PhD Studentship at Queen Mary, University of London‏

Postgraduate Studentships 2012

The School of Politics and International Relations (SPIR) offers a number of generous studentships for students entering commencing their doctoral studies in October 2012. The deadline for consideration for funded places is 31st January 2012. Candidates whose applications are received after this date may be considered for admission but not for funding.

QMUL Principal’s Studentships

The following studentships are offered:

• Politics & International Studies: in any area of politics or international studies, broadly defined, but with particular concern to the interests of members of the School's academic staff with respect to supervision – see here for more details on research interests in the School

• The Mile End Scholarship in British Political History (joint with the School of History) – see here for more details   

• The Transnational Politics of the Latin American Diaspora, focussing on Bolivia (joint with the School of Geography) – see here for more details

Queen Mary Principal’s studentships are open to UK, EU and international students. They cover tuition fees and a maintenance allowance of around £15,000 per year for up to three years. Candidates will normally be expected to have a good first degree and a Masters degree in Politics, International Relations, or a related subject.

Economic & Social Research Council: Doctoral Training Centre (London Social Science) Studentships

The School of Politics & IR is part of a prestigious ESRC-funded Doctoral Training Centre (DTC), London Social Science, with QMUL and Goldsmiths, University of London. The DTC will provide funding for up to two PhD studentships in SPIR for entry in 2012. Applications in any field where we can offer expert supervision are encouraged. A full list of research interests in SPIR is here.

Studentships cover up to four years of tuition fees and provide a standard maintenance grant of £15,590 per year. PhDs with a particular emphasis on quantitative research may receive an additional Advanced Quantitative Methods (AQM) stipend of £3,000. Successful applicants will be offered a variety of flexible models of combined PhD study and research training: either a 1 + 3 model (i.e. 1 year doing an MA or MRes in advanced research training plus 3 years of PhD) or a model where the research training is completed throughout the course of the 4 years of the studentship.

Please note that you need to complete an additional ESRC application form to be considered for funding through the DTC. Further details and guidance on how to apply are below and available here: http://www.londonsocialscience.org.uk/index.html.

Candidates must adhere to the current residential eligibility rules as laid out in the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide available here.

How to Apply

For both types of studentship, apply via the standard doctoral application process, indicating in your application that you wish to be considered for funding. Applications can be made online here. Further details on how to apply are here. Hard copies of the application form are also available.

ESRC DTC applicants must also complete an additional application for funding, which is available to download from here: http://www.londonsocialscience.org.uk/index.html (under Studentships). This additional form should be emailed directly to politics-pgresearch@qmul.ac.uk - ensure you include ‘ESRC DTC Funding Application – Your Name’ in the subject line of your email. Alternatively, you can send a hard copy to the School of Politics & IR, QMUL, London, E1 4NS for the attention of ‘The Research Manager.’

Successful applicants to both funding schemes are expected to start in October 2012.

You are encouraged to visit our website to establish if your research ideas fit with our current areas of interest. In addition, you are encouraged to make informal contact with a potential supervisor to discuss your proposed topic, in advance of making your application. Two of the College studentships indicated above pertain to specific subject areas – click on the links above for more information.

Applications to both College and ESRC-funded studentships must consist of the following:
• A research proposal which should include a hypothesis, key questions to be addressed by your research, methodology and an indicative bibliography. Further advice on writing a research proposal is here. Please note that the research proposal word length for a studentship application is max. 2000 words.
• You should have a 2:1 or equivalent in your first degree and if your first language is not English you must be able to provide recent evidence that your spoken and written command of the English language is adequate for the programmes for which you have applied. You need to provide evidence of an English language test score or intend to take a test before your studies. Information about English language entry requirements can be found here.
• Transcripts from previous degrees
• 2 academic references
• A full curriculum vitae (CV)
• Supporting statement which states why you want to take the programme

Your complete application must be received in the Admissions Office no later than midnight on 31st January 2012. ESRC DTC funding forms must also be received by this date. Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that academic references are also received by this date and no later than Friday 3^rd February 2012. Applications without references will be considered incomplete and will not be processed further.

Candidates whose applications are received after this date may be considered for admission but not for funding. Candidates will be interviewed for a place. Those shortlisted for funding will be passed to a selection panel for final assessment. ESRC DTC applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application from mid-March 2012.

General enquiries about making a formal application can be addressed to the Research Manager by email politics-pgresearch@qmul.ac.uk, or call +44 0207 882 5829.

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The Mile End Scholarship in British Political History (joint with the School of History)

Applications are welcome in the general field of British Politics and Professional Life in Britain in the 20th Century, with a particular focus on the relationship between the political elite and professional groups.. For example, a project may focus on the professional profile of members of Parliament, as well as patterns of cooperation and conflict between the legislature and professional groups, such as, those in medicine, or the trade union movement. Applicants are invited to contact Prof Michael Kenny and Dr Catherine Needham in SPIR, or Dr Helen McCarthy, Dr James Ellison, Dr Peter Catterall and Dr Martyn Frampton in History to discuss their ideas. Applicants are invited to contact Prof Michael Kenny and Dr Catherine Needham in SPIR, or Dr Helen McCarthy, Dr James Ellison, Dr Peter Catterall and Dr Martyn Frampton in History to discuss their ideas.

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'The transnational politics of the Latin American diaspora: the Bolivian experience'

This studentship is part of an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Schools of Geography and Politics and International Relations. The project will be co-supervised by Dr Cathy McIlwaine (Geography) and Professor James Dunkerley (Politics and International Relations) (with Dr McIlwaine as the primary supervisor). Applicants should develop their own detailed Research Proposal relating to any dimension of disapora politics among Bolivians. This might include addressing the following issues: dual citizenship, the nature of diaspora participation in formal and informal politics, the gendered and racialised dimensions of identity politics, the creation of transnational political spaces.

Candidates should discuss their research proposal with Professor James Dunkerley and/or Dr Cathy McIlwaine before submitting their application.

Please note that online applications should be submitted for the attention of the School of Geography.