School of Social Sciences PhD Studentships (Psychology)

Amount: Annual stipend for 3.5 years (matched to UKRI stipend, currently £18,622; stipend rate for 2024-25 to be confirmed), plus tuition fees waived and a research support allowance of £2,250.

Level: Postgraduate research (campus-based; full-time)

Entry date: 9^th September 2024

Closing date: 2^nd April 2024, 11:59pm (UK time)

The School of Social Sciences at Heriot-Watt University is home to the Department of Psychology, the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies and Edinburgh Business School. The School is offering a number of full-time PhD studentships to start in September 2024. Studentships include a tuition fee waiver and an annual stipend currently set at £18,622. The duration of the studentships is 3.5 years. The School of Social Sciences also offers a research support allowance of £2,250 over the registered period of study. In addition, full-time scholarship holders are normally offered an opportunity to undertake paid teaching support each academic year.

Our world-leading research in psychology is based around The Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences. We have a number of project areas to which we’re looking to recruit high-quality PhD candidates – to learn more about these projects, please visit our application and project page.

Men’s Sheds as a resource for loneliness reduction, community connection, and healthy aging (Ref. no. SoSS-2024-013)

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr. Mhairi Bowe (m.bowe@hw.ac.uk)

Researching mental health and social issues using discursive psychology (Ref. no. SoSS-2024-015)

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr. Marc Alexander (m.alexander@hw.ac.uk)

Restorative characteristics of Nature and Urban Environments (ReNUE): Understanding health and wellbeing (Ref. no. SoSS-2024-014)

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr. Louise Delicato (l.delicato@hw.ac.uk)

Embodied data science: Gamified learning to boost data literacy (Ref. no. SoSS-2024-016)

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr. Peter McKenna (p.mckenna@hw.ac.uk)

Development of female managers in the UAE context (Ref. no. SoSS-2024-017)

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr. Gary Pheiffer (g.pheiffer@hw.ac.uk)

How do humans innovate? (Ref. no. SoSS-2024-018)

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr. Monica Tamariz (m.tamariz@hw.ac.uk)

Optimising pedagogical strategies for teaching novel tasks (Ref. no. SoSS-2024-019)

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr. Monica Tamariz (m.tamariz@hw.ac.uk)

Applicants are strongly encouraged to get in touch with the relevant named contact(s) for an informal discussion prior to submitting their application.

Entry Criteria and Application

Applicants should have an undergraduate degree with a minimum classification of 2:1 in Psychology or a closely-related field. A Master’s degree is desirable for all projects, and essential for some. Any additional project-specific entry criteria can be found in the project summaries on the scholarship pages on our website. In addition, candidates for whom English is a second language should meet the University’s minimum English-language requirements. If you have not already studied a degree programme that was taught and examined in the medium of English, the minimum overall IELTS score is 6.5 with no score lower than 6.0 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. Applications for more than one project from the same candidate will be considered.

Please note that possession of the minimum qualifications does not guarantee shortlisting for interview.

Applicants should submit their application here or through our scholarship page. When completing the online application form, please indicate that you are applying to the ‘SoSS 2024 PhD scholarship competition’ in the field that asks how you will fund your studies, and include the name of the main supervisor for your chosen project in the field that asks who your supervisor will be.

Applicants should supply:

1. A full Curriculum Vitae.
2. Copies of full academic transcripts from all previous academic degree courses and copies of degree certificates for degrees already awarded. If you are currently pursuing a degree course please provide all available marks to date. If your degree is from a non-UK institution, please provide evidence of the UK equivalency of your qualification.
3. A brief covering letter outlining why you want to study for a PhD at Heriot-Watt University, and what makes you an excellent candidate.
4. An outline research proposal (max. 1500 words). This should clearly identify how the proposed research question and modes of inquiry align with your chosen project area. The proposal should clearly identify which project area has been selected by referring to the project title and ref. no. You should also ensure that the name of the main contact for your project area listed above is included in your application when prompted to enter your proposed supervisor.

Interviews will be conducted via video conferencing (e.g. Zoom or similar). Interview support for those with disabilities will be available where required (e.g. a BSL interpreter).

If you have any general queries about the applications process, please contact soss.pgr@hw.ac.uk

At Heriot-Watt University we understand that being diverse makes us better which is why we support a culture of respect and equal opportunity, and value diversity at the heart of what we do. We want to increase the diversity of our workplace to underpin a dynamic and creative environment and welcome applications from underrepresented groups. Heriot-Watt is committed to giving access and opportunities to student carers, and received the Going Higher for Student Carers Recognition Award from Carers Trust Scotland in 2020.

Development of female managers in the UAE context (Ref. no. SoSS-2024-017)

Supervisory team:  Dr. Gary Pheiffer, Dr. Zoe Fortune, Dr. Lucy Bolton & Dr. Jais Adam-Troian
Research Centre: Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences
Location: Dubai Campus

The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) cultural landscape is deeply rooted in tradition and Islamic values which influence societal perceptions of gender roles and expectations. Yet, the current push for Emiratization can create a paradox whereby female managers are pushed to take up meaningful organizational roles.  Understanding how these paradoxes of state initiatives and cultural norms shape the social identities of female managers is crucial for the success of implementation of these initiatives. In this context, Social Identity Theory (SIT) may elucidate how female managers' self-concept and identity are shaped by their membership in social groups within the UAE's cultural context. In this project area, we are examining the challenges from state initiatives to increase the number of female managers in the UAE private sector. We invite applications to join this project which we are conducting with female managers in the UAE, and Dubai specifically.

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr. Gary Pheiffer (g.pheiffer@hw.ac.uk).

When submitting your application for this project area, please select the option ‘Psychology, PhD’ from the drop-down list on the online application system. The scholarship will be located at the Dubai campus.

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