Cardiff University School of Social Sciences, supported by the ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Partnership and Administrative Data Research UK, invites applications for the following PhD project for October 2023 entry. The supervisors are Professor Donald Forrester and Dr Nell Warner.
This studentship will enable potential candidates to carry out children’s social care research using administrative datasets held at the SAIL databank. Two potential topics will be available. Candidates should indicate which topic they are interested in on application:
1. Longer-term health and criminal justice outcomes for care experienced young people: This would look at the experiences of care experienced young people and how they differ from non-care experienced people. It could consider both young
people who are classified as care leavers and entitled to further financial support and young people who returned to live with families before turning 18. It would involve linking looked after children and/or CAFCASS data to health and criminal justice system datasets.
2. Comparing the impact of household economic activity and area level deprivation on the likelihood of care entry: This study would link data from the 2011 and 2021 censuses to Looked After Children data so that the effects of different measures of individual level household economic activity on the likelihood of a child entering care can be explored. It would enable the effects of different measures of poverty to be compared with the effects of area level deprivation.
Applications are invited from exceptional candidates with a 1st class or strong upper 2nd class honours degree, or appropriate Master's degree. Awards are available as full and part-time: ‘1+3' (1 full time year of research training Masters and 3 years of full-time Doctoral study) or ‘+3' (3 years of full-time doctoral study) or its part-time equivalent, depending on applicant the needs. Applicants should take careful consideration of the working title and description of the project and may wish to contact the named member of staff for a discussion prior to applying.
The closing deadline for applications is 12.00 noon GMT on Wednesday, 31 May 2023. Short-listed applicants will be invited to interview, which are expected to take place between mid-June. After interview, a final short-list of applicants will be put forward to the ESRC Wales DTP Management Group at which final decisions with regard to studentship awards will be made.
HOW TO APPLY
Visit: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research/programmes/programme/social-sciences and complete the 'Apply Now' details. Your completed online application form should be for admission to Doctor of Philosophy in Social Sciences with an October 2023 start date. The application deadline is 12.00pm GMT on Wednesday, 31 May 2023. Incomplete applications or applications received after this specified time will not be accepted. In the funding section, please select “I will be applying for a scholarship/grant” and “ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Partnership”. The application must contain (this also applies to Fast Track applicants):
1. Covering letter: This must set out your reasons and motivation for applying to study at Cardiff University; your understanding and expectations of doctoral study; and your academic interests generally, particularly of those relating to your proposed research. It should be no more than two pages. Please specify whether you wish to apply on a +3 or 1+3 basis.
2. Academic / Professional Qualifications: Where appropriate, this should also include proof of English Language Competency (7.0 IELTS minimum).
3. References: All applications require two academic references dated within the last 6 months. Candidates must approach referees themselves and include references with their application.
4. Curriculum Vitae: No longer than two pages.
5. Research Proposal: For collaborative studentships, the proposal should build directly on the outline description that has been supplied. The proposal should be up to a maximum of 1000 words, not including bibliographic references. We suggest that you use the following five headings:
• Your reflections on the title, aims and purpose of the research;
• An overview of some key research literature relevant to the study;
• Your proposals for developing the design and methods of the study;
• A description of potential outcomes of the project for understanding, knowledge, policy and practice (as appropriate to the topic);
• Bibliography.
This program is available in English only. For information in Welsh, please contact postgradmarketing@cardiff.ac.uk.