School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research Next Generation Research Scholarship

This scholarship includes a doctoral stipend (equivalent to the Research Councils UK National Minimum Doctoral Stipend, £18,622 for 2023/24), tuition fees and access to further research funding. 

The scholarship is offered as a Graduate Teaching Assistantship. Successful recipients are expected to teach as an GTA during the period of their doctorate. We expect this to be equivalent to 3 seminar groups per term.

The deadline for this scholarship has now passed

The scholarship will be awarded to candidates with research proposals of the highest quality. Scholarships available for UK or international applicants and can be taken full-time or part-time but must start their PhD in September 2023.

In order to receive this scholarship funding, you must have qualifications/experience equal to the standard of a good honours degree at a first or upper second class level from a UK academic research organisation or an equivalent qualification from outside the UK. A combination of qualifications and/or experience that is equivalent to a relevant UK degree may also be accepted.

This scholarship endeavours to support more students from under-represented backgrounds to undertake doctoral degrees and enter academia. Currently, in UK academia, UK Black and other minority ethnic groups are under-represented. Accordingly, when we have applications of equal merit, we will prioritise UK-based candidates of Black and other minority ethnic heritage (to include mixed heritage). This is a positive action measure under s. 158 of the Equality Act 2010.

The scholarship is awarded to all subjects offering PhD Degrees covered within the School of Social Policy, Sociology, and Social Research including;

• Social Policy
• Sociology
• Criminology
• Social Work
• Applied Health Research
• Philanthropy
• Migration Studies

For a full-list of programmes offered please refer to: www.kent.ac.uk/social-policy-sociology-social-research/postgraduate

The applicant must have two supervisors who agree to supervise the project. For a full list of potential supervisors within SSPSSR see this list: https://www.kent.ac.uk/social-policy-sociology-social-research/people or use this search engine: https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/research-phd/find-a-supervisor

For more information about the programmes and scholarship please contact the LSSJ post-graduate office lssjpgr@kent.ac.uk or the Director of Graduate Studies for SSPSSR Professor Heejung Chung h.chung@kent.ac.uk.

For any questions regarding the online application process, please contact the admissions team lssjadmissions@kent.ac.uk or the LSSJ post-graduate research funding team lssjpgrfunding@kent.ac.uk.

The School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR), part of the Division of Law, Society and Social Justice (LSSJ) at the University of Kent welcomes applications for the Next Generation Scholarship 2023. This scholarship is a part of the LSSJ divisional funds through which several scholarships will be awarded to PGR applicants across the Division.

SSPSSR is one of the largest social science communities in Europe. We work across many specialist areas across two campuses in Canterbury and Medway, and draw on a variety of intellectual traditions, ensuring that our research is broad and diverse in its scope. Within our School, both students and staff are genuinely interested in making a difference. We don’t just explore how society works and what its problems are. We are actively engaged in making our world better through policy interventions, practice, and shifting public perceptions. Many of our staff members work closely with UK and international governments, local government, grass roots communities and organisations. Our staff’s work is highlighted regularly on national and international media as leading experts on a wide range of topics.

We have some of the internationally leading scholars in our field. We are rated 1st for research quality in Sociology, Criminology and Social Work, and 2nd for Social Policy by the Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022. SSPSSR has been ranked 3rd in the UK for its overall research quality in the Unit of Analysis Social Policy and Social Work in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF2021). 100% of SSPSSR’s environment, which includes PhD supervision and training, is classed as world-leading (4*).