Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the application process

There are three acceptable ways in which you can submit references:

1. You can input the referees’ institutional e-mail address into your study application in the applicant hub, the reference will be requested electronically automatically when you submit your application. The system can only request the reference – not make sure the academic responds. You will need to check your EUCLID portal regularly and re-send the request to your referee if a reference is outstanding. Further guidance on requesting references within the applicant hub is available.    
2. You can provide signed references, dated within the last year and written on official letter headed paper.    
3. You can ask the referee to send the reference via e-mail to the Postgraduate Research Office (hca-pgr@ed.ac.uk) for research degree programmes (MSc by Resesarch and PhD programmes or the Taught Office (hca-pgt@ed.ac.uk) for online MSc degree programmes. Please ensure that the reference is sent from an institutional e-mail address and not a personal one such as yahoo or gmail as these accounts cannot be verified.

Please refer to the guidance within the 'Entry requirements' section of our webpages for your programme of study. Unfortunately, we can only assess equivalency once you have submitted your application for study - we cannot assess qualifications by email or over the phone.

All documents for your application must be received 7 calendar days after the application deadline. On this basis we strongly recommend that you upload all of the required documents plus both references immediately if you are applying close to the application deadline. It can take up to 10 working days for your application to be processed and reach the School in order for us to send out reference requests.

We recommend that you discuss your ideas for the proposal in advance with a member of academic staff who specialises in your chosen topic. Your proposal should demonstrate that your chosen research topic is a viable one, and that you are well prepared to undertake it. We do not impose a set word limit on the research proposal (suggested length for guidance is c.1000 - 2000 words).

You can find guidance on writing a research proposal here:

• How to Write a Good Postgraduate Research Proposal

Your tuition fee status is determined by your nationality and the country where you normally live. Determining the fee status appropriate to an application is undertaken by Student Administration and you will be required to complete a Fee Status Questionnaire. For further information, please see:

• Tuition Fee Status