Open Stream

The Open Stream puts ownership of your project proposal in your hands; it’s the perfect option if you have a good sense of what you’d like to research.

Choosing a topic

When deciding on a research topic, we suggest you aim for something where you already have some background knowledge. It could be related to your major area of study or part of a subject you’ve studied in the past.

If you’d rather research a newer area of interest, make sure you read some relevant publications before completing the project form. That way you can demonstrate a sound understanding of the subject area you want to explore.

Once you start, the topic may develop and lead you in quite a different direction to the one you first envisaged. For many this is an exciting and rewarding aspect of the Cambridge supervision style of learning, so aim to be flexible and follow your supervisor’s guidance.

A word about subjects

You’re able to propose research topics in almost any subject area, whether in the Humanities and Social Sciences, Economics, Business, Finance, Management, Maths, Science or more.

That’s not an exhaustive list; the only restriction is that we’re unable to support any project that requires in-person arrangements, such as lab work, or any project that requires you to carry out primary research.

Finding your supervisor

Based on your research proposal we’ll find an appropriate supervisor, so there’s no need to approach an academic yourself.

We do everything we can to help you pursue your chosen research topic, but this isn’t always possible. Supervisions work best when there’s a close match between your academic interests and those of your supervisor. So, we can only arrange ones where we feel confident that this is the case.

If we can’t match you with a suitable supervisor, we’ll work with you to change or refine your proposed research area or allow you to choose an available topic from the Subject Stream.

In the very unlikely situation that we’re not able to do this, we’ll offer you a refund.

How to submit your proposal

As part of your application, you’ll complete a project form detailing your proposed research area.

Take a look at how to apply for the programme.