PhD Studentship: Magdalen Vernon PhD Studentship in Psychology, Neuroscience, Psycholinguistics, or Clinical Language Science

Project Overview:

The School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences invites applications for a fully funded PhD Studentship in Psychology, Neuroscience, Psycholinguistics, or Clinical Language Science.

The School has particular strength in psychopathology and emotional disorders, affective and cognitive neuroscience, personalised nutrition, motivation and behaviour change, perception and action, cognitive control, psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics, bilingualism, and clinical language science. For further information, please see the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences website. The studentship is named in honour of Professor Magdalen Vernon (1901-1991), the first female Head of the then Department of Psychology at Reading.

The School is a leading centre for research and was overall ranked 23rd in the UK within its unit of assessment in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF). 99% of our research was rated as having international standing, whilst 100% of our research impact was classified as “outstanding” or “very considerable”. Successful candidates will join a thriving postgraduate community of over 70 PhD students who benefit from excellent support and resources from the School and membership of the University’s Doctoral and Researcher College. The studentships are for a fixed period of 3 years.

Eligibility: 

• Applicants should have a good (1st or 2.1) first degree in psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, language therapy or related subject. A master’s degree in a relevant discipline would also be beneficial.
• Open to UK and international applicants.

Funding Details:   

• Starts September 2026
• 3 year award
• Funding covers full tuition fees at the home or international rate, plus a stipend at the UKRI rate (currently £20,780). Also included is a £1,000 per year Research Training Support Grant.

How to apply:  

(1) Submit an online application for PhD study at the University of Reading. Please ensure to include a CV, academic transcripts and certificates, and a research proposal of 500-700 words (excluding references) in your application. Quote reference ‘DRC26-002’ in the ‘Scholarships applied for’ box which appears within the Funding Section of your on-line application.

(2) Complete the Magdalen Vernon PhD Studentship Application Form.

Applicants must compete both an online application for PhD study (1) and the Application Form (2) to be considered.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss their research proposal with an appropriate member of Academic Staff in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences before submitting their online application.

Application Deadline:  Friday December 5th, 2025.

Further Enquiries:  

For further details please contact pclsphdadmissions@reading.ac.uk.

Please note that, where a candidate is successful in being awarded funding, this will be confirmed via a formal studentship award letter; this will be provided separately from any Offer of Admission and will be subject to standard checks for eligibility and other criteria.

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