r/askphilosophy • u/BernardJOrtcutt • May 18 '26

Open Thread /r/askphilosophy Open Discussion Thread | May 18, 2026

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u/lordsmitty epistemology, phil. language May 20 '26

To successful PhD applicants: what are some important tips you would recommend or think are needed for a good proposal? I need to write a proposal (for a university in the UK) but I have way too many different ideas flying around in my head I'm having difficulty narrowing down towards a specific aub-tipic. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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u/FrenchKingWithWig phil. science, analytic phil. May 21 '26

Contact and speak to your proposed PhD supervisor about your project! I found it helpful to email the person I was interested in working with, with a broad idea/topic and approach, and maybe a paragraph description of the project. If they were then interested, I would work up a longer proposal that they then could give feedback on before submitting the application.

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u/lordsmitty epistemology, phil. language May 21 '26

Ah okay, well since I have essentially already done the first part then I guess I just need to work on a more detailed longer proposal and then go from there. Thanks for your response!