Gillmore , Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Hope College in Holland, MI. A native of New Jersey, he earned his B.S. (’96) and M.S. (’98) degrees in chemistry from Virginia Tech, and his Ph.D. (’03) in organic chemistry from the University of Rochester. After a short postdoctoral traineeship at Vanderbilt University, he joined the faculty at Hope in 2004. He has received the Dreyfus Start-up Award, Research Corporation Cottrell College Science Award, and NSF CAREER Award, and is currently on sabbatical as a Visiting Research Professor at Arizona State University. Professor Gillmore is the organizer of the Biennial Midwest Postdoc to PUI Professor (P3) Workshop co-sponsored by ACS, and a frequent panelist at the annual ACS Postdoc to Faculty (P2F) Workshops.

Other tips to help engage (or at least not turn off) your readers include:

• Avoid two-column formats.
• Avoid too-small fonts that hinder readability, especially as many will view the documents online rather than in print!
• Use good figures that are readable and broadly understandable!
• Use color as necessary but not gratuitously.

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What’s Included: Research Proposal Template

Our free dissertation/thesis proposal template covers the core essential ingredients for a strong research proposal. It includes clear explanations of what you need to address in each section, as well as straightforward examples and links to further resources.

The research proposal template covers the following core elements:

• Introduction & background (including the research problem)
• Literature review
• Research design / methodology
• Project plan , resource requirements and risk management

The cleanly-formatted Google Doc can be downloaded as a fully editable MS Word Document (DOCX format), so you can use it as-is or convert it to LaTeX.

PS – if you’d like a high-level template for the entire thesis, you can we’ve got that too .

Research Proposal Template FAQS

What types of research proposals can this template be used for.

The proposal template follows the standard format for academic research projects, which means it will be suitable for the vast majority of dissertations and theses (especially those within the sciences), whether they are qualitative or quantitative in terms of design.

Keep in mind that the exact requirements for the introduction chapter/section will vary between universities and degree programs. These are typically minor, but it’s always a good idea to double-check your university’s requirements before you finalise your structure.

Is this template for an undergrad, Master or PhD-level proposal?

This template can be used for a research project at any level of study. Doctoral-level projects typically require the research proposal to be more extensive/comprehensive, but the structure will typically remain the same.

How long should my research proposal be?

The length of a research proposal varies by institution and subject, but as a ballpark, it’s usually between 1,500 and 3,000 words.

To be safe, it’s best to check with your university if they have any preferences or requirements in terms of minimum and maximum word count for the research propsal.

How detailed should the methodology of the proposal be?

You don’t need to go into the fine details of your methodology, but this section should be detailed enough to demonstrate that your research approach is feasible and will address your research questions effectively. Be sure to include your intended methods for data collection and analysis.

Can I include preliminary data or pilot study results in my proposal?

Generally, yes. This can strengthen your proposal by demonstrating the feasibility of your research. However, make sure that your pilot study is approved by your university before collecting any data.

Can I share this template with my friends/colleagues?

Yes, you’re welcome to share this template in its original format (no editing allowed). If you want to post about it on your blog or social media, we kindly request that you reference this page as your source.

What format is the template (DOC, PDF, PPT, etc.)?

The research proposal template is provided as a Google Doc. You can download it in MS Word format or make a copy to your Google Drive. You’re also welcome to convert it to whatever format works best for you, such as LaTeX or PDF.

Do you have templates for the other chapters?

Yes, we do. We are constantly developing our collection of free resources to help students complete their dissertations and theses. You can view all of our template resources here .

Can Grad Coach help me with my dissertation/thesis?

Yes, you’re welcome to get in touch with us to discuss our private coaching services .

Further Resources: Proposal Writing

The template provides step-by-step guidance for each section of your research proposal, but if you’d like to learn more about how to write up a high-quality research proposal, check out the rest of our free proposal-related resources:

• Research Proposal 101
• Examples of research proposals
• How To Find A Research Topic
• How To Find A Research Gap
• Developing Your Golden Thread
• How To Write A Research Proposal
• 8 Common Proposal Writing Mistakes

You can also visit the Grad Coach blog for more proposal-related resources.

If you’d prefer 1-on-1 support with your research proposal, have a look at our private coaching service , where we hold your hand through the research process, step by step.

/images/cornell/logo35pt_cornell_white.svg" alt="master degree research plan"> Cornell University --> Graduate School

Guide to writing your thesis/dissertation, definition of dissertation and thesis.

The dissertation or thesis is a scholarly treatise that substantiates a specific point of view as a result of original research that is conducted by students during their graduate study. At Cornell, the thesis is a requirement for the receipt of the M.A. and M.S. degrees and some professional master’s degrees. The dissertation is a requirement of the Ph.D. degree.

Formatting Requirement and Standards

The Graduate School sets the minimum format for your thesis or dissertation, while you, your special committee, and your advisor/chair decide upon the content and length. Grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other mechanical issues are your sole responsibility. Generally, the thesis and dissertation should conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field. The Graduate School does not monitor the thesis or dissertation for mechanics, content, or style.

“Papers Option” Dissertation or Thesis

A “papers option” is available only to students in certain fields, which are listed on the Fields Permitting the Use of Papers Option page , or by approved petition. If you choose the papers option, your dissertation or thesis is organized as a series of relatively independent chapters or papers that you have submitted or will be submitting to journals in the field. You must be the only author or the first author of the papers to be used in the dissertation. The papers-option dissertation or thesis must meet all format and submission requirements, and a singular referencing convention must be used throughout.

ProQuest Electronic Submissions

The dissertation and thesis become permanent records of your original research, and in the case of doctoral research, the Graduate School requires publication of the dissertation and abstract in its original form. All Cornell master’s theses and doctoral dissertations require an electronic submission through ProQuest, which fills orders for paper or digital copies of the thesis and dissertation and makes a digital version available online via their subscription database, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses . For master’s theses, only the abstract is available. ProQuest provides worldwide distribution of your work from the master copy. You retain control over your dissertation and are free to grant publishing rights as you see fit. The formatting requirements contained in this guide meet all ProQuest specifications.

Copies of Dissertation and Thesis

Copies of Ph.D. dissertations and master’s theses are also uploaded in PDF format to the Cornell Library Repository, eCommons . A print copy of each master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation is submitted to Cornell University Library by ProQuest.

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Use the search tool below to discover degree and certificate programs offered by CU Denver. If you are unable to find a program that is right for you, please contact  Admissions or a school or college  for more information.

Master of Arts in Research and Evaluation Methods

Program overview.

MA students come from a variety of backgrounds with the common thread of questioning status quo and exploring ‘what works’ in their field. This program is very practitioner-focused providing an opportunity for those who are interested in improving schools, social programs, and community organizations through high-quality research and evaluation, data-driven decisions and the dissemination of evidence-based research.

As a student in this program, you’ll be encouraged to examine real-world challenges impacting education and society today. You’ll learn how to address real life challenges through research and evaluation studies, from defining problems to conducting the study itself. In addition to coursework, you’ll develop skills using software and learn with real life data in practicums and internships.

You’ll learn to ask and solve problems by:

• Skillfully identifying and articulating questions to ask across multiple settings in your chosen field of practice
• Recognizing appropriate sources of information to collect data
• Designing methods of data collection such as questionnaires and interview protocols
• Analyzing data using quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods
• Using Excel, SPSS, R, Dedoose, Qualtrics, Tableau, SQL, and other data analysis software programs
• Interpreting data and preparing presentations and reports

How it works

This program allows part-time and full-time students the ability to customize learning experiences based on their professional goals. Students can choose one or two of the certificates listed below to highlight specialized skills on the way to meeting the requirements of the 30-credit MA in Research and Evaluation Methods.

Certificate Options

Applied measurement.

Learn to measure the abstract variables used in daily decision-making. This involves deep critical thinking skills and the ability to combine statistical learning with understandings of human behavior. Individuals working in social sciences, education and mental health and who want to deepen their knowledge of diversity, respect, equity and inclusiveness may be particularly interested in this offering.

Applied Statistical Modeling

Learn advanced statistical modeling skills that have direct connections to practical educational issues and socially-just solutions for urban and diverse communities. Think and reason with quantitative data, especially using large scale datasets.

Classroom Assessment

Learn how assessments in education both support and hinder individuals in diverse groups. There are many biases to be aware of and overcome as we create more culturally inclusive assessments moving forward. We prepare students to be leaders in schools and districts who can advocate for change using data.

Culturally Responsive Methods

Learn how to conduct research studies and evaluations with a culturally responsive lens. We prepare leaders who can advocate for diversity, respect, and inclusiveness using data.

Program Evaluation

Experiences and connections with urban and diverse communities are at the heart of our online Program Evaluation certificate. Coursework involves helping real schools, community organizations and non-profits thrive through effective and culturally responsible program evaluation practices.

Qualitative Methods and Analysis

Develop your abilities to collect and analyze words, images, and observations to gain a deeper understanding of phenomena. We prepare leaders who can advocate for diversity, respect, and inclusiveness using data.

Choose CU Denver’s School of Education & Human Development

The School of Education & Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver attracts students who are passionate about careers in educational research and evaluation. We match their passion with an education that is rooted in diversity, technology, proven approaches and real-world practice. That’s why our graduates are prepared to make immediate and life-long impacts on people, communities and the world.

CU Denver graduates earn more, build community, and make connections. Take the first step toward your future and join an inclusive community of learners while gaining the skills of tomorrow, today.

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Compare Research-Oriented Graduate Degree Programs

The Master’s program usually lays the groundwork for the pursuit of a Ph.D. These programs focus on specialized research, rigorous coursework, and superb faculty mentorship. A graduate degree from Berkeley EECS ensures that you have cultivated the necessary skills to succeed in a career in industry or teaching.

Master of Science (M.S.) Only

Semester Admitted: Fall (August)

Application deadline: mid-December

Full-time Commitment: ~2 years

Location: On-Campus

Focus: Leads to career in industrial R&D or Ph.D.

The Master of Science (MS) program is a very small research program for exceptional applicants with research experience . The MS leads to a PhD or a career in industrial R&D.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Only

Full-time Commitment:  5-6 years (starting with a Bachelor’s),  3-5 years (starting with a Master’s)

Focus: Research + teaching experience

A Ph.D. in EECS combines coursework and original research with exceptional faculty mentoring to  prepare for a career in academia or industry.

Both (M.S./Ph.D.)

Full-time Commitment:   5-6 years

Focus: Research preparation for the PhD.

A full program for those who know they would like to pursue a Ph.D at Berkeley.

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• Research Methodology MA
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Email:   [email protected]

About the Research Methodology Master's Program at Loyola

Numbers tell a story. At Loyola, we believe data tells the story of the human experience, including the causes of pressing social problems. In Loyola's MA in Research Methodology program, you'll learn how to look at numbers in context and use data to address social inequities. In the program, we'll challenge you to approach research from a social justice lens, using data to highlight the systematic and personal characteristics that contribute to disparities—and then leveraging your findings to offset them and effect positive change.

Program Structure

The online research methodology program can be pursued full-time or part-time . Full-time students can complete the coursework in three semesters of study. Students have five years from acceptance to complete the program.

Why Choose Loyola for Your MA in Research Methodology?

In Loyola's master's program in research methodology, you'll learn how to leverage data to challenge inequities and create change in communities and organizations. You'll use the latest research techniques to approach social and organizational challenges and study alongside PhD-level students in many of your courses, preparing you for doctoral-level work and several other career paths.

• Two certification options
• An established leader in graduate degree programs
• Distinctive faculty
• Preparation for a variety of career paths
• Advanced level classes
• Thesis option

Get ahead of the curve and enhance your career options with two exceptional certificate programs that complement the program. Learn how to apply cutting-edge quantitative techniques in an academic or research setting in Loyola's Measurement & Quantitative Methodology Certificate program. Or, gain expertise in using data to make decisions in nonprofits, schools, and other organizations in the Organizational Evaluation Certificate program .

Learn in Loyola's School of Education, which serves more than 1,000 graduate students in master's degree, educational specialist, certificate, and doctoral programs. The School of Education is well-established in preparing social justice-focused and promotes the Jesuit ideals of quality, intellectual rigor, and service to others.

Learn from faculty who will help you develop marketable skills. From program evaluation to meta-analysis, our faculty have specialized knowledge that keeps them—and their students—at the forefront of the field.

Go on to pursue doctoral study or apply your skills in institutional research, medical centers, research firms, social service organizations, school districts, and countless other settings after completing your MA in Research Methodologies.

You can choose from a wide range of qualitative and quantitative courses—and you'll have access to the same advanced-level classes that our PhD students take.

Gain experience creating original scholarship and contributing to the field. You can choose to complete a thesis that focuses on the applicatino of methods to a substantive area (e.g. higher education, social work, curriculum instruction) or can focus on investigating the methods.

Meet the Faculty

Loyola is proud to have talented and nationally-recognized scholar-teachers as part of our diverse community of exceptional faculty, students and staff. Loyola faculty are known for their commitment to teaching, the dissemination of knowledge through innovative and interdisciplinary scholarly research, and a commitment to social justice and cura personalis, or care for the whole person. Visit the School of Education faculty and staff directory to learn more about the teachers and mentors involved with the Research Methodology MA program.

Research Methodology: Career Connections

Following the MA in Research Methodology program, you’ll be able to work in many fields, such as education, public health, medical fields, developmental psychology, and clinical psychology. Many of our students move into Loyola’s PhD program in research methodology to pursue academic research positions after completing the MA.

Specific job options include:

• Data analyst
• Research associate
• Research analyst
• College instructor
• Statistician
• Quantitative design researcher
• Research scientist

Because Loyola is a member of the Jesuit network of 27 colleges and universities nationwide, our graduates can access career advising services, resume and interviewing assistance, career fairs and events, and employment listings in our Career Services center , as well as at career centers at other U.S. Jesuit colleges and universities.

Job Outlook

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook is a good place to start exploring the job outlook and pay potential for specific careers and fields that interest you.

Curriculum and Program Outcomes

While courses for the Research Methodology MA program may vary from semester to semester, Loyola’s extensive Academic Catalog will always house the official listing of courses, programs of study, academic policies, degree requirements, and specialization or concentration options. Additionally, this resource will provide Research Methodology MA learning outcomes, showcasing the commitment to specific skills and growth graduates can expect to achieve following completion of the program.

2023-2024 Catalog

Ma in research methodology results and skills.

The master's degree in research methodology at Loyola equips you with research skills that make you an asset to numerous institutions and organizations. Some of the skills you'll develop include:

• Ability to conduct qualitative and quantitative research
• Research evaluation and analysis
• Data collection and analysis
• Communication
• Software programs

Costs, Scholarships, and Aid

Loyola University Chicago is committed to making your graduate and professional studies a reality. Our Cost & Financial Aid page can help better inform you about the costs and potential funding opportunities through scholarships, loans, and aid for graduate and professional education. If you are a current Loyola undergraduate or recent alum, you may be eligible for a Returning Rambler discount. Learn more and see if you qualify on our Returning Rambler Scholarship page.

Tuition and Costs

The estimated tuition and fees for the Research Methodology MA totals $ 30750 .00, or 30 credit hours at a cost of $1,025.00 per credit hour. Please note that tuition and fees for all of Loyola's academic programs are subject to change.

For more detailed information about tuition and fees, and a breakdown of how these costs are calculated on a yearly basis, please visit Tuition and Fees from the Office of the Bursar.

School of Education Financial Aid & Scholarships

Visit the School of Education Scholarships page for detailed information about eligible scholarships. More information about financial aid opportunities can be found on the Financial Aid Office website .

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The School of Education offers graduate open houses, information sessions, individual appointments, open Zoom and text sessions, and a multitude of other ways to get to know us better.

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With our visit opportunities , you can tour our beautiful Chicago campuses and learn more about Loyola's ties to one of the most prestigious cities in the world.

Application Process

Application deadlines.

The available start terms and corresponding application deadlines for the Research Methodology MA are listed below. Please keep in mind that both the application and the required materials must be submitted by the specified deadline.

Fall Priority: February 15 General: May 1 Please note that applications are not reviewed until the deadline passes, and decisions are typically made no later than two months after the deadline.

Application Requirements

Application requirements for the Research Methodology MA include:

Official Transcripts

2 Letters of Recommendation

3.0 Minimum GPA

Statement of Purpose

Statement of Purpose Details

Your statement should be no more than 2 pages (double spaced) and describe your academic and research interests, professional goals, and views of social justice in relation to these interests and goals.

Official Documents

Official transcripts are those that are sent directly by the college/university to Loyola University Chicago. Transcripts sent by the student to Loyola are considered unofficial documents, and while they may be utilized for initial review of your application, official transcripts are still required. Official documents should be sent by the institution to [email protected] .

International Applicant Requirements

An official English language proficiency exam is required for international applicants whose native language is not English. If you have non-U.S. educational credentials, you are required to submit an official transcript evaluation. The transcript evaluation cannot be waived. Please visit our International Applicant Requirements page for specific information regarding the application process for international students.

Start Your Application

Applying online to the Research Methodology MA program is a swift, uncomplicated, and cost-free process. After submission, you can proceed to send and upload any additional requirements.

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Master of Science (MS) — Research Psychology

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.accordion label.title{ text-transform: none; color: #651d32; font-size: 19.2px; font-size: 1.2rem; letter-spacing: normal; } Gain hands-on skills in this accelerated master’s degree program in research psychology

In this 11-month Master of Science (MS) in Research Psychology, you will develop research, statistics, and grant-writing knowledge and skills. The accelerated master’s in psychology emphasizes research methodology and allows you to work with faculty in the classroom and in the lab. As you benefit from Seattle-area opportunities and resources in this master's of psychology program, you’ll gain the practical, marketable skills needed for a research career — or to enter a PhD program.

Take the next steps in your career with this flexible MS in Research Psychology.

Program Distinctives

The MS in Research Psychology program at Seattle Pacific University is unique in that it provides an accelerated (11 months) program that does not compromise knowledge and skills necessary for jobs or further education. This program's flexibility also benefits students in multiple ways:

Prepares career-bound students to —

• Enjoy a close and collaborative faculty that works closely with you as you gain advanced professional skills.
• Gain research and statistical skills needed for jobs in a range of areas from basic laboratory research to industry.
• Learn how to write grants to fund both applied and research projects.
• Become highly employable in careers pertaining to research, data analysis, and the like.
• Gain the experience needed as you progress through the coursework and your thesis, becoming competitive in future job searches for research positions.
• Custom design your capstone project (e.g., grant application) to focus on your career goals.
• Benefit from the Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing that the employment rate between 2014 and 2024 for psychology professionals is projected to grow by 12% for survey researchers and by 19% for market research analysts.
• Experience how SPU’s Christian faith context enables you to explore and integrate diverse, current, and controversial scientific research questions.

Prepares PhD-bound students to —

• Do original research or writing to prepare you for graduate school.
• Gain a competitive edge in applying for doctoral programs in various psychology and allied-health disciplines.
• Benefit from faculty mentorship while gaining valuable experience in conducting and disseminating your research.
• Custom design your capstone project (e.g., research thesis) to focus on your goals for graduate school.

Note: This program is designed for graduate students to begin Autumn Quarter and complete by the end of the following Summer Session.

A Master's Degree Program for You to Succeed

• Do original research or writing to prepare you for later jobs or graduate school.
• Explore issues related to diversity and ethics within research.

Program description and requirements 

Research Psychology is an accelerated, 33-credit master’s of science program designed to give students knowledge and skills necessary for jobs or further graduate education in psychology or psychology-related fields. It’s designed for students to begin Autumn Quarter and complete by the end of the following Summer Session. As a full-time student:

• You will typically take eight credits (two classes) per quarter while also working toward a capstone project. See the proposed course schedule below.
• You will take a core set of classes and will have flexibility in choosing from electives to best support your career or graduate school goals. See the list of core and elective classes below.
• Students will propose and complete a capstone project (e.g., research thesis, grant application) that best meets their career or graduate school goals.
• In both classes and the capstone project, students will learn from and work with faculty in the program (the School of Psychology, Family, and Community) as well as other graduate school programs on campus.

Core and elective courses

Core Courses:

Course Number

Research Methods and Statistics 1

Research Methods and Statistics 2

Christian Faith and Worldviews

Grant Writing

Research and Thesis

Qualitative Research Methods

Program and Organizational Evaluation

Survey Research

History and Systems of Psychology

Ethics & Law in Clinical Psychology

Psychopathology

Developmental Psychology

Neural and Biological Bases of Behavior

Personality Theory and Research

Cognition and Learning

Future PhD Fellows Seminar

Practicum: Graduate Teaching Assistantship

Database Management and Warehousing

Data Mining

Data Visualization

Proposed Schedule

The MS in Research Psychology is an accelerated program that is designed for students to begin in Autumn Quarter and complete the program the following summer quarter. The following is a proposed schedule.

Thesis/grant proposal

Christian Faith and Worldview

Thesis defense or grant submission

Total Credits

2023–24 tuition and fees

application fee; one-time matriculation fee

to complete

In addition to direct instructional costs, Seattle Pacific University’s Research Psychology (MS) tuition covers academic and student support services. Other benefits include use of athletic facilities (e.g., gym, locker room, and fitness rooms), and the SPU Library.

Scholarships and financial aid

Scholarship and other financial aid is available to newly admitted and continuing students in the School of Psychology, Family, and Community. For more information, visit Graduate Students Resources in Student Financial Services.

Resources available to graduate students to offset costs may include:

• Student loans. Includes amounts that exceed tuition and provide for living expenses.
• Graduate research fellowships. Department and grant-funded research and administrative assistant positions are offered to a limited number of graduate students each year. Selection is based on established criteria within each graduate department.
• Graduate teaching assistantships. Department-funded teaching assistantships are offered to a limited number of graduate students each year. Selection is based on established criteria and course need within each graduate department.
• Merit scholarships. Offered by the University as an offset to tuition.
• Department scholarship and awards. Selection is based on established criteria within each department. May not be distributed every year.
• The Dickinson Fellowship. Provides training and tuition to undergraduate and graduate students who have a calling to work with persons and their families who are impacted by chronic mental health conditions.

Student employment

For part-time student employment opportunities on or off campus, explore these options:

• Student Employment website
• Falcon Connect

Application

Application and recommended materials.

In order to apply, students must have completed or provide the following:

Online application and $75 application processing fee

Undergraduate Degree

• Students must have completed a degree in psychology or related field which included coursework in statistics and research methods.
• Students must have graduated with good academic standing with a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 and from a regionally accredited institution.
• Preference will be given to students with strong experiences in research and writing.

Official Transcripts

• Students must submit official transcript(s) from any college or university that granted you a degree or degrees, and from any institution attended since that time.

Personal Statement

• Future career or graduate school objectives
• Rationale for seeking a degree in research psychology and why you are seeking to attend Seattle Pacific
• Description of how this experience would differ from undergraduate courses or experiences
• Area of research or questions you are interested in pursuing for a thesis/grant/capstone project 
• Mention your professional and personal strengths as they apply: a. Related research experiences b. Relevant knowledge of and use of statistics c. Personal values d. Awareness of SPU faith identity and related openness to faith discussions as well as faith-related course requirements e. Any other insights deemed appropriate by the applicant

Letters of Recommendation

• Three letters of recommendation are required. Two should come from academic references (e.g., professor, instructor) and one from a professional (e.g., employer, internship supervisor).
• Letters of recommendation are waived for graduates of Seattle Pacific University's psychology program.

No GRE (Graduate Record Exam) is required for this program.

International students

In addition to the SPU general and the Research Psychology program’s additional admission requirements , international students must also submit:

• An official confidential affidavit of financial support covering the first year of intended enrollment. Without this document, SPU cannot issue an I-20 immigration form.
• Students holding undergraduate or graduate degrees from colleges, universities and/or seminaries located outside the U.S. are expected to have their transcripts evaluated by a professional credential agency. Such an evaluation is required before an application for admission to SPFC can be granted and before any graduate credits taken elsewhere can be applied to a SPFC degree.
• If you earned an undergraduate degree in a country other than the United States, or your degree is in progress, an official course-by-course credential evaluation must be submitted from a  NACES member-recognized credential service. Acceptable credential services include, but are not limited to,  World Education Services (WES) and  Foundation for International Services (FIS).
• In addition to the evaluation report, we also require official transcripts and diplomas to be submitted, in English. International applicants are responsible for all costs associated with this service.
•   English language proficiency: If you do not speak English as your first language, you must also submit scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). A minimum score of 600 on the TOEFL paper or 250 on the TOEFL-CBT, or 100 on the TOEFL-iBT is required. ACE scores will not be accepted.

What can I do with my MS in Research Psychology?

Whether you plan to move directly into a career after earning your master’s degree or continue your education by earning a doctorate, you will find opportunities abound for you once you have an MS in Research Psychology.

Career options for career-bound students:

• Data analyst
• Market researcher
• Business consultant 
• Community college instructor
• Research assistant
• Employee trainer
• Social worker
• And more ...

Career options for students who go on to earn a PhD:

• Researcher psychologist
• Clinical psychologist
• University or college professor
• Experimental psychologist
• Director of research
• Forensic psychologist
• Developmental psychologist

Supporting the careers of our MS in Research Psychology students and alumni is a high priority for the School of Psychology, Family, and Community. The following career resources are available:

• The Center for Career and Calling has Resources for Current Graduate Students , which offers online vocational resources and résumé tips, workshops, and events. 
• Job leads through SPU’s job posting board Handshake and SPU Switchboard , the online community where you can engage and connect with the SPU network.

Phillip M. Baker

Assistant Professor of Psychology PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago

​Baine Craft

Professor of Psychology and Biology; Chair of Undergraduate Psychology; Director of Laboratory Facilities PhD, University of Montana

Jessica Fossum

Assistant Professor of Psychology; Director of Research-Graduate Psychology PhD, University of California-Los Angeles

Bethany Hoff

Assistant Professor of Psychology PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Jenny​ Lee Vaydich​

Associate Professor of Psychology​; Chair of Research Psychology PhD, University of Notre Dame

​​Katy Tangenberg

​Dean of the School of Psychology, Family, and Community; Professor of Social Welfare PhD, University of Washington

Capstone Project

Students enrolled in the Master’s of Science Research Psychology program will not only gain research, statistics, and grant-writing knowledge and skills from the classroom, but they will also complete a capstone project. This project will allow students the opportunity to put newly acquired knowledge and skills into practice in a manner that is best fitting their career or graduate school objectives. 

Capstone Proposal and Defense

The capstone project is flexible in a sense that students can chose between a traditional master’s thesis based on original research, a grant application, or propose an applied project (e.g., program evaluation) that best suits their needs. Each student will complete the following three stages of the capstone project:

• Conduct preliminary research, choose your project, and assemble your project committee for a review of your project.
• With approval from your project committee, research, collect data, analyze data, etc., and write your capstone project.
• Finally, present your written project and provide an oral defense for your capstone project to your project committee.*

*Your committee must approve your work at the proposal and defense. 

Research Labs

The program provides students with numerous research opportunities and flexibility. Students can request to work with faculty within the School of Psychology, Family, and Community or seek out capstone projects (e.g., grant application) locally, regionally, or nationally. Below are examples of labs where students might work:

The Baker Lab

Dr. Phillip M. Baker leads this collaborative and motivated group of researchers interested in understanding how the brain reduces complex information into behavioral choices. To do this, we manipulate the circuitry of the brain in animal models to understand the contributions of brain areas to reducing external stimuli into internal representations of choices that ultimately guide decisionmaking. Much of our work is hands-on with our animal models in addition to wet lab work. 

Child and Adolescent Laboratory

Directed by Dr. Jenny Vaydich, the Child and Adolescent Laboratory within the School of Psychology, Family, and Community at Seattle Pacific University explores the influence of parent-child relationships and interactions on child and adolescent emotion regulation development. We are particularly interested in parent-child relationships and parental emotion socialization during childhood and adolescence. Previous projects have focused on aggression; however, more recent projects have examined the influence of parent-child relationships on symptoms of depression and anxiety. 

Our ideal candidate for the Research Psychology program would be a student who has a passion for and training in research, has a strong background in research methods and statistics, perhaps having taken several statistics or research courses, and comes to the program with ideas of how to bring their diverse set of experiences/skills to pursue dynamic and innovative research.

Previous research experience is not required, but in the absence of specific research experience, students are encouraged to use their personal statement to speak to the specific skills they have acquired which will aid in research.

Ask yourself, “What are you passionate about, what do you want to research, what do you want to learn more about?”

This program is comparable to the master’s degree track that would be folded into most PhD programs. That is, you will do both graduate-level coursework and a master's-level thesis or capstone project. As for similar degree programs that take two years, we’ve truncated the timeline by having students work on their thesis project alongside their coursework.

SPU’s graduate programs consistently schedule courses to begin in the late afternoon/early evening to accommodate the varied needs of our students’ schedules. Core classes for the program will most likely be scheduled on Mondays or Tuesdays from 1–5 p.m. with electives following a similar schedule on other days of the week.

Given the rigorous nature of the Research Psychology program, our recommendation would be for our students to work part time.

There are several possibilities, dependent in large part on the expertise and interest of our students. One example would be a research fellowship with one of the faculty members. Another example would be proposing a partnership with a campus department, such as the Center for Career and Calling, which already has robust data collection but would benefit from a master’s student analyzing and presenting that data in a way that benefits students. If you are looking at PhD level study, a more traditional teaching assistantship where you offer guest lectures and grade papers might be beneficial.

Designing studies and evaluations : The Research Psychology program equips students with an advanced-level understanding of research methods and the ability to identify samples that are representative of diverse populations.

Data analysis : [missing copy?]

Communicating research : The ability to sum up research and communicate to distinct constituent groups.

The opportunity to work closely with faculty is both faculty-dependent and student capstone project-dependent. In your first quarter of the program, you will want to begin to conceptualize your capstone project and consider how you would work with a faculty member. This is a process we will support each step of the way.

Unlike in a PhD program, you will not be admitted in order to work with a specific faculty member. This benefits students, as it means we can accept students with a wide range of research interests. It also means we will not be able to specify who your thesis supervisor will be or guarantee that you will work with a specific faculty member. Please note that research fit is a major priority as we make admissions decisions. If you are admitted into the program, it is because we are confident we can pair you with an advisor who matches your research interests and that your interests are scalable for the program.

How this program would lead to and bolster a PhD is dependent upon the PhD program, though we firmly believe it will make you a stronger PhD candidate, regardless of the program.

Some PhD programs would, for example, accept this master’s degree and thesis and then require you to take a minimal number of courses before you begin your PhD thesis. If, for example, a typical PhD program is five years long, and that program allows you to transfer some of your courses from this degree and your master’s dissertation, it would not only make you a more competitive candidate but also shorten your degree time to three years.

Other PhD programs will require you to complete all your coursework with them, potentially completing another master’s thesis, but will see your completion of this program as making you a more competitive candidate.

Emily Northey

Research Psychology alumna

For Emily Northey, ‘22 the master’s in research psychology program is all about independence — becoming an independent researcher and finding opportunities to apply her skills beyond the classroom.

“I appreciate how faculty push me to problem solve on my own initially,” Northey says, “which allows me to grow as an independent researcher.”

Read more about Emily

Devin Noel-Harrison

Research Psychology alumnus

Noel-Harrison attributes his current success as a research assistant and analyst to SPU’s Research Psychology MS program — to faculty support and to new opportunities for networking.

“That’s what I’ve been noticing about the program,” he says. “As I develop in the program, I’m finding more of my interests and skills. The professors are really good at helping guide us into what we want to do.”

Read more about Devin

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How to Choose a Graduate School: 7 Tips for Success

So you’ve made the decision to go to grad school. You’ve weighed your options , researched the benefits of a graduate education , and discovered the value of having an advanced degree . Now it’s time to choose which program to pursue—a task that can seem overwhelming given the number of options available.

But the process doesn’t have to be so daunting. There are actions you can take to make choosing a graduate degree program more manageable—exciting, even. As you take the next step toward your personal and professional goals, take note of the following tips to help you choose a graduate school and degree program best suited for you.

Difference Between Grad School and Undergrad Programs

Before you start searching for the right graduate school for you, it’s essential to know what to expect for this new career trajectory you’ll be embarking on. Unlike an undergraduate program, grad programs are highly specialized and much more advanced in your field of study.

Prospective graduate students can expect a far more individualized experience as they work closely with students and professors. Due to this specialization, entering a graduate program will be an investment of time that’ll ultimately help elevate your expertise and career choices.

Tips for Choosing a Graduate School

1. Take inventory of your passions and motivations.

Pursuing a graduate education is a big investment, so it’s critical to understand the unique “ why ” behind your decision. What do you hope to achieve by going back to school? Whether you’d like to gain more specialized knowledge, change careers, earn a promotion, increase your salary potential, or achieve a lifelong personal goal, make sure the program you choose will help get you there.

Examine the curricula and course descriptions of various degree programs, and assess how each offering aligns with your passions and interests. Graduate school is challenging, but it will feel more manageable if you’re working toward something that matters to you. Understanding your expectations and what you want to get out of the program is the first step in choosing a degree that will be a good fit.

2. Do your research and explore your options.

Once you’ve determined your motivations for returning to school, leave yourself time to research the types of degree programs available in your preferred area of study and the opportunities each can create.

Resources like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook can give you a sense of typical career paths by industry, along with the educational degree requirements for each. The handbook also provides market growth forecasts and earning potential to help inform your decision.

It’s also important to note the structure and focus of each program. Even in the same discipline, a program’s focus can vary among institutions. Does the curriculum emphasize theory, original research, or a more practical application of knowledge? Whatever your goals may be, make sure the program’s focus aligns with the educational experience that will provide you with the most value. Career changers, for example, who likely don’t have industry experience, might prefer a program with access to hands-on learning opportunities or a path for completing prerequisites like Northeastern’s Align and Bridge programs.

While conducting your research, don’t be afraid to utilize your professional network. Speak with colleagues who have pursued an advanced degree in your industry and reach out to alumni of the institutions you’re considering. Listening to their experiences as a graduate student and in the job market post-degree can help you gauge if the program is in line with your goals.

3. Keep your career goals in mind.

After exploring your range of program options, consider your career goals and how each specific graduate program can help you get there.

If you’re seeking a specialized area of focus, be sure to examine the program concentrations offered at each institution. One graduate program in education might prepare you to specialize in higher education administration or elementary instruction, while other institutions may offer concentrations in special education or classroom technology. Make sure the program you choose reflects your career interests.

Alternatively, if you’re unsure of exactly where your career path may take you, you may want to consider a broader degree that can give you flexibility in its application. Some degree programs, such as a Master of Business Administration , teach skills that can be applied across multiple professions. If this is the path you’d prefer to pursue, pick a degree that will remain relevant as you move around in your career.

Examine the types of credentials professionals in the industry possess and research the types of skills potential employers are looking for. Check to see that the degree program offers opportunities to learn and develop those same skills. You’ll want to make sure the program you’re investing your time in will arm you with the knowledge you can actually apply in the real world.

Some professions also require board certification and/or state licensure. For example, someone interested in becoming a ​​project manager must complete 35 hours of relevant training before gaining eligibility to sit for the certification exam. You’ll want to ensure that the graduate program you ultimately decide on is fully accredited and will help you meet any certification or licensure requirements.

Location is also an important factor to consider when thinking about potential employment opportunities after graduation. Individuals interested in financial services may consider schools in a major banking center, such as Charlotte , while those pursuing a technology career might look for programs in Silicon Valley .

Further, if your goal is to work for a specific company, do your research to determine where graduates of the programs you’re looking at are working. Universities often have corporate partnerships in which employers recruit graduates to work at their organization. Check to see if your dream company partners with any nearby universities.

4. Make sure the program fits your lifestyle.

While aligning your career goals, make sure the degree program you choose will realistically fit within your lifestyle, and determine what level of flexibility you need. There are many options available that will allow you to earn an advanced degree at the right pace and in the right format for you.

Some degrees can be earned in as little as 12 months, while others can take years. Determine how much time you’re willing to invest, considering your personal values, work and family commitments, and the type of graduate experience you’d like to have.

Full-time graduate studies are not for everyone. If you’re a working professional, you may benefit from the increased flexibility provided by a part-time degree program. You might also consider the benefits of online or hybrid graduate programs that provide access to worldwide institutions that may have otherwise not been an option.

5. Consider your finances.

Decide what you can afford for graduate school, and don’t forget to factor in both the up-front costs, such as tuition and textbooks, and hidden fees, like transportation and student activity costs. While your education is an investment, make sure you can cover the costs associated with earning your graduate degree.

Paying for graduate school can seem intimidating, but there are many different options available to you. While you narrow down your list of schools, be sure to check out the financial aid options at each institution. Along with scholarships , loans, and grants, some schools may offer assistantships or fellowships for graduate students.

For those who may already be working in their industry, your employer may offer tuition reimbursement , which pays for a predetermined amount of continuing education credits or college coursework to be applied toward a degree. Contact your company’s human resources department to determine whether tuition reimbursement is available to you and if your program of interest meets the eligibility requirements.

All of these options will help ease the costs associated with your education and could help you earn valuable experience to enhance your resumé. You may also want to consider your future earning potential and job opportunities when weighing your options—you want your degree to be worth the money, time, and energy you put into earning it.

6. Talk to admissions advisors, students, and alumni.

When determining your graduate school options, it’s important to talk to current students and alumni. Begin by creating a list of questions to ask, such as:

• Do you have enough academic and career guidance?
• What do you like and dislike about your program?
• Are you happy with your professors?
• Are there co-op and internship opportunities available to you?
• How do you feel about the student community?
• What do you wish you knew before enrolling?

What students and alumni tell you might surprise you and could be extremely valuable in determining the right graduate school for you.

Speak With a Student Ambassador

 Talk to an ambassador who’s been there and done that.

You can also speak with graduate admissions advisors to help you narrow your options. They have experience guiding students to make this type of decision and can provide you with the outcomes of past students whose goals were similar to yours. In speaking with the institution’s alumni and mentor network, you also have the opportunity to assess the type of connections you can make there and how they may help you get ahead after graduation.

7. Network with faculty.

Faculty can make or break your graduate school experience. Take the time to reach out to your potential professors and get to know them. Don’t be afraid to ask specific questions about their background to see if it aligns with what you want to learn.

Apply to universities that have one or more professors who focus on your area of interest and with whom you can imagine collaborating while earning your degree. Determine if they can help facilitate your growth, and go with a program where you’re comfortable with the faculty.

Applying to Graduate School

After narrowing down your options and determining which graduate programs align most closely with your career goals, lifestyle, and personal interests, you’re ready to begin the application process. It might seem intimidating, but applying to graduate school is simple so long as you remain organized and are well-prepared.

While the application requirements may look different depending on the institution and type of degree program you’re applying to, there are certain materials that you’ll likely be asked for as part of your grad school application. These include:

• An application form
• Undergraduate transcripts
• A well-optimized professional resumé
• A statement of purpose or personal statement
• Letters of recommendation
• GRE, GMAT, or LSAT test scores (if required)
• An application fee

Do your research to determine what the application requirements are for your program of choice, and remain conscious of deadlines. 

Remember that Graduate School Is a Stepping Stone

When deciding which program to pursue, it’s important to remember that graduate school is a stepping stone toward your personal and professional goals—not the final destination. That said, the clearer you are on what you want to do following graduation, the easier it will be to find a program that aligns with your goals.

Start early, keep your search organized , and reach out for support. In the end, only you can decide which program will be best for you. No matter what program you choose to pursue, with commitment, resilience, and hard work, you can find success.

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• Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The University of Oklahoma Price College of Business M.S. in Entrepreneurship and Innovation focuses on developing the essential skills entrepreneurs and innovators need to be successful. Whether you have an idea for a startup, have launched a new business, or aim to innovate in an existing company, this program is designed to fit your career goals and aspirations by allowing you to choose between two different tracks: New Venture Development and Corporate Innovation.

The hybrid program consists of 30 credit hours of instruction, which can be completed by working professionals in as little as 12 months and offers the flexibility of either a spring or fall start. The program kicks off with a one-week residency featuring project-based learning and networking in the dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystems of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, allowing you to interact with world-renowned faculty, successful entrepreneurs, Price College alumni and a highly motivated cohort of peers. You’ll continue with weekly live online discussions and asynchronous interactions for the remainder of the program.

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Entrepreneurship research faculty in the world

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The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine, 2024

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Fall admissions, u.s. citizens.

November 15

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Spring Semester Begins In January

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Where Price College Entrepreneuship Grads Work

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Considering Entrepreneurship

Why choose ou's price college of business,   two unique tracks.

Choose between New Venture or Corporate tracks. You’ll learn how to develop your business to the next level or learn how to apply a new entrepreneurial mindset in a corporate setting.

  Residency

Students will take advantage of an in-person, one-week residency touring Oklahoma City and Tulsa’s established and growing ecosystems built to facilitate innovation. 

  Complete in as Little as 1 Year.

As of spring 2024, we’re the only program under $30K that you can finish in just one year.

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Director Tom Love Division of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development

Email:  [email protected] Office: Price Hall Room 3050L Phone: (405) 325-0716

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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

This article is part of the research topic.

Dental Education

Article Title: A 12-year follow up of principles learned in a pediatric dentistry Master of Public Health (MPH) dual degree program applied to professional practice Provisionally Accepted

• 1 University of California, Los Angeles, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Introduction: Dental public health professionals play a critical role in preventing and controlling oral diseases. The purpose of this study was to assess the application of public health principles learned in a pediatric dentistry Master of Public Health (MPH) dual degree program to professional practice upon graduation. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with pediatric dentistry/MPH dual degree alumni who graduated from the program between 2012 and 2023. Interview questions inquired about characteristics of patient population, location of providers' clinic/organization, whether the program was worthwhile to their practice and application of principles learned in the program to their professional practice. Results: Twenty of the 22 program alumni agreed to be interviewed. All alumni thought the program was extremely worthwhile to their practice. They felt the MPH component of the program gave them the public health background and tools they needed to provide comprehensive and holistic care to their patients. Additionally, all alumni reported applying the public health principles they learned in the program to their professional practice through leadership roles, research and teaching that focuses on oral disease prevention and the promotion of dental health. Discussion: Given the importance of a dental public health professionals' role in reducing oral health disparities at the population level, more pediatric dentistry MPH dual degree programs are urgently needed. Additionally, more research is necessary to demonstrate the effectiveness of these programs, which will be critical to helping ensure the value of a dual degree in dentistry and public health is recognized and promoted worldwide.

Keywords: dental public health, Oral disease prevention, dental health promotion, Oral health disparities, social determinants of health, early childhood caries, underserved populations

Received: 27 Oct 2023; Accepted: 10 Apr 2024.

Copyright: © 2024 Ramos-Gomez, Kinsler, Parkinson and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Dr. Janni Kinsler, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, 90095, California, United States

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UCF Graduate Programs Reach New Heights in U.S. News Rankings Through Research Excellence, Impactful Community Engagement

UCF’s emergency management program ranks No. 1 in the nation, and programs in education and public affairs climbed in U.S. News & World Report ’s Best Graduate Schools rankings.

By Mark Schlueb ’93 ’21MA | April 9, 2024

UCF is a leading metropolitan research university known for helping students unleash their potential and advancing innovation in our community and state. Led by world-class faculty members with unrivaled industry experience, UCF’s graduate programs continue to earn top national recognitions for accomplishing those goals and more.

More than 9,000 UCF students enroll in UCF’s graduate programs to advance their careers or launch new ones. And many are thriving on campus and after graduation in programs ranked among the best in the nation.

U.S. News & World Report has recognized UCF’s exceptional faculty and graduate programs in its 2024 list of Best Graduate Schools. UCF’s emergency management program ranks No. 1 in the nation, and four programs rank in the top 25. Nine graduate programs placed in the top 50 nationally, including five in public affairs, three in education and one in health. U.S. News will release rankings for the engineering and medicine categories at a later date.

“UCF’s world-class faculty excel at providing our graduate students with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive as innovative leaders and creators,” says President Alexander N. Cartwright. “The U.S. News rankings demonstrate that our students graduate well-prepared to unleash their potential in individual, business, and government sectors that are growing in Florida and vital to our economy, health, and quality of life.”

UCF Grads Shape Emergency Responses Nationwide

UCF has a proven track record in emergency management. The university’s Master of Emergency and Crisis Management program — which is offered the College of Community Innovation and Education — has climbed the rankings over seven consecutive years. The homeland security program and its faculty researchers enable students to navigate increasingly complex manmade and natural disasters, while learning from past disasters to improve their preparedness and response in the future.

Graduates of the program go on to become leaders in directing and implementing emergency responses in Florida and throughout the country, including in Boston and Washington, D.C. They are saving lives, helping communities prepare as well as possible to navigate disasters, and putting into practice the lessons they learned from outstanding faculty who contribute to  national research and regional solutions related to crises .

“Our students are equipped to assist communities and organizations in every phase of emergency management — from preparedness and mitigation to response and recovery,” says  Claire Connolly Knox, professor in UCF’s School of Public Administration.

“We are thrilled to be ranked No. 1 and nationally recognized again as a leader in emergency and crisis management,” she adds. “This honor highlights the innovative and community-focused research by our faculty and continuous engagement with community partners invested in our outstanding students and alumni.”

Other highlights include:

• 12 in Education — Student Counseling and Personnel Services
• 15 in Public Affairs — Nonprofit Management, up three spots since last year
• 21 in Public Affairs — Public Management and Leadership, up five spots since last year
• 27 in Public Affairs — Public Finance and Budgeting
• 32 in Education — Curriculum and Instruction
• 41 in Health — Physical Therapy
• 42 in Best Education Schools, up four spots since last year
• 47 in Public Affairs
• 59 in Nursing — Doctor of Nursing Practice

UCF’s many strong rankings are a testament to the excellence of UCF’s faculty, who bring to the classroom extensive experience in academia, industry and research, as well as to the university’s commitment to help students unleash their potential in a culture focused on collaboration and finding solutions that benefit our society.

UCF students who have graduated from the nonprofit management program have gone on to make a big impact by helping communities in Florida and beyond. In one example, more than 12 years ago, program graduate Eric Camarillo ’16 ’19MNM launched faith-based nonprofit organization SALT Outreach Inc. in Central Florida to help provide services to the homeless, including mobile shower trailers, laundry, clothing, haircuts, mail services and help with employment. SALT has grown to more than 30 staff members who help hundreds of people every day.

“Throughout the School of Public Administration, our faculty, staff and advisory boards have worked hard to ensure we are offering students in Central Florida, across the country and around the globe a world-class, innovative education,” says Doug Goodman, professor and school director. “We are honored to be recognized as leaders in emergency management, nonprofit management, public leadership management and public finance and budgeting, fields that are critical to the health and well-being of our citizens and the success of our communities.”

The Best Graduate Education Schools category includes graduate-level educator preparation and advancement programs, such as teacher education, school counseling and psychology, educational leadership, and curriculum and instruction, all offered through the College of Community Innovation and Education. The college offers graduate students numerous opportunities to collaborate closely with expert faculty, from receiving mentorship and support in research and scholarship to engaging in robust internships and field experiences with school district, nonprofit and agency partners. Some faculty members also lead federally funded projects that offer tuition assistance and prepare students to work with students in high-need schools.

UCF’s continued rise has also drawn praise from other outlets:

• In February, U.S. News & World Report released its best online program national rankings, which placed UCF tied at No. 7 in the nation for best online bachelor’s programs. Of the 14 UCF national rankings from U.S. News , six online programs made the top 10, two made the top 15 and three were in the top 50. UCF has ranked in the top 20 overall Best Online Programs for the past seven years.
• In March, The Princeton Review and PC Gamer recognized UCF’s game design programs among the best in the world. The graduate Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy is ranked No. 1 in the world for the fourth time in five years. The undergraduate game design program, Games and Interactive Media (GaIM) in UCF’s Nicholson School of Communication and Media, achieved its highest ranking ever, advancing to No. 5 in the world.
• Sports Business Journal named Orlando the No. 1 Best Sports Business City for event hosting, including the NBA, Orlando City and Orlando Pride Soccer, the nation’s premier tennis center, college football bowl games, the NFL Pro Bowl, U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, the Arnold Palmer Invitational — and, of course, the UCF Knights. With its inaugural season in the Big 12 Conference in 2023, UCF has skyrocketed to unprecedented success as the youngest Power Four program in the country. With one of the country’s  top graduate sports business programs , UCF has also provided a pipeline of talented graduates to some of the nation’s biggest sports brands.

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