Should I cite myself in my PhD proposal? I am writing a research proposal for a PhD, and I am referring to my earlier research, which is published in a scientific journal. Should I cite myself? It feels a little preposterous, but I can imagine it could be good to provide the full reference. I do provide it in my CV as well. 
An additional reason I thought it would be good to cite my paper is because I am making the claim that it built on the work of a professor from the department I am applying to, and I figured providing a reference - with DOI - to my paper would be the best way to back that claim up. 

Thank you in advance for the advice, I really appreciate it.
Yes, you should cite all relevant research: When conducting research projects that extend over multiple papers it is not unusual to want to refer to your past published papers on the topic.  These should be treated just as with other relevant literature ---i.e., if they are relevant then they should be cited properly.