MPhil in History of Art and Architecture at University of Cambridge

[Taylor98]

Hello, 

I am applying for an MPhil in History of Art and Architecture at the University of Cambridge to start in Fall 2020. I have already reached out to a potential supervisor with a 300-word research proposal (as requested on the admissions website), and they have approved me for officially applying to the University. With my application, I have to submit a research proposal of 1,000-1,500 words. The proposal needs to include a hypothesis, a literature review, a statement on method, and key references. I have focused heavily on honing my research topic and have a lot of experience with research at the undergraduate level, but I am a bit nervous about choosing the appropriate formatting for my proposal. I attend a University that does not cover methodologies in research classes, so I have never had to pick a specific method for a paper. If my project is based on archival research, can I simply state that I am using archival methodologies? Should I go into more depth? Also, what is meant by 'key references'? Finally, does anyone have suggestions on a specific format and/or examples they might be willing to share? 

I feel that I am a strong applicant in all other admissions criteria. I am first in my class (GPA of 4.0 and part of the honors program), recipient of multiple research grants and academic conference awards, student body president, and have 1,500+ hours of community service. I do not say this to sound overly confident or snotty, but I would be grateful to receive feedback from anyone who has gone through the Cambridge application process at the MPhil level to hear what was successful/unsuccessful in their application.