Job offer Sociology and Science & Technology: ESRC Wales Graduate School for the Social Sciences (WGSSS) PhD Scholarship in Sociology or in Science and Technology Studies pathway

Duration of study may vary from 3.5-4.5 years, full-time (or part-time equivalent) dependent on your prior research experience. Swansea University, in conjunction with colleagues in the WGSS, will undertake an assessment of the successful applicant's training needs and work with them to tailor the training they are offered to meet their research needs. This might take the form a full master's course, or might be comprised of individual courses designed to enhance skills required for their chosen area of study.

Bachelor Degree or equivalent, English Language: IELTS 6.5 Overall (with no individual component below 6.5) or Swansea University recognised equivalent. Full details of our English Language policy, including certificate time validity, can be found here.

This pathway will leverage excellent provision and research in sociological methods training at Swansea, to build capacity and realise a networked all-Wales strategy for doctoral training in Sociology and STS, drawing upon FtF, hybrid and blended approaches. Pathway strengths include centres and other UKRI investments, ADR Wales, and the Centre for Ageing and Dementia Research.

Sociology/STS is an emerging disciplinary strength at Swansea University that currently sits within UoA20, with pockets of excellence that speak to WGSSS crosscutting themes. This is a merger of two DTP2 pathways, that are adjacent in disciplinary terms, with an extension to include Bangor and Swansea, as well as Cardiff.

Research Environment
Training: The pathway offers advanced training in: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods (all HEIs); Ethnography; Interaction Analysis (Audio, Video and Multimodal Approaches); Advanced Approaches to Science and Technology Studies; Theorising Contemporary Social Change and Transformation; Advanced Statistics; and the PGR Summer School on Statistics, from 2024 (Swansea). Students will also be able to participate in training provided by WISERD, which is closely aligned with the pathway, benefitting from its partnership with the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) (2019-2024), a centre for the delivery of innovative training and capacity-building activities. In addition to pooling these resources where possible, we will also use WGSSS training support to develop and package a suite of short on-line methods training courses, as well as create and deliver a pathway/cluster summer school (hosted on a rotating basis as a 'signal' event), also open to other pathways and
DTPs, where feasible.

Community engagement includes presentations at the National Eisteddfod and Hay Festival and collaborative research with, e.g. National Adoption Service, Care Inspectorate Wales, Welsh Council for Voluntary Action (a formal partner in WGSSS), Shelter Cymru, and Senghenydd Youth and Community Centre (South Wales).

Cohort Building: We will open up HEI-focused research groups to all pathway and cluster students. This networked approach will fold these activities into a series of hybrid activities that will be open across the pathway, optimising opportunities for cohort building and participation. Rotating the summer school acts as an annual cohort signal event.

Research in Practice: The pathway will benefit from each participating department's connections to Government, the commercial sector and wider civil society. Close links with the Wales Centre for Public Policy (an ESRC 'What Works Centre') and the Awen Institute, will bring together researchers, the creative industries and the public to offer rich potential for placements and collaborative supervision.

The studentship funded by the ESRC covers tuition fees and an annual tax-free living stipend in line with UKRI minimum rates (currently £19,237 for 2024/25).

If you have a disability, you may be entitled to a Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) on top of your studentship.

Students also have access to a Research Training Support Grant, worth up to £940 per year.
Eligibility criteria

To receive ESRC studentship funding, you must have qualifications or experience equal to an honours degree at a first or upper second-class level, or a masters from a UK academic research organisation.

Students with non-traditional academic backgrounds are also welcome to apply.

WGSSS studentships are available to home and international students. Up to 30% of our cohort can comprise international students. International students will not be charged the fee difference between the UK and international rate. Applicants should satisfy the UKRI eligibility requirements.