Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) via IAPETUS Doctoral Training Partnership
There are also instances of interdisciplinary research studentships from more than one research council. Allocation of all these studentships are competitive.
Other research council studentships
At times, the School offers additional research council studentships, sometimes associated with particular projects or in collaboration with non-academic partners (ESRC-collaborative studentships).
These may be linked to the AHRC, ESRC or the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Collaborative awards that are available will be advertised in the press and on this website.
The ESRC also occasionally offers collaborative studentships linked to a government department (such as the Department for Transport or the Scottish Government).
Information about these awards will be posted in the ESRC's website and available awards will be advertised here and in the press in the early summer.
Newcastle University research institutes may also advertise specific bursaries and scholarship funding opportunities.
The Northern Bridge DTP studentship competition for entry 2021 is now open.
The deadline for submitting applications is 16.00 on Wednesday 13 January 2021.
Applicants should submit a University online postgraduate application form for the PhD programme. You should quote code NBC21 under “studentship/partnership reference” and “Who is your sponsor/funding body”. You must attach the following documents to the application:
current CV (2 sides of A4 maximum)
Research Proposal (maximum 750 words excluding bibliography);7
As of 2020/21, all international students will be eligible to apply for Northern Bridge Consortium studentships. This includes EU and non-EU citizens. There is currently no specific guidance about how this will work in practice and the exact level of financial support or number of studentships the consortium will be able to offer students in this category.
The Northern Bridge Consortium website will provide up to date citizenship and eligibility guidance as information is released. They also provide full details of all eligibility criteria.
We enjoy continuing high levels of ESRC funding success through four pathways within the school: Human Geography, Sociology and Children, Youth & Families and Conflict, Security & Justice.
The ESRC NINE DTP competition for entry 2021 is now open.
The Human Geography training pathway is offered at Newcastle University via the School of Geography, Politics & Sociology.
Students following the Human Geography pathway engage with research which is conceptually rooted, theoretically innovative and empirically rigorous. Our research has research-user impacts, and we have significant global academic impact as well. Opportunities exist for PhD research training and to conduct research across a wide range of human geography fields, including political, economic, social and cultural geography.
Students applying to this pathway on a 1+3 basis receive Masters-level research training via the MA Human Geography (Research) or the MA Local and Regional Development (Research). These programmes combine core geography or local and regional development-specific research training with more generic training in research skills, methodologies and theories. Students awarded 1+3 funding can then proceed to their PhD here at Newcastle in Geography.
Students already holding a recognised geography research training qualification at MA level, and those with some Masters-level research training, are eligible to apply for funding on a +3 or +3.5 basis. For these applicants, further research training is available and is undertaken in conjunction with their primary research on their PhD topic.
A full list of potential supervisors and the areas in which they can offer supervision is available here
The Sociology training pathway is offered at Newcastle University via the School of Geography, Politics & Sociology.
Students in the Sociology pathway engage with research which is theoretically innovative and empirically rigorous. Opportunities exist for PhD research training and to conduct research across a range of fields in sociology. You can get a sense of our key research interests by exploring the work of our three research clusters: Imagining Pasts and Futures; Identities, Embodiments and Selves; and Power, Inequality and Citizenship, as well as looking at the work of the Policy, Ethics and Life Sciences research centre.
Students applying to this pathway on a 1+3 basis receive Masters-level research training via the MA Sociology and Social Research. This programme combines provision of advanced-level grounding in key sociological theories, perspectives and concepts with the opportunity to engage in more generic training in research skills, methodologies and theories provided by the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences faculty. Students awarded 1+3 funding can then proceed to their PhD here in Sociology.
Students already holding a recognised sociology research training qualification at MA level, and those with some Masters-level research training, are eligible to apply for funding on a +3 or +3.5 basis. For these applicants, further research training is available and is undertaken in conjunction with their primary research on their PhD topic.
Find out more about our research community, expertise and facilities here – or look at the individual profiles of potential academic supervisors in Sociology. Pathway contact – Dr Lisa Garforth
The Children, Youth and Families pathway of NINEDTP is available to prospective students through the school of Geography, Politics and Sociology (GPS).
The pathway is open across four of the NINEDTP institutions:
Newcastle
Durham
Teesside
Queen’s University Belfast
Choosing to base your studies with us at Newcastle in the school of GPS however will give you access to specialist research expertise from our staff in the following areas:
Specialisms within our human geography staff include: participatory and collaborative research with children and youth; geographies of religion, faith and spirituality among young people; cooperative living and family life; ethnographies and infranstructures of everyday life; marriage, ender and family; masculinities and gender-based violence; geographies of gender and generation; health and inequalities; children, young people and critical geopolitics; domestic divisions of labour
Specialisms within our politics staff include: political representations in children’s literature; social movements and adolescent gender roles; social capital and political representation
Specialisms within our sociology staff include: identities, embodiments and selves; imagining pasts and futures; power, inequalities and citizenship; young people, everyday life and friendships; childhood disability; medicine, community and family
Prospective PhD applications should not be limited to the topics listed above and interdisciplinary and inter – as well as intra – institutional applications are also encouraged.
Current director of the Children, Youth and Families pathway is Dr Sarah Winkler-Reid, Sarah is happy to speak with potential candidates and to help facilitate student/supervisory connections.
The Conflict, Security and Justice thematic pathway is offered at Newcastle University through four key disciplines; Environmental Planning, Human Geography, Law and Sociology. It is a collaborative pathway which offers students the opportunity to pursue cutting-edge interdisciplinary research supported by scholars working across a range of areas. Within these subject areas we have particular strengths in military, war and security related research, as well as in human rights and social justice scholarship. The establishment of secure, peaceful, and just societies requires insight and innovation from all disciplines, and as an inter-disciplinary pathway, Conflict, Security and Justice provides crucial opportunities to support and encourage cross-cutting research that addresses global challenges in novel ways.
The Conflict, Security and Justice pathway offers funding for 1+3 (MA + PhD), +3.5 (PhD with additional research training, or required language training) and +3 (PhD). Students will be based in Newcastle but may have supervisors based in Durham or one of the two Belfast universities within the partnership.
A list of potential supervisors at Newcastle can be found by following the links to the four subject areas;
NINE DTP may only award a maximum of 30% of all studentships to international candidates, as defined by the ESRC and UKRI. See full guidance below.
All awards will be made at the full studentship rate for the UKRI, set at £4,407 for fees and £15,285 for stipend in 2021-2022.
Where students are required to pay international student tuition fee rates, the difference in funding between the UKRI fee rate and the international tuition fees must be covered by the department/institution/other funding sources. NINE DTP cannot provide funds to cover this difference.
Candidates and supervisors should discuss the eligibility of all applicants to determine whether the candidate would be considered a home or international student.
Full details of eligibility criteria are on the NINE DTP website.
The School of Geography, Politics and Sociology is a partner of the IAPETUS North East and Scotland multi-disciplinary Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP).
The NERC IAPETUS2 studentship competition for entry 2021 is now open.
The deadline for submitting applications is 17.00 on Friday 8 January 2021.
All prospective students need to:
Complete the online IAPETUS2 form. Before completing this form, read the DTP privacy policy as you will need to tick that you have read and understood this;
Submit a university online postgraduate application for the programme 8201F PhD Physical Geography, quoting code IAP2 under ‘Studentship/Partnership’ and ‘Who is your sponsor/funding body’. In addition, the following documents should be attached to the online programme application and submitted by the deadline to Jenny Dawley via gps.pgr@ncl.ac.uk:
completed nomination form (available to download here)
current CV
full transcripts of previous qualifications obtained to date
The School of Geography, Politics and Sociology is a partner of the ONE Planet cohort-based Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) across both Newcastle and Northumbria Universities.
The internationally-recognised research excellence spans the NERC science remit, including:
Climate and Climate Change
Earth System Processes
Anthropocene
Environmental Informatics
Each of our studentship awards includes 3.5 years of fees (Home/EU), an annual living allowance (£15,285) and a Research Training Support Grant (for travel, consumables, as required).
The NERC ONE Planet studentship competition for entry 2021 is now open.
The deadline for submitting applications is Monday 18 January 2021.
All applicants need to submit an application via the postgraduate application portal for the programme 8212F ‘PhD ONE Planet’, quoting the relevant OP project code under ‘Studentship/Partnership’ and ‘Who is your sponsor/funding body’.
In addition, the following documents should be attached to the online programme application:
your CV
your 1,000-word personal statement (with your chosen project title and reference code eg OP2020X)
explain how your knowledge, skills and experience fit the project outline
your 1,000-word project proposal(with project title and OP reference code)
if you are outlining your own research idea, please use reference code OP20200
a minimum of two references
these can be submitted with your application if they are signed, or alternatively, they can be emailed directly by the referee to oneplanet@ncl.ac.uk
it is your responsibility to request these references and ensure they that are sent to us
degree transcripts and certificates
if English is not your first language, a copy of your English language qualification
If you are outlining your own research idea, please use reference code: OP20200
