Choose programmes and supervisors

How to judge a programme beyond its ranking, and how to find and approach research groups for research degrees.

Also called QS, THE, CSRankings, subject rankings

What: Tables that combine reputation surveys, citations, staff ratios and other measures into a rank, overall or by subject.
Why: They help you discover universities, but say little about a specific programme's teaching, supervision or outcomes.

Watch out

Choosing between two programmes because one is ranked a few places higher.

Also called module list, programme handbook

What: Reading the compulsory and elective modules, project or thesis share, teaching staff and tracks of a programme in its official handbook.
Why: It shows what you will actually learn and gives you specific material for your statement.

Watch out

Trusting a programme title while its modules repeat your bachelor degree.

Also called lab

What: A professor with the students and researchers they supervise, working on related problems and publishing together.
Why: For research degrees the group shapes your work, your network and your next job more than the university's name.

Watch out

Picking a group from a staff directory without reading its recent papers.

What: How well a potential supervisor's current research, availability, funding and style match your interests and needs.
Why: A good fit makes admission more likely and years of research far more productive.
Example: Check that they published in your topic in the last two years, currently supervise students and mention openings or funding.

Watch out

Choosing a famous name who no longer takes students or works on something else now.

Also called cold email to professor

What: A short, specific message to a potential supervisor naming a paper of theirs you read, how your background connects and one clear question.
Why: Where a supervisor must accept you, it can open the door; a mass email closes it.
Example: Subject: Prospective PhD student, question about your 2025 paper on program repair. Three short paragraphs, CV attached.

Watch out

Emailing when the group page says to apply through the programme instead.

Also called advertised PhD position, PhD position

What: A funded PhD project with a named supervisor and a closing date, common in Europe and often paid as an employment contract.
Why: You apply to the position directly, so the application must fit the project.

Watch out

Applying to projects whose funding excludes international applicants.

What: Where a programme's recent graduates work or study next, from official reports, career fairs and alumni profiles.
Why: It is the best evidence of what the degree does for people like you, especially international students.

Watch out

Trusting brochure salary averages from small, self-selected surveys.

What: Rent, food, transport and other monthly costs in the university's city, from the university's own estimate and housing listings.
Why: It often varies more between cities than tuition does, and shortages of student housing can shape where you can go.

Watch out

Treating the visa proof of funds amount as a comfortable budget rather than a minimum.

What: The minimum degree, grades, background courses, English score and tests a programme lists, often with a page per country.
Why: Missing a hard requirement usually means rejection and a lost fee.

Watch out

Assuming your home grade means the same thing after conversion.

What: Six to ten programmes split into ambitious, realistic and safer tiers, each with a written reason it fits.
Why: It spreads risk and keeps the list small enough to write strong, tailored documents.

Watch out

Putting programmes you would never accept in the safer tier.

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