ESRC SWDTP +3 and 1+3 Studentships: Economics, for 2023/24 entry

Pathway Lead: Prof. Surajeet Chakravarty

Location: Streatham Campus, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon.

The University of Exeter is pleased to be offering ESRC funded 1+3 or +3 studentships as part of the South West Doctoral Training Partnership for entry in 2022-23. Within the SWDTP, the Business School is currently inviting applications for ESRC-facing research in Economics.

For eligible students the full time studentship will cover fees and an annual Research Council stipend of approximately £17,668 (2022/23 rate) for up to three years (+3 award) or four years (1+3 award).

For details regarding residency entry requirements, please see the entry requirements section below.

Please see the 'How to Apply' section below for details on applications for funding

For the 1+3 studentships we would require you to register initially on the ESRC accredited Masters programme:

• MRes Economics

For the +3 studentships we would require you to register on a PhD programme in one of our disciplines with the aim of conducting research in an area that aligns with the work of the ESRC.

We welcome applications to undertake research in Economics in any of our areas of expertise.

Research proposals in all areas of economics, including microeconomic theory, macroeconomics, applied economics and behavioural economics are welcome. Research strength of Exeter is in applied economics, development, environmental economics and labour economics. The department also has capacity in a diverse set of research methodology, which includes theory, applied econometrics, machine learning and RCTs. Exeter has an internationally renowned expertise in experimental and behavioural research and is home to FEELE, a state of the art 32 seat experimental laboratory. The department of Economics creates a vibrant research environment with an active research seminar series, thematic and timely workshops and conferences and project funding opportunities for graduate students. The department is also home to TARC, the Tax Administration Research Centre, jointly funded by the ESRC and HMRC and LEEP, Land Environment and Policy Institute. Ideal proposals would address key open questions of interest to economists and social scientists that are grounded in theory using both quantitative as well as qualitative tools.

We welcome applications to undertake research in any of our areas of expertise. Research proposals must fit ONE of the following criteria. 

1. Collaborative, Impact and Engagement Elements - important factors include relevant external partner identified, collaboration plan (with partner), impact and awareness of opportunities and challenges that external collaborations bring.

2. Ambitious and Novel Research Proposal - important factors include novelty/fresh ideas, new concepts / techniques with the potential for significant scientific or societal and economic impact, innovative or even untested methods within the context of the particular project, involve multiple or unusual disciplinary combinations both within and beyond the social sciences, and accessing difficult/challenging data or generating new data in challenging settings.

See 'Important notes' in the SWDTP Studentship Application Form.

Academic entry requirements:

Applicants for a +3 award should have:

• Completed, or be due to complete an ESRC-accredited or an equivalent research Masters* with a significant element of research training. Applicants may be asked for further information to determine the relevance of the content covered.

* An equivalent research Masters is defined as including significant social sciences
   research design, quantitative and qualitative research methods elements.
   The transcript will need to show that a minimum of a third of the taught stage of your
   programme entailed research methods elements - which should normally be roughly
   divided equally between social sciences research design, quantitative and qualitative
   research method elements - and that there is also a Dissertation. For students who
   have undertaken a Masters outside the UK we will look for appropriate equivalencies.
   All awards are subject to ratification by the “Awards and Ratification Committee”, who
   shall have the authority to reconsider the equivalence of any Masters awards.

The ESRC’s requirements for postgraduate training and development can be viewed at https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/ESRC-160622-PostgraduateTrainingDevelopmentGuidelines2022.pdf

• Achieved a current average grade of their Masters (at the point of application) normally of at least Merit (60%) grade. Successful applicants must ultimately achieve BOTH an overall average of at least 60% across the taught units/modules AND at least 60% for the dissertation component as a condition of their funding.

Holders of Masters degrees that are not considered equivalent (as above), must apply for the 1+3 award.

However, where only a small component of the required, prior training is missing, the Awards and Ratification Committee / SWDTP Director may exercise discretion and offer a PhD award conditional on the award recipient taking one or more research modules and passing their assessment at a grade of 60% or above in the first year of the recipient’s PhD. In such cases, failure to complete the required modules at this grade threshold may lead to funding being withdrawn.

In the case of a 1+3 application, continuation of funding from the ‘1’ stage to the ‘+3’ stage of the programme will be subject to achieving 60% across the taught units / modules AND 60% for the dissertation component. Students who fail to achieve these conditions may have their funding terminated and may be required to refund any money paid to them during the PhD portion of the programme.

In order to receive ESRC studentship funding you must have qualifications/experience equal to the standard of a good honours degree at first or upper second class level from a UK academic research organisation.

Degree qualifications gained from outside the UK, or a combination of qualifications and/or experience that is equivalent to a relevant UK degree may be accepted.

Residency entry requirements:

ESRC SWDTP studentships are open to UK and Irish nationals who, if successful in their applications, will receive a full studentship including payment of university tuition fees at the home fees rate.

A limited number of full studentships are also available to international students which are defined as EU (excluding Irish nationals), EEA, Swiss and all other non-UK nationals. 

Those not meeting the nationality and residency requirements to be treated as a ‘home’ student may apply for a limited number of full studentships for international students. Although international students are usually charged a higher tuition fee rate than ‘home’ students, those international students offered an ESRC SWDTP full studentship starting in 2023 will have their full tuition fees covered for the duration of their programme (the ‘home’ tuition fee rate covered by the studentship and an additional University of Exeter fee waiver). 

International applicants need to be aware that you will have to cover the cost of your student visa, healthcare surcharge and other costs of moving to the UK to do a PhD.

Please see the Key Facts in our International Student Support pages for further information https://www.exeter.ac.uk/students/international/applyingforavisa/studentvisas/

The conditions for eligibility of home fees status are complex and you will need to seek advice if you have moved to or from the UK (or Republic of Ireland) within the past 3 years or have applied for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

The full ESRC guidlines are available in the Postgraduate Funding Guide.

For more information on SWDTP entry and collaboration requirements, please read the Admission Statement & FAQs 2023 Entry.

Apply now

To apply for SWDTP funding, you must do so by clicking on the ‘apply now’ button above. Only applications submitted via this link will be considered for funding.  Please do not apply directly to your chosen programme of study at this stage. If successful, your application for funding will become your programme application so you will not need to apply again.

You will need to upload the following documents to the studentship application form. Please note our preferred format is PDF, each file named with your surname and the name of the document, eg “Smith – Transcript”, “Smith – Annexe A”, “Smith – Collaboration Support”:

• A completed SWDTP Studentship Application Form (Annex A). This will include your research proposal of 1,300 words including the name(s) of the potential supervisors. For 1+3 students it is recognised that this will be an outline proposal to be further developed during the first year of the studentship. Please upload your SWDTP Studentship Application form via the 'Annex A' section of the online application system.

• 2 references:
       - 1 Supervisor Supporting Statement form (Annex B)– this must be completed by your nominated supervisor.  
       - 1 reference from someone familiar with your academic work
       -  if your referees prefer, they can email the reference direct to pgrenquiries@exeter.ac.uk

• Verified transcript of your highest qualification to date or an interim transcript if you are still studying

• Letter(s) of support (ESCR collaboration): If your project requires external letters of support from prospective collaborators please upload the documents to the "Letter(s) of support (ESRC collaboration)" section in the application form. If your project does not require an external collaboration letter of support please upload a blank document in the format identified above with the title "Collaborative Support N/A"

• If you are not a national of a majority English-speaking country you will need to submit evidence of your proficiency in English (for further details, please see the University’s English language requirements)

Deadline for applications: 12.00 (Noon) GMT Friday 13 January 2023

Interviews for short listed applicants will take place w/c 27th February 2023 and will be held online.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your supervisor and referee email their Supervisor Supporting Statement/references to pgrenquiries@exeter.ac.uk, as we will not make requests for references directly; you must arrange for them to be submitted by midday Friday 13th January 2023. Please note that applications with missing documentation will not progress to shortlisting.

References should be submitted to us directly in the form of a letter. Referees must email their references to us from their institutional email accounts. We cannot accept references from personal/private email accounts, unless it is a scanned document on institutional headed paper and signed by the referee.

All application documents must be submitted in English. Certified translated copies of academic qualifications must also be provided.

During the application process, the University may need to make certain disclosures of your personal data to third parties to be able to administer your application, carry out interviews and select candidates. These are not limited to, but may include disclosures to:

- The selection panel and/or management board or equivalent of the relevant programme, which is likely to include staff from one or more other HEIs;

- Administrative staff at one or more other HEIs participating in the relevant programme.

Such disclosures will always be kept to the minimum amount of personal data required for the specific purpose. Your sensitive personal data (relating to disability and race/ethnicity) will not be disclosed without your explicit consent.