Research proposal template

Get proposal headings, prompt questions and a word budget for your level and method.

Get a better result

Your brief wins
If your department lists required headings, use theirs and keep these prompts underneath.
Methods earn the most marks
Readers approve a plan they can picture. Spend the words on how, not on background.
Write the question first
Every other section should make sense once your one-sentence question is fixed.

1
Choose your level, method and word limit.
2
We lay out the sections that level usually needs: a PhD adds a theoretical framework, a grant adds budget and impact.
3
Each section gets prompt questions and a share of your word limit, adding up to the total exactly. No AI is used.

Departments and funders set their own headings and lengths. Check your brief, and treat the word split as a planning default.

Painting: The Terrace by Follower of Canaletto, from Art Institute of Chicago via Unsplash.