ERC-funded PhD Studentship in Psychology - The psychological causes and consequences of social inequality

Applications are invited for a 3-year PhD studentship with Dr Nikhil Sengupta in the Psychology and Public Policy Research Unit (PSYPOL) at the University of Kent, funded by the European Research Council (ERC). The studentship commences in Sept 2023.

Funding

This studentship is suitable for applicants who have or will have a Master’s degree or equivalent at merit or distinction level in Psychology or another relevant subject area by June 2023.

The studentship award covers your tuition fees at the Home rate (£4,500 per annum correct as of 2021-22*) and additionally provides you with a stipend (£15,609 per annum correct as of 2021-22*) for maintenance. This level of financial support is guaranteed to the awardee, subject to performance, however, additional support may be available for international applicants in particular circumstances.

*when announced, we will make you aware of the stipend approved for 2023/24.

Research Project

The studentship, starting in September 2023, will be part of the ERC-funded grant project titled “The Psychology of Public Policy: Inequality, Immigration and International Relations.”

The project aims to investigate how people’s political attitudes develop and change over time, and how they affect the social structure. It involves two largescale data collection initiatives – a four-wave longitudinal survey of 50,000 adults and an eight-wave longitudinal survey of 20,000 adolescents. The adult survey also involves the use of a custom app that enables nested studies – specifically, experiments and experience sampling studies. The adolescent survey includes full network information for each participant, enabling the use of network analysis. Each survey is fairly extensive, allowing for the inclusion of a wide range of concepts relevant to the project’s objectives and the student’s research interests.

The student will be part of the Psychology and Public Policy Research Unit and will also be embedded in the Political Psychology Lab at the School of Psychology located on the Canterbury campus of the University of Kent. For more information, see the School’s website.

For more details regarding the projects objectives, read the full blog here- https://www.kent.ac.uk/psychology/news/4969/erc-funded-phd-studentship-in-psychology-the-psychological-causes-and-consequences-of-social-inequality-2

How to apply

All completed applications received by 23:59 (UK time) on 10 February 2023 will be considered.

Completed applications must comprise all of the following:

• Submission of a KentVision application for a Psychology PhD place in the School of Psychology at the University of Kent including:
• A transcript of degree undergraduate and postgraduate marks to date and certificate, if available, in pdf format.
• The names and email addresses of two academic referees. References must also be received by 10 February 2023. Please leave a suitable amount of time for your referees to respond to the reference request which is sent automatically upon submission of the PhD application in KentVision.
• A current CV in pdf format.
• Submission of a 1-2 page covering letter which explains why you should be considered for the ERC-funded Psychology PhD Studentship. In this letter, please include your research interests and how you think the data being generated by this project could be useful in pursuing them. This should be sent directly to hssadmissions@kent.ac.uk and should include the KentVision application ID number. If you have any specific questions about the scholarship, please write to Dr Nikhil Sengupta at n.sengupta@kent.ac.uk.

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