School of Health in Social Science PhD Studentships

The School of Health in Social Science PhD Studentships are funded by the School and are designed to enable the development of Doctoral level research, aligned to existing health and social science research within the School. These studentships cover fees and a stipend and are offered on a competitive basis. This round of School Scholarships offers 3 Scholarship positions, for a September 2023 start, with 3-years of funding, awarded on a full-time basis or 6 years on a part-time basis.

Important Notice

Please note the a programme application is required in order for your funding application to be considered. The deadline for programme applications is the 14th November 2022, 11:59.

Scope of PhD

The School of Health in Social Science is composed of 3 subject areas (Clinical Psychology, Nursing, Counselling, Psychotherapy and Applied Social Sciences) and 5 centres (Scottish Centre for Health Research, Policy and Practice; Edinburgh Centre for Research on the Experience of Dementia, Centre for Applied Developmental Psychology, Centre for Creative Relational Enquiry and the Centre for Homeless and Inclusion Health). We are a global centre of excellence with high local visibility in our core professional disciplines and in established and emerging interdisciplinary fields associated within health and the social sciences. Our work addresses complex global health and social challenges such as development of mental health issues, dementia care, life-course risk and resilience, complex needs in diverse care environments, psychological well-being and public mental health. Our research areas align closely with the University and College themes, and our research highlights the ongoing importance of health and wellbeing in the context of the pandemic, and onward into societal post-Covid recovery.

Doctoral level research and the development of Early Career Researchers is a core element of our research portfolio and we have an active and vibrant PGR community. The new School PhD Scholarships offer an opportunity for applicants to develop innovative research, aligned to areas of research within the School. These scholarships are offered on a completive basis, and applications will only be considered if they are aligned to our existing areas of research and/or the work of our Centres. Please see our webpages for more information on current staff research areas.

We encourage applicants from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds and approaches, particularly those from Widening Participation and Low and Middle Resource backgrounds. Applications will be assessed by an interdisciplinary panel within the School.

Supervision and Collaboration Arrangements and Educational Environment

Each student PhD has a supervisory team comprising a principal and second supervisory, whose research expertise is aligned to the proposed topic and associated methods. The student will be based at the School of Health in Social Science, and be part of the appropriate Section, and Research Centre or grouping, depending on the applicant’s proposal area. Within the University of Edinburgh the student will have access to the wide range of research methods and transferable skills courses available to PhD students to meet their learning needs. The University is one of the leading Universities in the world, and the School offers a research-rich environment that specialises in research capacity development through doctoral and post-doctoral education and opportunities.

Funding Arrangements

This Studentship is for 3 years full time or 6 years part time. The stipend will be set to the UKRI level for 2023/24. The UKRI level for 2022-23 is currently £17,668 for full-time students, or the pro rata equivalent for part-time students. Funding will cease at 3 years full time or 6 years part time or on submission of the PhD thesis, whichever is earlier. Individuals from outside the UK are welcome to apply, but it will be their own responsibility to pay the difference between the UK and international student tuition fee rates.

The PhD programme will start in September 2023 on an annual basis.

Academic Contact

For any informal discussion or enquiries, contact our School PGR Director: HSS PGR Director PGRDirectorHealth@ed.ac.uk

Attributes (essential and desirable criteria)

Essential

A research proposal that matches the subject area’s research interests
A UK first-class or 2:1 honours degree, or an equivalent overseas qualification

in a subject relevant to your research proposal. For applicants to the PhD’s in Clinical Psychology a Masters degree in a relevant subject area is also required.

If English language is not your first language, then an IELTS (or equivalent) of. 7.0 (at least 6.5 in each module) is required.
A demonstrable interest in research in applied social science topics on health and society such as health or mental health, aligned to research areas within the School of Health in Social Science.
Evidence of capacity to generate a novel research proposal that is feasible
Evidence of capacity to work independently and with a wide range of others in a professional and collegiate manner
Experience in reviewing academic literature.
Experience and skills in empirical research using quantitative and / or qualitative methods
A commitment to completing a PhD at the University of Edinburgh over three years full time or six years part time.

Desirable

A post-graduate qualification (e.g. MSc, MPhil) in an area relevant to your research proposal. Please note that for PhD’s in Clinical Psychology, this is essential.
Advanced academic skills such as systematic literature review, data analysis and academic publication.
Practical experience of working with people from excluded populations

As you may be working with vulnerable individuals, any offer may be subject to checks through the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme.

Closing Date

Thursday 2nd February 2023, 11:59pm (GMT)

Notification

The selection panel will meet after the deadline, shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview and the successful candidates will be informed in April 2023.

Application Details

Application to this Studentship is a two stage process – you must have carried out both stages by the deadline to be considered for the funding. If you are having any difficulty with your submission, have queries about the application process, or wish to check that your application has been received please contact our Research Admissions Administrator at PGRAdmissions.Health@ed.ac.uk before the deadline.

Stage one

Please also complete the online application system by Monday 14^th November 2022, 11.59pm (GMT), noting which of the following programmes you are applying for:

PhD and PhD by Distance Counselling Studies

PhD and PhD by Distance in Clinical Psychology

PhD and PhD by Distance Health in Social Science

PhD and PhD by Distance Nursing Studies

You will be asked to provide your degree certificate(s); degree transcript(s); references and other documents. For further information please refer to: https://www.ed.ac.uk/health/subject-areas/postgraduate-research.

Stage two

Scholarship applications will only be considered if the programme application has been submitted by the deadline.

Please submit a CV of no more than two pages, and covering letter, drawing on your own background (including your life experiences, journey to/through university, work experiences or volunteering) please provide a summary of why you are ready to undertake a PhD now and how you will flourish as a result of PhD funding. You might include, for example, personal challenges that you have overcome or achievements that you are proud of in your work, study or life experiences and how these map onto the skills required to flourish in a PhD programme. Challenges could include, but are not limited to, protected characteristics, socio-economic status and of being first-in-a-generation to university or care experienced.

In order to gain access to the scholarship application system applicants must have applied for admission to the University of Edinburgh. Please note that, following the submission of an application for admission, it can take up to ten working days for all system checks to be completed and for access to be granted.

The online scholarship application form is located in EUCLID and can be accessed via MyEd our web-based information portal at https://www.myed.ed.ac.uk

When logging in to MyEd, you will need your University User Name and password. If you require assistance, please go to http://www.ed.ac.uk/student-systems/support-guidance

This article was published on 31 Jan, 2023