Each postgrad will receive £400 on the successful completion of their research and there are five topics to choose from:

• Postgraduate funding (deadline for application 15 May)
• Postgraduate representation (deadline for application 1 June)
• Welfare and tutoring (deadline for application 1 June)
• Student campaigning (deadline for application 1 June)
• International students (deadline for application 1 June)

Each piece of research should be less than 5,000 words and use qualitative methods (like interviews and focus groups) to develop descriptive narratives and case studies to enhance the data. It should loosely follow a standard dissertation format with literature review, methodology, findings and discussion.

This research will help the Union to understand the day-to-day challenges that postgrads face and will be part of the evidence base used to develop policy proposals to ensure that student support is fit for purpose. The work will feed into a larger-scale NUS study called Pound in Your Pocket and it will also help develop a UBU Postgraduate Hub to provide support and advice tailored to postgrads. 

There will be agreed interim deadlines for completing each project and a member of UBU staff will supervise and provide support at each stage of the process. More information about the research themes and how to apply is available.

Please email Sorana Vieru at ubu-infopoint@bristol.ac.uk with any queries.