I've talked to The Archivist and gotten comments and recommendations from him about possible research topics. I've narrowed down the possible topics to, essentially two, reflecting two divergent directions I could go in with my studies.
Topic Area #1--early modern Britain, especially Scotland: the development of structures of political power and authority in Stuart Scotland, either a comparative study with Tudor England or a focused look at the conflict between the centralising movement under James V and his successors and the traditionally independent Lordship of the Isles.
Topic Area #2--the American revolution and the history of the British Army: the integration of non-English officers (especially Germans) in the British Army during the American Revolution. The Archivist is especially excited about this idea, as anyone who knows him will understand. :-)
I had ideas for #3 and #4 and so on (the War for Three Kingdoms, Jacobite politics and espionage, Canadian/Scottish/American experience of WWI), but one has to *narrow down*, not expand, at least at this stage.
The leading contenders for history studies (at least in *my* book) right now are Glasgow (early modern Scotland), Edinburgh (early modern Scotland, American Revolution), Strathclyde (early modern Scotland), Stirling (American Revolution), Leeds (British military history), Birmingham (British military history), and Exeter (British military history). Yes, three universities from South of the Border!
I think the next thing to do, having developed a short list of professors at these institutions who work on topics I'm interested in is to start contacting some of them and see whether they are encouraging or discouraging.
Application deadlines vary among these universities, from March to August (!) for entry in September or October of 2013.
ETA: And the application deadline for
this Scotland-only scholarship, is May.