I open the Apprentice menu and under Research Spells there are 8 spells listed, but clicking on any of them just takes me back to the world map, and then clicking on the Magic menu it says Researching: none
Am I missing something obvious?
I'm using the unoffical patch.

Is it still your very first turn? You don't actually start researching until the second turn; then, the spellbook automatically opens up for you to choose one of those first eight spells (and does so again once a given spell is fully researched).

And as a BTW, you have to put at least a few points into spell research, by moving the Research wand on the Magic screen. If you don't (and don't yet have any libraries or sage-powered heroes to do research for you) you won't start learning the spell; if all of the spells say "999 turns" to research, then this is the case.

If it's anything else, then I'm at a loss. My guess is a glitch; try deleting and reinstalling the game.

Still on my first turn, which explains it.
The "choose a new spell to research" menu popped up once I hit "Next Turn".

The Apprentice menu has two functions, neither of which involve selecting the spell (as you've discovered). It will show you how long the current spell will take to finish researching (based on your current Research slider), and by flipping through the pages you can see how many spells will eventually be forthcoming in various categories (given your current spellbooks - it's possible to find more in the game, which will add more spells to your research list).

And it has a third function: of the not-yet-available spells, you can tell which ones you'll eventually know. Those runes are a simple substitution cipher; here's the key.

Master of Magic Rune Chart

JoeGuy123 asks, how do I complete a basic function in the game?

TwoHandedSword replies, "Here's how to unlock the cosmos."

I did the exact same thing in my first game. It really is rather confusing when you're starting out.

It's kind of annoying how you waste the initial turns mana if your not aware.

For instance if you start with an income of 15 mana ( not hard on Myrror ) it splits it 5 into each bar automatically and you waste that first 5 from the first turn if you don't adjust it.