ESRC Funded Studentships in Education at Brunel University London, via the Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership

Brunel University of London is pleased to invite applications for studentships in Education, offered through the ESRC-funded Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership (GUDTP). The GUDTP is an exciting collaboration between Brunel, the University of Oxford and the Open University, which offers its students access to innovative social science research training across all three institutions. Brunel DTP students in Education will be members of the GUDTP Education Pathway led by the University of Oxford and Brunel and delivered collaboratively by the two universities. You can find further information about the GUDTP here.

Brunel DTP students on the Education pathway will join the Department of Education. Education at Brunel is a leading department in the UK offering the full range of provision at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In common with the university as a whole, the department has a rich ethnic mix among its student population and attracts a significant proportion of students from outside the European Union. The Education Department is ranked top 4 in London (Complete University Guide, 2026), and 1st in London and 3rd in UK for Education graduate jobs and further study (LEO 2023). In the last Research Excellence Framework, 60% of the Education Department’s research was world leading or internationally excellent and 90% of its impact was graded as internationally excellent. 

Our Doctoral Researchers are a key part of our research and scholarly community, and we seek to nurture and develop them as the next generation of researchers in education who both create and co-create new knowledge in order to advance the field. We view Education as a discipline in its own right as well as drawing on other disciplinary fields such as history, philosophy, sociology and human geography to inform provision for both our PhD and EdDoc researchers. We believe in the holistic development of the researcher and offer opportunities for doctoral researchers to become fully immersed in Department, College and wider University research networks, providing them with new insights into theory, methodology, methods, ethics and real-world application.

Our research addresses education in the broadest sense, taking in both formal and informal education (including youth work and welfare contexts) and focusing across the lifecourse to include early years, schooling, higher education and lifelong learning. Departmental research is currently organised and led through three research groups:

Education, Identities, and Society

Media, Arts and Culture in Education

STEM Education

The Department is also affiliated with the following research groups and centres:

Global Lives

Human Geography: space, place and society

Kidspace: key skills in participation in childhood

Joint Oxford-Brunel supervision will be available where beneficial, drawing on existing external co-supervision practices. More information on the Education research areas available at Brunel is available at:

https://www.brunel.ac.uk/research/Research-degrees/DTPs/Grand-Union-DTP

Studentships are available as either three-year PhD (+3) or four-year studentships, depending on the level of research training already achieved, on a full-time or part-time basis. Successful applicants for a Full-time award will receive an annual maintenance stipend of approximately £20662 per year (2023/4) UKRI rate paid monthly in advance) for the period of their award (three or four years) plus Fees at the current UKRI rate for Full time or Part time courses. Successful applicants for a Part-time award will be paid pro rata for the period of their award (six or eight years).

How to apply and eligibility

For the Education Pathway, please click on the 'Apply' button above.

Contact: studentships@brunel.ac.uk

Deadline for final applications is 9^th January 2026

Please note, all candidates must contact the relevant research group lead in advance of the deadline for final applications. Interviews with potential candidates with be held w/c 5^th February.