After the Single Use project PhD Studentship: Eliminating Single-use Plastics in Scottish Healthcare

Key contact name: Postgraduate Research Office

Key contact email: pgresearch.sps@ed.ac.uk

Project details

The University of Edinburgh is offering a 3.5 year funded studentship to pursue a PhD. The PhD awardee will carry out a Scotland-based case study as part of the international After the Single Use team.

This PhD studentship is situated within the After the Single Use project. After the Single Use is a five-year anthropological and historical research project examining the history, circulation and elimination of single-use plastics in global healthcare. The PhD project will involve an ethnographic investigation of efforts by policy makers, health workers, activists, and entrepreneurs, among others, to build a circular health care economy in Scotland, exploring the historical roots of current systems of disposability, diverse framings of medical plastics by different actors, and social and cultural processes of institutional and infrastructural change. 

Full details of the project can be found on the School website.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the standard requirements for the full-time Social Anthropology PhD programme and must also meet the following additional eligibility criteria:

• Be able to take up the scholarship on a full-time basis.
• Have ethnographic fieldwork experience.
• Have some experience of quantitative methods (desirable).
• Can demonstrate excellent academic writing skills.
• Be willing to work in a team and meet strict deadlines.
• Interest in developing skills in creative and collaborative research methodologies.
• Have commitment to, and willingness to learn skills for, impactful research and undertaking. relevant training for knowledge exchange and impact (KEI).
• Have commitment to take part in intellectual and research life at the University of Edinburgh through physical attendance for 2-3 days a week on campus, and attendance at seminars and events.

Award details

The studentship funding is for 3.5 years. The awardee will commence the  full-time PhD Social Anthropology PhD programme in January 2025. The award includes: 

• An annual maintenance grant/stipend at the UKRI rate (£19,237 in 2024/25 for reference).
• Tuition fee cover at the Home fee rate.
• Potential for funding for fieldwork travel subject to agreement from project funder.
• Potential for funding for conference participation subject to agreement from project funder.

The closing date for this scholarship is 1^st October 2024 at 23:59 GMT

Application Process

Applicants should combine the following documents into a single PDF document and send it to alice.street@ed.ac.uk no later than the closing date:

• A full university transcript, showing the courses/modules taken and marks for individual courses and for a dissertation.
• A CV of no more than two pages. 
• Two references from academic staff who have direct experience of your work.
• A writing sample of between 4,000-10,000 words.
• A personal statement of up to two pages (Please see full details of requirements on our website).

Selection process

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview to discuss their suitability for this scholarship.

The successful studentship applicant will be invited to apply for admission to the PhD programme after selection for funding.

Interview date: Thursday, 10^th October, to be held online. 

Candidates will be advised of the outcome by Monday, 21^st October 2024.

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