You are required to have a supervisor when undertaking your PhD.
In your application, we firmly advise you to propose a supervisor (or up to three in order of preference) as part of your application. This will increase your chances of an offer. Please also state the academic subject group you wish to work in. We strongly recommend you make contact with a potential supervisor before applying.
If you have a name in mind, you can search our Faculty A-Z to find their Business School profile and link to their research outputs:
You can also use the Edinburgh Research Explorer to find potential supervisors. You can browse staff profiles, filter by research interest (under 'Fingerprints') and view recent publications by our staff at the following link:
Contacting a Supervisor
Once you have identified potential supervisors, we recommend reaching out to them by email. Please send them a copy of your CV and draft proposal, and please ensure you mention in the body of the email why you think they would be a suitable supervisor for your topic. It is also a good idea to mention any of their work which you have read. Please allow 3-4 weeks for a response before sending any follow up emails.
Interested supervisors will likely ask to meet with you for an informal chat to discuss your project further. This meeting is likely to be online and is a chance for the supervisor to find out more about your project and whether they have the expertise to supervise you. Following the meeting, they may ask you to make some revisions to your proposal and they should confirm if they are able to be noted as a potential supervisor on your application.
Academic Subject Groups
Browse our academic subject groups to identify which you wish to work in.
Please state your chosen subject group in your application.