Social Care, Social Work, Social Policy: Fully funded PhD Scholarship in the ESRC Welsh Graduat[...]

Swansea University; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 21,000; Full time

Job summary

A UK university is offering a PhD Position in Social Policy and Social Work, focusing on areas such as inequalities, advocacy, and social justice. Candidates should hold an honours degree or equivalent and may include international students. The studentship covers tuition fees and provides a living stipend of £20,780.

Benefits

Tuition fees covered

Annual tax-free living stipend

Access to a Research Training Support Grant

Qualifications

• Qualifications or experience equal to an honours degree at a first or upper second-class level.
• Masters from a UK academic research organisation is also acceptable.
• Students with non-traditional academic backgrounds are welcome to apply.

Responsibilities

• Supervising PhD work across a range of subjects in Social Policy and Social Work.

Education

Honours degree at first or upper second-class level or a master's from a UK academic research organisation

Job description

Organisation/Company Swansea University Department Central Research Field Sociology » Other Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Country United Kingdom Application Deadline 11 Dec 2025 - 23:59 (Europe/London) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Oct 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Social Policy sits within the School of Social Sciences, and the Department of Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy. The Department is also home to the Centre for Social Change, which hosts regular seminars by both Swansea academics, collaborators and other academics across the globe. Swansea University hosts the ESRC Administrative Data Research Centre (Wales), which facilitates access to linked, de-identified administrative data in a secure environment.

Social Care and Social Work sits within the School of Health and Social Care, and is home to the award-winning DEEP initiative, devoted to devising new forms of participatory evidence-gathering, in ways suited to informing policy.

The Social Policy and Social Work teams are interested in supervising PhD work across the domains of the subjects. Particular areas of research expertise include:

• Inequalities and social justice
• the politics of social welfare
• relations between the state and civil society
• advocacy
• disability studies
• ethical issues in social policy
• children and children’s right
• the family
• communities and social care
• the social policy roles of the third sector
• co-production
• service outcomes for children, young people and families
• the rights of excluded groups (e.g. asylum seekers, Romanai and Traveller families)
• inclusive practices in social care research

To receive WGSSS 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.

If you have any questions regarding your academic or fee eligibility based on the above, please email [e-mail] with the web-link to the scholarship(s) you are interested in.

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.

The studentship funded by the ESRC covers tuition fees and an annual tax-free living stipend in line with UKRI minimum rates (currently £20,780 for 2025/26). Students also have access to a Research Training Support Grant

To receive WGSSS 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.

If you have any questions regarding your academic or fee eligibility based on the above, please email [e-mail] with the web-link to the scholarship(s) you are interested in.

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.

Please see our website for more information.