The Fully-Funded PhD Roadmap

Thinking about doing a PhD but overwhelmed by the process? Not sure how funding works, how to find supervisors, or what a winning proposal even looks like?

This 12-page visual roadmap walks you through every stage of securing a fully-funded PhD in management and business research, from your first "should I do this?" moment to your first 90 days as a doctoral researcher.

This isn't a vague motivational PDF. It's a detailed, diagram-packed strategy guide built from real experience, I went from corporate (business analyst, consulting) to a fully-funded PhD at the University of Liverpool Management School, and I've mapped the exact process so you don't have to figure it out alone.

What's inside:

→ PhD Readiness Radar — a self-assessment framework to honestly evaluate if you're ready

→ Funding Strategy Matrix — 8 UK funding routes plotted by competitiveness vs. reward, with deadlines, eligibility, and stipend amounts

→ Research Identity Blueprint — Venn diagram + 5-step framework to find your niche and position your topic in the literature

→ Supervisor Matching Flowchart — how to find, evaluate, and cold-email potential supervisors (includes a ready-to-use outreach email template)

→ Proposal Blueprint — the anatomy of a funded proposal, section by section, with weight percentages and common pitfalls

→ 12-Month Application Timeline — a colour-coded Gantt chart showing exactly when to do what

→ Interview Prep Toolkit — 12 real PhD interview questions, 4 interview format breakdowns, and a phased preparation checklist

→ First 90 Days Launchpad — what to do in your first 3 months to build momentum

→ Curated Resource Directory — PhD databases, funding bodies, top journals, research tools, and academic communities

Who is this for?

• MSc/MBA students considering a PhD in management, operations, supply chain, marketing, finance, or strategy
• Working professionals (consultants, analysts, managers) exploring a career pivot into academia
• International students looking for fully-funded positions in the UK or Europe
• Anyone who's Googled "how to get a funded PhD" and found nothing useful

What makes this different?

This was built by someone who actually did it, not by a career coach who's never written a research paper. Every template, timeline, and framework comes from lived experience navigating the application process from scratch.

Beautifully designed. Zero fluff. The kind of resource I wish existed when I started