4-Year PhD / Associate Lecturer

Grade 6 (0.25 FTE/9.063 hours per week) & PhD student (0.75 FTE/27.187 hours per week)

Fixed Term for 4 Years

4-year PhD / Associate Lecturer positions in the School of Psychology & Neuroscience

Interested in combining PhD study in Psychology & Neuroscience with teaching undergraduate Psychology?

Overview

The School of Psychology & Neuroscience wishes to appoint 4 x 4-year PhD Student / Associate lecturers. The successful applicants will combine a PhD in an area of Psychology or Neuroscience (0.75FTE) with an Associate Lecturer position (0.25FTE). The positions will be funded for four years with up to an additional two years (unfunded) for continuation/writing up of PhD.

The Programme:

The programme combines PhD study with an Associate Lecturer position. The main purpose of the roles are:

• Undertaking a PhD in Psychology or Neuroscience. This will be 0.75 FTE over the course of the 4 years although teaching/PhD split will be uneven with percentage of teaching time each year being approximately 25%,25%,40%,10%.
• Supervising final year Psychology UG dissertations
• Undertaking teaching and marking activities associated with a range of the School’s undergraduate modules
• Contributing to the effective administration and management of the School’s activities

Where you will be based:

The School of Psychology & Neuroscience comprises ~40 academic staff (both ‘research and teaching’ and ‘education-focused’ staff) and ~60 PhD students. We have 4 general research groupings: Cellular and Behavioural Neuroscience, Perception Cognition and Action, Origins of Mind, and Social and Group Processes and candidates could complete their PhD in any of these areas (see: www.st-andrews.ac.uk/psychology-neuroscience/research/research-groups). The quality of our research has been recognised in national research assessment exercises. For example, in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF), we remained top in the UK for our research environment, and 85% of our research was judged as world-leading or internationally excellent. The School holds an Athena SWAN gold award and is fully committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. 

Who and what are we looking for:

We are looking for enthusiastic individuals with a desire to combine teaching Psychology (particularly supervision of research projects) with PhD study. The successful applicants will need to successfully fulfil both roles.

As a minimum candidates should hold an undergraduate degree in psychology or a cognate discipline and have a desire to educate and inform students. Candidates must have, or be able to obtain, immigration permission that permits them to live and work in the UK without any restrictions.

St Andrews offers more than just a place to work it is a place to belong. We value collegiality, inclusion, and wellbeing, and we are committed to creating a workplace where staff can thrive and perform at their best.

In addition to the salary on offer for this position, there are a wide range of benefits for staff working at the University of St Andrews. The package for the 4-year PhD / Associate Lecturer positions in the School of Psychology & Neuroscience includes:

• Financial contribution to relocation (subject to eligibility)
• A hybrid working environment, including partial homeworking where appropriate and a range of family friendly policies, supporting work-life balance
• Staff discount scheme for local and national goods and services
• Free staff parking, employee Carshare and Cycle to Work Schemes and subsidised local bus travel
• Subsidised sports membership, reduced tuition fees on degree programmes for staff, access to training and development opportunities including LinkedIn Learning, access to library facilities, salary sacrifice scheme
• 30 Days Annual Leave plus 5 Public Holidays.

How to apply:  

Interested applicants should first identify a potential supervisor from our staff (see staff page here) and then contact them to discuss potential research topics. You must have confirmed that the supervisor would be happy to supervise you before applying. A list of example PhD topics can be found here.  

Applications should include:   

• CV
• Research proposal, including working title (max 500 words)
• Cover letter including details of teaching experience and teaching philosophy
• Name and email contact details of two referees
• Academic transcripts for undergraduate degree and any postgraduate degree completed or in progress (interim transcripts are permitted at this stage where final results are not yet known)

At St Andrews, equality, diversity, and inclusion are central to who we are and form a core pillar of our University Strategy. We are committed to creating a fair, inclusive and supportive workplace, reflected in our participation in national diversity charters and awards, including Athena Swan, Carer Positive and the Race Equality Charter.

We particularly welcome applications from people from Black, Asian, minority ethnic and minority religions backgrounds and from LGBTQ+ and disabled people.

Job Description: 4- Year PhD, Associate Lecturer FPs.pdf

Applications should be sent to Head of School (psyhos@st-andrews.ac.uk) by 13^th April 2026.

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