Latest PhD opportunities

The College of Social Sciences offers PhD opportunities with specific research projects throughout the academic year, which are advertised here.

If nothing is listed, then please check again at a later date.

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ERC LawAtWork PhD Scholarship - Testing the impact of novel workplace technologies on employment law enforcement and compliance.

ERC LawAtWork PhD Scholarship - Testing the impace of novel workplace technologies on employment law enforcement and compliance.

Information on the School/Research Group

The LawAtWork research group is led by Professor Ruth Dukes and funded by the European Research Council (ERC Advanced Grant No. 101198387). Ruth is Professor of Labour Law at the University of Glasgow. The LawAtWork research group is engaged in an ambitious programme of research on employment law enforcement and compliance across the European Union. The group uses state of the art interdisciplinary methods to understand why breach of employment law occurs and to test the hypothesis that widespread bre4ach may erode public faith in the rule of law. In addition to the PI, the group comrpises on senior researcher, Dr Eleanor Kirk, three postdoctoral researchers and two phd students. The group is embedded in the School of Law, where it enjoys close contacts with other labour law and LPR researchers. Group members also have the opportunity to join the cross-College interdisciplinary research network, GLEW (Glasgow Labour, Employment and Work).

Supervisory Team

Prinicipal Supervisor: Professor Ruth Dukes

Project details

This project tests the hypothesis that breach of employment law may be more difficult to detect, remedy, and guard against where AI and other novel technologies are used to recruit, manage and monitor workers. It also aims to identify ways of addressing such difficulties. Methodologically, the project begins by mapping existing and emergent practices in ‘people analytics’, ‘management by algorithm’ and other uses of new technologies at work, drawing on the fast-moving scholarly and industry literature. It then employs a combination of doctrinal legal research and in-depth interviews with managers and workers to identify situations where AI and tech encourage or even mandate compliance with the law, or alternatively legal breach, and to clarify the extent of the ‘accountability gap’ that can arise when tech and not a human being is deemed, and understood, to have ‘made’ the decision to comply with or breach a legal rule.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Applicants will have a good Undergraduate or Masters degree (or overseas equivalent) in law, sociology, industrial relations or human resource management.
Applicants will have a demonstratable interest in employment law and work relations

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Law, PhD.

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +4 (4 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in October 2026. The full funding package includes:

An annual maintenance grant (stipend) at the UKRI rate
Fees at the standard home or international tuition fee rate
Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year

Additional information

The four-year term reflects the fact that the student will be expected to participate in the joint work of the LawAtWork research group.

Application process

Applicants must apply via the Scholarships Application Portal (please see Scholarships Application Portal - Applicant Guide for more information).The funding opportunity is under 'College of Social Sciences Postgraduate Research Funding > COSS-26-003') uploading the following documentation:

ERC LawAtWork PhD Scholarship (Workplace technologies) application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)

*Please note that when you enter your referees contact details on the Scholarships Application Portal and send the reference request, your referees are expected to provide their references by the closing date of the Scholarship (below). It is strongly recommended you complete this as soon as possible, as late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Application Closing Date: 16 March 2026

References due no later than 23 March 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

All scholarship awards are subject to candidates successfully securing admission to a PhD programme in the School of Law. Successful applicants will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programme after they are selected for funding.

Key contact

Professor Ruth Dukes

ERC LawAtWork PhD Scholarship - The Rule of Law at Work: Breach of Workers' Rights and Public Faith in the Rule of Law

Information on the School/Research Group

Supervisory Team

Prinicipal Supervisor: Professor Ruth Dukes

Secondary Supervisor: Dr Eleanor Kirk

Project details

This project assesses the damage done to people’s faith in the rule of law when employment rights are frequently or routinely breached. It combines library-based study of the rule of law, private power and public perception, with empirical study of workers’ experiences and attitudes in three countries: Germany, Italy and the UK. A key point of focus lies with identifying dominant understandings of the meaning of the rule of law and how these have changed over time. While the precise methodology remains to be decided, the empirical part of the study will likely comprise both focus groups with workers in sectors where breach is known to be widespread (at least one sector each in Germany, Italy and the UK) and surveys of workers in a wider variety of sectors.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Applicants will have a good Undergraduate or Masters degree (or overseas equivalent) in law, sociology, industrial relations or human resource management.
Applicants will have a demonstratable interest in employment law, work relations and the principle of the rule of law

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Law, PhD.

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +4 (4 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in October 2026. The full funding package includes:

An annual maintenance grant (stipend) at the UKRI rate
Fees at the standard home or international tuition fee rate
Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year

Additional information

Fluency in either Italian or German, in addition to English, is desirable but not essential. The four-year term reflects the fact that the student will be expected to participate in the joint work of the LawAtWork research group.

Application process

ERC LawAtWork PhD Scholarship (Rule of Law at Work) application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)

Application Closing Date: 16 March 2026

References due no later than 23 March 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

Key contact

Professor Ruth Dukes

CoSS PhD Scholarship - Law in a complex world

Information on the School/Research Group

The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary team of researchers in the “Civic Finance” project. Civic Finance is an ambitious research project led by Professor Javier Solana and funded by a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant (Grant Agreement No.: 101165302). The overarching objective of Civic Finance is to develop a complexity-informed theory of law and finance that can underpin the foundations of a civic financial system; in particular, a financial system that refrains from enabling unsustainable levels of CO2 emissions. The successful candidate will work under the supervision of Prof. Javier Solana. They will also work closely with other members of the Civic Finance team and they will engage with a small interdisciplinary group of world-leading scholars who sit on the project’s Advisory Board.

The successful candidate will have ample opportunities to plan and develop their career during the PhD. Most notably, the successful candidate will be able to design a bespoke development programme with the guidance of Prof. Solana and the Research Support Office to identify the most relevant learning and development opportunities available at the University. Moreover, the successful candidate will be able to build a global professional network of academic researchers and practitioners, benefiting from the international networks of the Civic Finance team and the University of Glasgow more broadly. Lastly, the successful candidate will be invited to join relevant research clusters within the School of Law, such as the Corporate & Financial Law, the Just Transitions and the Glasgow Legal Theory research clusters, including their regular research seminars, as well as other relevant research clusters across the University. Where appropriate, the successful candidate will also have the opportunity to develop new projects and to engage in teaching opportunities to support their career planning.

Supervisory Team

Prinicipal Supervisor: Professor Javier Solana

Project details

Civic Finance aims to investigate the impact of law on the financial system; in particular, law’s potential to support a financial system that better serves people and planet. Importantly, Civic Finance draws from systems thinking and complex systems science to conceptualise the financial system as a complex adaptive system, i.e. a system comprised of interdependent actors whose interactions give rise to emergent phenomena. It also draws from socioecological systems research to conceptualise the financial system, the economy and the climate system as complex systems that are inextricably coupled and co-evolve. This conceptualisation challenges views of the regulatory impact of law being deployed top-down and calls for explorations of that regulatory impact from a bottom-up perspective.

The School of Law is inviting applications from highly motivated and ambitious candidates to develop a doctoral research project that will contribute to the overarching objective of Civic Finance. In particular, candidates are invited to submit a research proposal that explores how the complexity of the systems that law seeks to influence (e.g. the financial system, the economy, the climate system, or the close interaction between these systems) may impact the legal system itself. Some of the questions that candidates may want to consider for their projects include, for example: How does complexity affect legal institutions that underpin modern capitalist economies, such as contract, tort, property, or the corporation, and the concepts that underpin those institutions, such as rights, remedies or causation? Should judges and legislators rethink doctrine in light of such complexity? For instance, how might this complexity affect the interpretation and application of the principle of proportionality? How might this complexity inform the nature and scope of judicial review?

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Applicants will have a good Masters degree (or overseas equivalent)
Applicants will have a demonstratable interest in the topic area under investigation
Applicants can study part-time or full-time

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Law, PhD.

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in October 2026. The full funding package includes:

An annual maintenance grant (stipend) at the UKRI rate
Fees at the standard home or international tuition fee rate
Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year

Additional information

Prior knowledge of systems thinking and/or complex systems science would be considered an advantage but is not necessary. The successful candidate will be supported in the exploration of these research fields. Candidates are encouraged to think about knowledge of these fields, and an understanding of their relevance for legal scholarship and practice, as an outcome of their project, not a pre-requisite.

Application process

CoSS PhD Scholarship - Law in a complex world application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Academic Prizes
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)

Application Closing Date: 23 March 2026

References due no later than 30 March 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

Key contact

Professor Javier Solana

CoSS PhD Scholarship - Regulation of the Creative Economy: Creativity, Technology, and Markets

Project details

CREATe invites applications for funded PhD research projects aligned with its AHRC infrastructure research programme, which focuses on legal and regulatory issues at the intersections of Creativity, Technology, and Markets. The legal domains CREATe’s work principally focuses on are intellectual property law, competition law, information and technology law.

We welcome proposals that engage with legal and regulatory dimensions of the creative economy and emerging technologies and platforms, and which may also consider economic, historical, technological, or socio-cultural dimensions of the creative economy. These projects may correspond to a single area of law or multiple areas of law within CREATe’s scope (intellectual property, competition, information and technology law).

Although the proposals need to consider law and regulation in a broad sense, this call is open to all social science disciplines. We welcome proposals from candidates with any social science background.

We are particularly interested in interdisciplinary projects and those engaging with policy, industry practice, or empirical methods.

More detail on CREATe’ s work and its research themes can be found on our website: www.create.ac.uk/projects/

Supervisory Team

Supervisory teams will be constituted based on project fit. Supervisors have to be members of the CREATe research centre. Interdisciplinary supervision across Law, Social Science and Cultural Policy may be available where appropriate.

About the School/Research Unit

The Centre for Regulation of the Creative Economy (CREATe) is an interdisciplinary research centre based at the University of Glasgow. Its work is anchored in intellectual property, competition, information and technology law, with a focus on how law and policy shape – and are shaped by – cultural and creative production and consumption, as well as by digital platforms and emerging technologies. CREATe staff work in the School of Law, as well as in the School of Culture & Creative Arts, and School of Humanities. Following a major infrastructure award from the from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), CREATe’s research agenda is structured around research themes addressing the relationships between Creativity, Technology and Markets.

PhD researchers at CREATe benefit from an established interdisciplinary environment, engagement with policymakers and industry stakeholders, and access to training and research networks across the UK and internationally.

The successful candidate would be a member of the School of Law’s PGR cohort. The School of Law is ranked 4th amongst law schools in the UK in the Times Higher Education UK University Rankings 2026. It is a centre for innovative world leading research and excellence in education. We are proud to be an international law school with a rich heritage. Law was one of the four original faculties established by the University upon its founding in 1451. The subject has been taught continuously since 1714. Today, we teach students from over 30 countries with a staff from across the world.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Applicants will have a good Masters degree (or overseas equivalent)
Applicants will have a demonstratable interest in the topic area under investigation
Applicants can study part-time or full-time

Additional requirements:

While projects are not pre-defined, proposals must clearly demonstrate how they fit within and advance CREATe’s research agenda addressing the legal or regulatory intersection of Creativity, Technology and Markets. Applicants should articulate the thematic alignment of their project, and how their work contributes to the broader CREATe research agenda.

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Law, PhD.

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in October 2026. The full funding package includes:

An annual maintenance grant (stipend) at the UKRI rate
Fees at the standard home or international tuition fee rate
Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year

Other information

Please note shortlisted applicants will be invited to for an interview either on Monday 27 April, or Friday 08 May.

How to Apply

CoSS PhD Scholarship - Regulation of the Creative Economy application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Academic Prizes
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of your proposed supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)

Application Closing Date: 15 April 2026

References due no later than 22 April 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

Contact Details

Questions on the Application Portal only: College of Social Sciences Graduate School

Questions on the Project: Dr Magali Eben

AHRC CDP PhD Studentship - Children's reading and cultural engagement across libraries and community spaces in Leeds.

Project details

The University of Glasgow and the British Library are pleased to announce the availability of a fully funded Collaborative Doctoral Studentship from 1st October 2026 under the AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Scheme.

This is a community-engaged doctoral project exploring how children and young people experience reading, storytelling, and book culture across libraries and cultural spaces in Leeds, and how partnerships between the British Library and local communities can foster inclusive, meaningful reading cultures.

This project will be jointly supervised by Professor Melanie Ramdarshan Bold and Professor Evelyn Arizpe at the University of Glasgow and by Elvie Thompson and Alex Whitfield in the Learning team at the British Library. The student will spend time with both the University of Glasgow and the British Library and will become part of the wider cohort of AHRC CDP funded PhD students across the UK.

The University of Glasgow and the British Library are keen to encourage applications from a diverse range of people, from different backgrounds and career stages, and particularly welcome those currently underrepresented in doctoral student cohorts.

This research project explores how children and young people encounter stories, reading, creative expression, and literary/book culture across libraries, schools, youth organisations, and cultural spaces. Focusing on the cultural landscape of Leeds, the study will examine how public libraries work in partnership with community groups, educators, and cultural organisations to support inclusive and meaningful reading experiences. Rather than viewing literacy solely as an educational outcome, the project positions reading as a social and creative practice shaped by place, culture, and community relationships.

The successful candidate will undertake community-engaged research with children, families, librarians, teachers, youth workers, and cultural practitioners. Drawing on qualitative and participatory approaches, the project will investigate how collections, programmes, and creative activities foster belonging, cultural participation, and equitable access to stories within economically and culturally diverse communities. Working closely with British Library initiatives and local partners, the student will contribute to understanding how national cultural institutions can support locally rooted, community-led literacy practices.

This CDP studentship offers a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of children’s literature, cultural participation, and community-engaged research. Supervised by researchers at the University of Glasgow and professionals at the British Library, the student will spend time embedded in both academic and cultural sector environments. They will benefit from training and development opportunities across the AHRC CDP network while contributing to research that informs inclusive programming, collections, and community partnerships.

The project is particularly suited to candidates interested in children’s literature, literacy and cultural participation, libraries and archives, community-engaged research, and inclusive reading cultures.

Research questions may include:

How do children and young people encounter reading and creative expression across libraries, schools, youth groups, and community cultural settings?
How do collaborations between libraries, cultural organisations, and local communities shape inclusive practices and programmes?
In what ways do reading spaces and cultural activities influence feelings of belonging, recognition, and participation
How can co-creation with families, educators, and community partners inform more equitable collections, outreach, and programming?
What role can national cultural institutions play in supporting locally grounded, community-led literacy initiatives?
How do social class, language, culture, and place shape young people's reading experiences and identities?

Supervisory Team

Principal Supervisor: Professor Melanie Ramdarshan Bold

Secondary Supervisors: Professor Evelyn Arizpe, Elvie Thompson (British Library) & Alex Whitfield (British Library)

About the School/Research Unit

The successful candidate will be registered with the School of Education (SoE) at The University of Glasgow, an internationally recognised centre for research in culture, literacies, and inclusion. The SoE offers an exceptional research environment for a doctoral researcher investigating children’s engagement with books and reading. The successful applicant will become part of a vibrant postgraduate research (PGR) community of over 180 students in the SoE. This dynamic and diverse cohort is supported through a wide-ranging programme of academic and social initiatives, including seminars, workshops, guest lectures, and events designed to support research progression. These opportunities foster interdisciplinary exchange, collegiality, and holistic researcher development.

The College of Social Sciences Researcher Development Programme provides postgraduate researchers with access to specialist training in research design, qualitative and creative methodologies, ethics, public engagement, and knowledge exchange, alongside opportunities to develop leadership, teaching, and interdisciplinary collaboration skills.

At the British Library, the student will become part of a dynamic cohort of collaborative doctoral researchers and benefit from staff-level access to the Library’s collections, resources and in-house training and development opportunities. CDP students also benefit from a dedicated programme of CDP Consortium events delivered in tandem with the other museums, galleries and heritage organisations affiliated with the AHRC CDP scheme, designed to provide CDP researchers with the knowledge, networks and skills to thrive in their future careers.

This collaborative PhD studentship offers the opportunity to combine academic training with practice-based experience and research behind the scenes of a major cultural institution. This is a unique opportunity to gain a wide range of transferable research skills, which may include community and schools engagement, event and project management, team working, stakeholder relationship management, communication and interpersonal and collections research.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Applicants will have, or will be working towards, a good Masters degree (or overseas equivalent) or demonstrate equivalent professional experience.
Applicants will have a demonstratable interest in the topic area under investigation
Applicants can study part-time or full-time
Applicants will have experience of working with children and/or young people.

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Education, PhD.

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +4 (4 year) PhD programme (or part-time equivalent) only. The programme will commence in October 2026. The full funding package includes:

An annual maintenance grant (stipend) at the UKRI rate plus an additional London Weighting allowance of £1,000 per annum
Fees at the standard home rate*
CDP maintenance payment of £600 per annum
Research Allowance courtesy of the British Library, up to £1,000 per annum, pro rata.
Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year

*International applicants are welcome to apply but should be prepared, and able, to fund the difference between the Home fee rate and International fee rate themselves. The difference between the fee rates is ~£22,500pa. There is no additional support for this.

Other information

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Education, PhD, or demonstrate equivalent professional experience

Applicants can study part-time or full-time.

We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and are committed to providing support and guidance to under-represented groups both during the application process, and throughout the period of funded study.

How to Apply

AHRC CDP PhD Studentship application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Academic Prizes
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of your proposed supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)
A covering letter (maximum two pages) outlining your interest in, suitability for, and intended focus and direction of, this studentship
A writing sample of approximately 1,000 words. if you are unsure about hot to choose your writing sample, please contact Professor Melanie Ramdarshan Bold (below) to discuss.

This CDP-Consortium wide and is designed to fulfil AHRC reporting responsibilities: We ask all applicants to complete a voluntary EDI monitoring form here. All responses are anonymous.

Application Closing Date: 24 April 2026

References due no later than 01 May 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an online interview to take place on the 1^st June 2026.

All scholarship awards are subject to the successful candidate securing admission to a PhD programme within the School of Education. The successful candidate will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programme.

Contact Details

Questions on the Application Portal only: College of Social Sciences Graduate School

Questions on the Project: Professor Melanie Ramdarshan Bold

CoSS PhD Scholarship - Getting There, Getting Ahead: the link between school non-attendance, transport mode and educational outcomes

Project details

School absence and exclusions affect children and young people’s educational attainment and may also have long-term impacts on their post-school destinations. While research has established that various forms of non-attendance are generally detrimental to educational outcomes, there is evidence that this relationship is complex and dependent on individual and contextual factors. These factors include structural influences, such as local policies and school environments, personal circumstances and household characteristics. In particular, the role of household characteristics and their influence on the relationship between school non-attendance and educational outcomes remains underexplored, despite their relevance to children and young people’s lives.

Using linked administrative from the Scottish Government on education and household information from the Scottish Census 2022, this project combines data sources that have not been previously used to study the link between school non-attendance, transport mode and educational outcomes in Scotland. It aims to examine how a household’s transport to school arrangements can affect school non-attendance, pupil well-being, and attainment. There is substantial literature documenting impacts of commuting mode on workers, but the impact of mode choice on pupils’ outcomes is still under-researched. The objectives are to (1) investigate the overall impacts of school absence and exclusions on educational attainment and post-school destinations in Scotland, (2) determine whether and how the mode of transport used to travel to school affects school non-attendance and educational outcomes, and (3) identify further household characteristics that may either protect against or exacerbate the risks associated with non-attendance. This research will produce insight into the role of households and mode of transport for school attendance and educational outcomes. The findings will be relevant to education providers, policymakers and those working across social and urban policy to support young people’s development and outcomes.

Supervisory Team

Principal Supervisor: Professor Morag Treanor

Secondary Supervisors: Dr David McArthur and Dr Silvia Behrens

About the School/Research Unit

Our research group is part of ADR Scotland, which has just been awarded £25 million from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for the next phase of our mission to harness administrative data for public good research. This studentship will be part of the theme Children and Young People, led by Professor Morag Treanor at the University of Glasgow.

The studentship will be based in the School of Social & Political Sciences in Glasgow, Gilmorehill Campus.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Applicants will have a good Masters degree (or overseas equivalent)
Applicants will have a demonstratable interest in the topic area under investigation
Applicants can study part-time or full-time
Applicants will demonstrate strong quantitative skills, including using statistical software and carrying out advanced statistical techniques

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Urban Studies, PhD.

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in October 2026. The full funding package includes:

An annual maintenance grant (stipend) at the UKRI rate
Fees at the standard home or international tuition fee rate
Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year

Other information

Please note shortlisted applicants will be invited to for an interview either on Monday 27 April, or Friday 08 May.

How to Apply

CoSS PhD Scholarship - Getting There Getting Ahead application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Academic Prizes
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of the supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)

Application Closing Date: 15 April 2026

References due no later than 22 April 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

All scholarship awards are subject to candidates successfully securing admission to a PhD programme in the School of Social & Political Sciences. Successful applicants will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programme after they are selected for funding.

Contact Details

Questions on the Project: Professor Morag Treanor

Questions on the Application Portal only: College of Social Sciences Graduate School

CoSS-UWI Collaborative PhD Scholarship - Strengthening Caribbean Health Systems: A Cost Effectiveness Approach to Maternal, Mental, and Adolescent Health

Project details

This funded PhD project explores how scarce health resources can be allocated more effectively to improve maternal, mental, and adolescent health in the Caribbean. The student will apply health economics methods to three linked studies on postpartum health, mental health investment, and adolescent mental health programmes. The first study evaluates a community-led, digitally supported programme to reduce postpartum cardiovascular risk among women affected by adverse pregnancy outcomes. The second develops an investment case for mental health in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, with a focus on intervention costs, benefits, and domestic resource mobilisation. The third assesses the cost-effectiveness of multisectoral mental health promotion and care programmes for Indigenous adolescents in Dominica and Brazil. The project is embedded in international collaborations with partners at the University of the West Indies, and offers the opportunity to produce policy-relevant, publishable research with real-world impact. The successful applicant will have access to training in economic evaluation, applied microeconometrics, and health policy analysis.

Supervisory Team

Principal Supervisor: Professor Anwen Zhang

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Alberto Ciancio, Professor Simon Anderson (UWI) & Dr Althea LaFoucade (UWI)

About the School/Research Unit

This is not a joint or dual degree, but external supervision is provided. The project is based in the Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow, and is jointly supervised with leading academics at the University of the West Indies. The supervisory team brings together expertise in health economics, development economics, population health, and Caribbean health systems. It is embedded in a strong international collaboration with clear pathways to policy engagement. Through this partnership, the student will benefit from a stimulating research environment and rigorous methodological training at Glasgow, and direct engagement with Caribbean policy and health research networks through the University of the West Indies.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria

Applicants will have a good Masters degree (or overseas equivalent)
Applicants will have a demonstratable interest in the topic under investigation
Applicants must be able to study full-time
Applicants must be a citizen of a Commonwealth Caribbean Nation; and
Applicants must be a current student, staff member, or alumnus of the University of the West Indies

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Economics, PhD.

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in October 2026. The funding includes:

An annual stipend at the UKRI rate
Fees at the standard home or international fee rate
Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year

Other information

Applicants with prior training in economics, health economics, or a closely related field are especially encouraged to apply

Application process

CoSS-UWI Scholarship - Caribbean Health Systems application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Academic Prizes
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)
A sample of writing e.g. published article, working paper, dissertation
Demographic eligibility
- Copy of documentation showing your citizenship of a Commonwealth Caribbean nation; and
- Documentation showing you are a current student, staff member or alumnus of the University of the West Indies

Closing Date: 20 April 2026

References from referees are due no later than 27 April 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

All scholarship awards are subject to candidates successfully securing admission to a PhD programme in the Adam Smith Business School. Successful applicants will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programme after they are selected for funding.

Contact details

Questions on the project: Professor Anwen Zhang

Questions on the Scholarships Application Portal only: College of Social Sciences Graduate School

CoSS-UWI Collaborative PhD Scholarship - Informal Creditors and Sovereign Debt Restructuring with a special focus on Barbados and the Caribbean

Project details

Sovereign debt crises pose risks to the well-being of the citizens of the debtor state, the stability of global financial architecture. The conventional view is that sovereign debt restructuring (SDR) must be costly to deter opportunistic behaviour by the debtor state. Domestic citizens (informal creditors), contribute to the finances of a debtor state and have claims on it (public services, pensions, welfare) but are excluded from participation in SDR. Using economic theory, empirical and legal analysis, we propose an interdisciplinary project, involving economics and law, that explores how including informal creditors in SDR can address both equity and efficiency concerns.

Formal creditors (whose claims on the debtor state are part of sovereign debt contract) are distinct from informal creditors (citizens of a debtor state who have contributed to it by paying taxes, national insurance etc). The claims of informal creditors are part of a social contract, unlike those of formal creditors which are part of a debt contract. In all debt restructuring processes, the claims of formal creditors (or at least a subset of those whose debt payments are defaulted on) are explicitly taken into account. The claims of informal creditors and of longer-term formal creditors aren't. This creates an issue of inter-creditor equity, one which is key for understanding why current debt restructuring mechanisms systematically disadvantage citizens of LMICs and LIs, why debtor states are reluctant to restructure debt and when they do so it is too little and too late, why debt restructuring could fail to ensure the sustainability of the restructured debt. Ensuring inter-creditor equity is key to addressing efficiency and equity concerns in repurpose sovereign debt restructuring to enable the achievement of SDGs.

Barbados restructured its debt in 2018-2019 under the BERT programme. Debt-to-GDP was 175% before restructuring; the haircut on external commercial debt was 26.3%. IMF programme reviews and budget documents record what happened to citizens — unemployment, public sector layoffs, cuts to services. Caribbean countries have high debt, climate exposure, and narrow economies; citizens cannot easily leave when restructuring fails. Barbados is pushing the Bridgetown Initiative and nature-for-debt swaps. Hence, the issue of debt restructuring is a key policy concern in Barbados. By examining the role of informal creditors in debt restructuring, this proposal will strengthen the conceptual/normative foundations and empirical basis of the Bridgetown initiative and debt restructuring policies of Barbados and other Caribbean economies.

Supervisory Team

Principal Supervisor: Professor Sayantan Ghosal

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Dania Thomas, Dr Ankie Scott-Joseph (UWI) & Professor Winston Moore (UWI)

About the School/Research Unit

The University of Glasgow has been changing the world since 1451. We are a world top 100 university and a member of the prestigious Russell Group of leading UK research universities.

The University of Glasgow includes among its alumni, the father of economics, Adam Smith. Adam Smith Business School is named in his honour. We aim to follow his legacy by developing enlightened, engaged and entrepreneurial graduates, who are internationally recognised and make a positive impact on culture and society.

Our business is about creating inspiring leaders, researchers and professionals whose research and relations with industry have impact, influencing organisations as they develop and grow globally.

We have the triple crown of accreditation and are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) and the Association of MBAs (AMBA) for our Glasgow MBA programme.

We are also home to research of international and national excellence that contributes to theoretical advancement and is relevant to practice.

As an Economics PhD student, you will have opportunities to:

present and discuss your work in progress with colleagues and staff members as part of the Economics workshop programme for PhD students
take advances MSc courses to develop your skills where appropriate
benefit from the College of Social Sciences Graduate School Research Training Programme, where appropriate

More details can be found at https://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/economics/

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria

Applicants will have a good Masters degree (or overseas equivalent)
Applicants will have a demonstratable interest in the topic under investigation
Applicants must be able to study full-time
Applicants must be a citizen of a Commonwealth Caribbean Nation; and
Applicants must be a current student, staff member, or alumnus of the University of the West Indies

As this is a Jointly Supervised PhD, rather than a Joint, Dual or Double degree, the PhD candidate is expected to be physically based at the University of Glasgow (i.e. the project cannot be undertaken by Distance), and there is no requirement to be jointly registered at both institutions, nor to travel to or spend time at UWI (outside any fieldwork required).

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Economics, PhD.

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in October 2026. The funding includes:

An annual stipend at the UKRI rate
Fees at the standard home or international fee rate
Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year

Other information

Application process

CoSS-UWI Scholarship - Informal Creditors application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Academic Prizes
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)
Demographic eligibility
- Copy of documentation showing your citizenship of a Commonwealth Caribbean nation; and
- Documentation showing you are a current student, staff member or alumnus of the University of the West Indies

Closing Date: 20 April 2026

References from referees are due no later than 27 April 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

Contact details

Questions on the project: Professor Sayantan Ghosal

Questions on the Scholarships Application Portal only: College of Social Sciences Graduate School

USYD-UofG Collaborative PhD Scholarship - Orchestrating Missions Through Digital Platforms

USYD-UofG Collaborative PhD Scholarship - Orchestrating Missions Through Digital Platforms: A Comparative Study of Mission-Oriented Innovation in Australia and Europe

Project details

Mission-oriented innovation policies (MIPs) have become a prominent response to “grand challenges” such as climate change, inequality, and public health crises. Yet many mission programmes struggle to align priorities, responsibilities, and resources across sectors and levels of government – an implementation and coordination challenge that often determines whether missions translate into measurable outcomes. In response, policymakers increasingly deploy platforms – digital and hybrid infrastructures that convene, align, and enable collaboration – as a key tool for mission orchestration. Orchestration refers to aligning interaction and cooperation among heterogeneous participants. However, most platform theory has been developed in for-profit settings, leaving limited theoretical understanding of, and practical guidance, on how to design and govern platforms that serve societally beneficial missions.

This project aims to develop theory on how platforms are deployed for mission orchestration through a comparative multiple-case study of initiatives in the European Union and Australia. The study will examine (i) the EU’s Horizon Europe missions and associated intermediaries/platforms (e.g., NetZeroCities) and (ii) Australian mission-style initiatives such as CSIRO and MRFF missions, and mission-like strategic investment programmes (e.g., NRF) and their coordination infrastructures. The project is theoretically anchored in platform-driven innovation. Using qualitative methods – interviews, digital trace/artefact analysis (platform posts, repositories), and policy/document analysis – the project will develop an empirically grounded process model and design principles for mission platforms.

By comparing a supranational mission system (EU) with a national, more sectorally structured system (Australia), the project will generate transferable theory on platform-enabled orchestration across governance levels. In addition to academic contributions, the project will produce practical, policy-relevant outputs for direct use by mission stakeholders. These will include a design-and-governance framework for mission platforms that sets out core principles, key decision points, and implementation pitfalls; policy briefs; and a practitioner-facing toolkit with guidance on participation design, learning loops, and legitimacy and accountability checks.

Supervisory Team

Principal Supervisor: Dr Jarryd Daymond (USYD)

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Vladimir Sobota (UofG), Professor Sreevas Sahasranamam (UofG) & Associate Professor Stefan Meisiek (USYD)

About the School/Research Unit

The University of Sydney Business School:

The University of Sydney Business School is one of the Asia Pacific region’s premier centers for engaged and innovative business education and research, and is in the one percent of business schools globally to hold accreditation from AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA. It is the only Australian member school of CEMS, the Community of European Management Schools & International Companies.

This PhD Project will be situated in the University of Sydney Business School. Founded in 1920, the first of its kind in Australia, the University of Sydney Business School offers teaching and research across a range of disciplines and is also home to the Institute of Transport and Logistic Studies. We encompass ten research disciplines contributing to public policy across various areas, emphasising the local and global impact of major trends and issues.

Our postgraduate research program is designed to develop students with an excellent academic background into responsible leaders who will contribute to business education and research that makes meaningful, real-world impact in the 21st century. We have the drive to challenge traditional ways of thinking and will provide you with supportive and collaborative research community to develop your research skills and build a knowledge base in your chosen discipline.

Adam Smith Business School:

The Adam Smith Business School (ASBS) at the University of Glasgow is one of the UK's leading business schools, holding triple accreditation from AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS. The School is part of the University of Glasgow, a member of the prestigious Russell Group and a world top 100 institution with a history stretching back to 1451.

This PhD Project will be situated in the Adam Smith Business School. The School takes its name from Adam Smith, the moral philosopher and economist whose foundational ideas about markets, society, and human behaviour were developed here in Glasgow. That intellectual heritage informs our commitment to research that is rigorous, relevant, and engaged with the world. We create inspiring leaders, researchers and professionals whose research and relations with industry have impact, influencing organisations as they develop and grow globally.

Our doctoral programmes are designed for those who wish to develop deep expertise in a specialised field. We offer PhD training across accounting, finance, economics, and business disciplines, combining strong theoretical foundations with high-quality research methods training. You will work with internationally active supervisors, build your analytical and communication skills, and graduate prepared for a successful career in academia, business, policy, or beyond.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria

Applicants will have a a First Class Honours degree, or Master's by Research with outstanding results (at least 80%) [or overseas equivalent]
Applicants must also have completed a 20,000 word (approximate) honours or Master's thesis (an entry requirement of USYD's Doctor of Philosophy (Business) progamme)
Applicants must be able to study full-time basis only
Applicants must have a demonstratable interest in the topic area under investigation.
Applicants must be able to commit to enrolling/registering on PhD programmes at both institutions simultaneously and spend time physically based at each institution during the PhD
Successful applicants must be physically based at USYD for commencement of the Collaborative PhD.

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy (Business) [USYD] and the Management, PhD [UofG].

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in January 2027. The funding is provided by USYD and includes:

An annual stipend valued at $AUD 42,754 p.a. (2026 rate) via a UPA for domestic students or USYDIS for international students;
Tuition fees covered by RTP fee offset for domestic students or covered by University of Sydney Tuition fee scholarship for international students;
A one-off Sydney Global Mobility Joint PhD Travel Scholarship ($5000 AUD)

Additionally, the UofG's College of Social Sciences will provide a Fee Waiver to cover the tuition fees for the UofG PhD programme.

Other information

The successful candidate's home institution will be the University of Sydney Business School, where year one and three will be spent. Year two will be spent in Glasgow at the Adam Smith Business School.

Application process

USYD-UofG Scholarship - Orchestrating Missions application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Academic Prizes
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)

Closing Date: 21 April 2026

References from referees are due no later than 28 April 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

All scholarship awards are subject to candidates successfully securing admission to a PhD programmes in The University of Sydney Business School and the Adam Smith Business School. Successful applicants will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programmes after they are selected for funding.

Contact details

Questions on the project: Dr Jarryd Daymond or Dr Vladimir Sobota

Questions on the Scholarships Application Portal only: College of Social Sciences Graduate School

USYD-UofG Collaborative PhD Scholarship - Epistemic Infrastructures of Planetary Health Governance in Southeast Asia

Project details

This project examines how knowledge systems shape planetary health governance in Southeast Asia. As the region faces climate change and ecological degradation, it is pertinent to understand the implications of new ‘green’ and ‘smart’ development initiatives that are presented as planetary health interventions though often involve massive land transformation, environmental destruction, and displacement of local and indigenous communities. The project focuses on the concept of ‘epistemic infrastructure’, which relates to the material, institutional, and discursive systems that determine what counts as evidence, who qualifies as expert, and how knowledge circulates. It investigates how these infrastructures mediate between local environmental knowledge and global planetary health frameworks, and how epistemic authority is geographically and geopolitically distributed. Central research questions include:

How do epistemic injustices shape whose futures are imagined in planetary health governance?
What knowledge forms become invisible in policy processes?
How might alternative epistemic infrastructures enable more just, pluralistic governance?

Drawing on science and technology studies, global governance scholarship, and multispecies ethnography, the project positions Southeast Asia not merely as vulnerable to climate change but also as a laboratory for interventions. This framing challenges universalising Anthropocene narratives and contributes to decolonising planetary health scholarship. Case studies will examine controversial sustainable development projects ( for instance Indonesia’s Nusantara Capital City, Malaysia’s Forest City, or the Philippines’ New Clark City). Promising ‘green’ and ‘smart’ designs, these projects exemplify how techno-scientific knowledge legitimises large-scale interventions while marginalising alternative ways of knowing and living with environmental change. By revealing how epistemic infrastructures produce uneven governance outcomes, the research aims to make visible the power relations embedded in knowledge production and open pathways toward more equitable planetary health futures

Supervisory Team

Principal Supervisor: Professor Sonja van Wichelen (USYD)

Secondary Supervisor(s): Professor Sotiria Grek (UofG), Dr Sophie Chao (USYD) & Dr Emiline Smith (UofG)

About the School/Research Unit

The School of Social and Political Sciences (SSPS) at the University of Sydney is a leading social science environment, focusing on five research themes: health, markets, governance, inequality and environment. This School is proudly home to one of the most successful academic groups in the world for research and teaching in the social sciences, and their work interprets and makes sense of societies, nation states and people.

In conjunction with two Multi-Disciplinary Initiatives at the University of Sydney, namely the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre (SSEAC) and the Charles Perkins Centre (CPC), the School of Social and Political Sciences is seeking a PhD candidate. You will work with Professor Sonja van Wichelen and Dr. Sophie Chao, conducting research focused on the social, political, and epistemic aspects of planetary health governance in Southeast Asia. This is an exciting opportunity to work closely with a multidisciplinary research team, advancing knowledge in both science and technology studies and medical/public health research. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to share their work within a vibrant PhD community at the MDI level (SSEAC and CPC), School level (SSPS), and Discipline level (Sociology and Anthropology).

The successful candidate will also join a vibrant PhD and wider research community at the University of Glasgow (UofG)' School of Social and Political Sciences. The objectives and motivations of the candidate’s project are entirely congruent with the School’s commitment to research as part of an interdisciplinary agenda to further social justice and support the development of more equitable societies.

More specifically, indicating its pertinence and ambition, the candidate will benefit from and contribute to the wider College of Social Sciences (CoSS) research environment. It speaks directly to the College's Interdisciplinary Research Theme “Peaceful, Secure and Empowered Societies” which is guided by the question how research might contribute to building such societies at grassroots, local, national, and international levels. Moreover, the candidate will benefit from and contribute to the research communities engaging - across topics, methods and contexts - with CoSS’ Interdisciplinary Research Network “Skills and Livelihoods for Better Futures”, concerned with grand challenges, such as just transitions and socio-economic inequality and exclusion.

In addition, the project resonates with the Glasgow Research Beacon “Addressing Inequalities”, which brings together researchers from across the University to address inequalities and their effects on individuals, communities and populations across the world by working with communities, governments and international organisations to evaluate and develop policies that seek to create fairer societies. In doing so, the project supports the four United Nations Sustainable Development Goals highlighted by the UofG (1: No Poverty; 3: Good Health and Well-being; 4: Quality Education; and 10: Reduced Inequalities).

From a practical point of view, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to present at the Urban Studies and Social Policy (USSP) workshops and seminar series and will be encouraged to present their work, as it develops, at national and international conferences. Specifically, the candidate will join the Just Cities and Societies research cluster at USSP (Grek is co-lead of the cluster) and will also benefit from the activities of multiple research groups and networks based at the division of Sociological and Cultural Studies.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria

Applicants will have a a First Class Honours degree, or Master's by Research with outstanding results (at least 80%) [or overseas equivalent]
Applicants must be able to study full-time basis only
Applicants must have a demonstratable interest in the topic area under investigation.
Applicants must be able to commit to enrolling/registering on PhD programmes at both institutions simultaneously and spend time physically based at each institution during the PhD
Successful applicants must be physically based at USYD for commencement of the Collaborative PhD.
A background in Anthropology, Sociology, Science and Technology Studies is desirable
Applicants from or with research and/or working experience in the Southeast Asian region are desirable

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy (Arts and Social Sciences) [USYD] and the Social & Public Policy, PhD [UofG].

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in January 2027. The funding is provided by USYD and includes:

An annual stipend valued at $AUD 42,754 p.a. (2026 rate) via a UPA for domestic students or USYDIS for international students;
Tuition fees covered by RTP fee offset for domestic students or covered by University of Sydney Tuition fee scholarship for international students;
A one-off Sydney Global Mobility Joint PhD Travel Scholarship ($5000 AUD)

Additionally, the UofG's College of Social Sciences will provide a Fee Waiver to cover the tuition fees for the UofG PhD programme.

Other information

The successful candidate's home institution will be the University of Sydney, where year one and three will be spent. Year two will be spent at the University of Glasgow.

Application process

USYD-UofG Scholarship - Epistemic Infrastructures application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)

Closing Date: 21 April 2026

References from referees are due no later than 28 April 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

All scholarship awards are subject to candidates successfully securing admission to a PhD programmes in The University of Sydney's School of Social and Political Sciences and The University of Glasgow's School of Social and Political Sciences. Successful applicants will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programmes after they are selected for funding.

Contact details

Questions on the project: Professor Sonja van Wichelen or Professor Sotiria Grek

Questions on the Scholarships Application Portal only: College of Social Sciences Graduate School

UofG-USYD Collaborative PhD Scholarship - Weaponising Criminal Law: National Security, Dissent, and Constitutional Protection in South Asia

Project details

Recent years have seen governments across South Asia suppressing dissent through the use of colonial era criminal laws such as the laws of sedition and conspiracy. These have also been combined with laws which permit measures such as preventive detention under emergency powers. In such a situation the question arises of how constitutional protections might be used to fight back against such measures. While the use of such 'weaponised' criminal laws and emergency powers are often seen as extraordinary measures, they can instead be seen as a continuation of colonial powers as post-colonial states draw on and reconstitute the resources of colonial era statutes and laws to suppress dissent. As a continuation of imperial logic, these laws sustain a normative argument that privileges state security over individual liberty, embedding authoritarian tendencies within democratic frameworks.

The project would thus explore four inter-related questions:

First, how such colonial era laws are being weaponised, and how emergency powers are being used in South Asia, in order to develop a picture of how the law is being used in different states.
Second, how national security is understood and how this shapes the interpretation of constitutional protections in post-colonial states.
Third, the project would explore the history of criminal laws such as the laws of sedition and conspiracy in the colonial and post-colonial eras, in both South Asian jurisdictions and the UK, to understand how such laws have been interpreted and used over time.
Finally, the project would look at the question what it would mean to truly decolonise law and legal thought. The project thus aims to illuminate an important yet neglected dimension of comparative constitutionalism which is how colonial legal inheritances, far from being discarded, have been weaponized in ways that reshape the contours of democracy, rights, and accountability in the Global South.

Supervisory Team

Principal Supervisor: Professor Lindsay Farmer (UofG)

Secondary Supervisor(s): Professor Arlie Loughnan (USYD), Dr Paul Scott (UofG) & Professor Tyrone Kirchengast (USYD)

About the School/Research Unit

This PhD opportunity brings together the expertise of two globally renowned institutions - University of Glasgow's School of Law and the Sydney Law School - offering an unparalleled research environment. Glasgow Law School is a leading UK centre for scholarship in both criminal law and public law providing a supportive environment for postgraduate scholars. The University is also home to the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) which provides a rich interdisciplinary network. Sydney Law School is home to world-leading scholars in criminal law and criminal justice. Students benefit from a vibrant seminar scheme and visitor program and the School hosts two major research hubs: the Sydney Law School Centre for Asian and Pacific Law and the Sydney Institute of Criminology.

The project provides a unique chance to investigate the relationship between criminal law, public law and postcolonial theory across two leading institutions, under the guidance of an excellent supervision team with extensive research networks.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria

Applicants will have a a First Class Honours degree, or Master's by Research with outstanding results (at least 80%) [or overseas equivalent]
Applicants must be able to study on a full-time basis only
Applicants must have a demonstratable interests in the topic area under investigation.
Applicants must be able to commit to enrolling/registering on PhD programmes at both institutions simultaneously and spend time physically based at each institution during the PhD
Successful applicants must be physically based at UofG for commencement of the Collaborative PhD.

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Law, PhD [UofG] and the Doctor of Philosophy (Law) [USYD]

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in January 2027. The funding is provided by UofG's College of Social Sciences and includes:

An annual maintenance grant (stipend) at the UKRI rate
Fees at the standard home or international rate
Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year
A one off travel grant of up to £3,000 to facilitate the required travel between Glasgow and Sydney

Additionally, no tuition fees will be charged for the USYD PhD programme.

Other information

The successful candidate's home institution will be the University of Glasgow, where year one and three will be spent. Year two will be spent at the University of Sydney.

Application process

UofG-USYD Scholarship - Weaponising Criminal Law application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)

Closing Date: 21 April 2026

References from referees are due no later than 28 April 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

All scholarship awards are subject to candidates successfully securing admission to a PhD programmes in The University of Glasgow's School of Law and The University of Sydney's Sydney Law School. Successful applicants will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programmes after they are selected for funding.

Contact details

Questions on the project: Professor Lindsay Farmer or Professor Arlie Loughnan

Questions on the Scholarships Application Portal only: College of Social Sciences Graduate School

UofG-USYD Collaborative PhD Scholarship - Caught in the sludge: legibility and the accessibility of energy support in Australia and Great Britain

Project details

Energy poverty remains a growing issue as cost-of-living rises and extreme weather events increase. Policies for energy poverty relief are becoming more common. However, as with other types of public programs, accessing these supports can be its own challenge. Administrative burdens can form a 'sludge' that inhibits access to relief, such as complex paperwork, intrusive checks, and hard-to navigate websites. In Great Britain, an estimated £722 million for the Warm Homes Discount will go unclaimed in 2025/2026, despite average electricity debts of £1,749 per household, and in Australia an estimated 19 – 38% of households are not receiving energy concessions they are eligible for.

In this unique PhD programme, jointly supervised between the University of Glasgow and University of Sydney, you will use framings of administrative burden and Design Thinking to develop your own independent investigation to answer the question: where do current systems place additional burdens on the most vulnerable, who is bearing these, and how could these burdens be alleviated?

Administrative burdens in energy systems are only just starting to be understood, and these burdens and their impacts are highly specific to jurisdictional design of social policy and electricity regulation. While support for the essential service of energy could be improved, it sits within a complex web of policies of different designs. People experiencing energy poverty may simultaneously be navigating challenges such as insecure housing or caring responsibilities. In this project, you would use Design Thinking as a novel way to examine policy re-design through an approach grounded in empathy and understanding complexity. You will have the opportunity to examine Australia and Great Britain as a cross-case comparison, given richness by the differences in policy design for energy poverty relief across two places with similar electricity market designs. Importantly, both countries have substantial ongoing policy reform, such as the Better Consumer Energy Experiences review in Australia, and Review of the Fuel Poverty Strategy in England. Project findings could directly inform policy design changes to alleviate burdens.

Supervisory Team

Principal Supervisor: Professor Harriet Thomson (UofG)

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Lee White (USYD), Dr Assel Mussagulova (USYD) & Dr Hannah Salamon (UofG)

About the School/Research Unit

This PhD will be jointly hosted by the University of Glasgow and the University of Sydney, with a multidisciplinary supervisory team comprising Professor Harriet Thomson (UofG), Dr Lee White (USYD), Dr Assel Mussagulova (USYD), and Dr Hannah Salamon (UofG).

The project sits within the public policy cluster in the Government and International Relations discipline at USYD, in the School of Social and Political Sciences, and within the Urban Studies and Social Policy discipline at UofG, also in a School of Social and Political Sciences, with associated methodological expertise and mentorship opportunities beyond the core supervisory team. It is also closely aligned with the Sydney Environment Institute, Glasgow Centre for Sustainable Energy, and the Centre for Public Policy, all of which offer wider opportunities for research training and mentorship, as well as Early Career Researcher networks

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria

Applicants will have a First Class Honours degree, or Master's by Research with outstanding results (at least 80%) [or overseas equivalent]
Applicants must be able to study on a full-time basis only
Applicants must have a demonstratable interest in the topic area under investigation.
Applicants must be able to commit to enrolling/registering on PhD programmes at both institutions simultaneously and spend time physically based at each institution during the PhD
Successful applicants must be physically based at UofG for commencement of the Collaborative PhD.
Applicants will have proven experience in either quantitative experiment design or in-depth qualitative approaches, and a strong curiosity and capacity for learning the other. Evidence may include proof of completing relevant courses and/or demonstration of prior use of the approach in publications or unpublished projects, or via referee vouching

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Social & Public Policy, PhD [UofG] and the Doctor of Philosophy (Arts and Social Sciences) [USYD]

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in January 2027. The funding is provided by UofG's College of Social Sciences and includes:

An annual maintenance grant (stipend) at the UKRI rate
Fees at the standard home or international rate
Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year
A one off travel grant of up to £3,000 to facilitate the required travel between Glasgow and Sydney

Additionally, no tuition fees will be charged for the USYD PhD programme.

Other information

The successful candidate's home institution will be the University of Glasgow, where year one and three will be spent. Year two will be spent at the University of Sydney.

Application process

Applicants must apply via the Scholarships Application Portal (please see Scholarships Application Portal - Applicant Guide for more information). The funding opportunity is under 'College of Social Sciences Postgraduate Research Funding > COSS-25-014'), uploading the following documentation:

UofG-USYD Scholarship - Caught in the sludge application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)

Closing Date: 21 April 2026

References from referees are due no later than 28 April 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

All scholarship awards are subject to candidates successfully securing admission to a PhD programmes in The University of Glasgow's School of Social and Political Sciences and The University of Sydney's School of Social and Political Sciences. Successful applicants will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programmes after they are selected for funding.

Contact details

Questions on the project: Professor Harriet Thomson or Dr Lee White

Questions on the Scholarships Application Portal only: College of Social Sciences Graduate School

USYD-UofG Collaborative PhD Scholarship - Designing Policy with Lived Experience: Visualisation, Storytelling, and the Production of Policy Knowledge

Project details

This PhD investigates how design-led approaches can reshape the epistemic foundations of policymaking, enabling lived experience to become a more active, legitimate and generative form of policy knowledge. Whilst there is growing recognition that effective and equitable policy should reflect the experiences of those impacted, lived experience is often incorporated in limited or extractive ways. Simultaneously, policymaking is increasingly structured around data practices that privilege abstraction, marginalising experiential, relational, and situated forms of knowing.

This project seeks to understand and prototype novel approaches to designing policy with lived experience. Building on existing links between Sydney Policy Lab (SPL) and the Centre for Public Policy the project will embed design-led interventions within existing research initiatives that have explicit policy aims and strong community engaged focai. At SPL, projects will be selected from across four core programs: Communities and Universities, Good Childhood, Inequalities and Poverty, and Australia's Relational Economy, each of which explores how policy, institutions, and everyday life interact. At the CPP, the policy labs will build upon existing work on poverty and inequality, examining how fragmented policy systems shape social outcomes, and the use of composite story methodology grounded in lived experience.

Design is positioned as a mediating practice capable of producing new policy spaces in which different forms of knowledge can meet, be negotiated and shape policy together. Drawing on the disciplinary expertise of the Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning, the project will employ visual mapping, storytelling and co-design to examine how lived experience is articulated, visualised, legitimised, and translated within policy systems.

The project brings together scholarship on public engagement, policy design, participatory governance, design ethnography, data visualisation and narrative theory. It considers visual storytelling and design not as neutral communication tools but as epistemic and political drivers that shape what is seen, valued and acted upon in policy.

Supervisory Team

Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Leigh-Anne Hepburn (USYD)

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Kate Harrison Brennan (USYD), Dr Claire MacRae (UofG) & Professor Nicola McEwan (UofG)

About the School/Research Unit

The Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning hosts a dynamic community of research groups who respond to contemporary challenges through expertise in architecture, design, and urbanism, including the Civic and Social Design Research Group who explore how design shapes equitable, inclusive, and participatory futures. This PhD is also supported through partnership with Sydney Policy Lab, a multidisciplinary institute that brings community members and academics together to set the agenda for transformative public policy.

Based in the College of Social Sciences (CoSS), the Centre for Public Policy (CPP) at the University of Glasgow brings together experts across disciplines, sectors and communities to help policymakers deal with the many challenges they face by connecting research, policy and practice. The Centre brings together a diverse community of researchers and affiliates who examine complex policy challenges such as climate change, economy, poverty and inequality, migration, public administration, multi level governance, and intergovernmental relations.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria

Applicants will have a a First Class Honours degree, or Master's by Research with outstanding results (at least 80%) [or overseas equivalent].
Applicants must be able to study full-time basis only.
Applicants must have a demonstratable interest in the topic area under investigation.
Applicants must be able to commit to enrolling/registering on PhD programmes at both institutions simultaneously and spend time physically based at each institution during the PhD.
Successful applicants must be physically based at USYD for commencement of the Collaborative PhD.

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy (Architecture, Design and Planning) [USYD] and the Social & Public Policy, PhD [UofG].

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in January 2027. The funding is provided by USYD and includes:

An annual stipend valued at $AUD 42,754 p.a. (2026 rate) via a UPA for domestic students or USYDIS for international students;
Tuition fees covered by RTP fee offset for domestic students or covered by University of Sydney Tuition fee scholarship for international students;
A one-off Sydney Global Mobility Joint PhD Travel Scholarship ($5000 AUD)

Additionally, the UofG's College of Social Sciences will provide a Fee Waiver to cover the tuition fees for the UofG PhD programme.

Other information

The successful candidate's home institution will be the University of Sydney, where year one and three will be spent. Year two will be spent at the University of Glasgow.

Application process

Applicants must apply via the Scholarships Application Portal (please see Scholarships Application Portal - Applicant Guide for more information). The funding opportunity is under 'College of Social Sciences Postgraduate Research Funding > COSS-25-015'), uploading the following documentation:

USYD-UofG Scholarship - Designing Policy with Lived Experience application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Academic Prizes
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)

Closing Date: 21 April 2026

References from referees are due no later than 28 April 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

All scholarship awards are subject to candidates successfully securing admission to a PhD programmes in USYD's Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning and UofG's Centre for Public Policy. Successful applicants will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programmes after they are selected for funding.

Contact details

Questions on the project: Associate Professor Leigh-Anne Hepburn or Dr Claire MacRae

Questions on the Scholarships Application Portal only: College of Social Sciences Graduate School

USYD-UofG Collaborative PhD Scholarship - Responsible AI for Actionable Homelessness Intervention Across Welfare Regimes

Project details

Frontline homelessness workers face daily decisions about allocating scarce housing resources and selecting support pathways that offer the best prospects for sustained stability. Contemporary artificial intelligence applications in this domain have focused predominantly on risk prediction—identifying individuals likely to experience adverse outcomes. However, prediction alone fails to address the question most critical to practitioners and policymakers: what intervention would actually help? This research develops a novel class of responsible AI algorithms that move beyond risk scoring toward actionable, feasible intervention design. The framework generates counterfactual explanations identifying the minimal combination of service modifications—such as adjusting referral timing, altering case management intensity, or restructuring support sequencing—required to meaningfully improve housing stability outcomes. Unlike existing explainable AI methods that recommend changes to single features in isolation without optimality guarantees, the proposed algorithms model interaction effects between interventions and identify optimal combinations while respecting operational constraints. A central methodological innovation is the cross-national comparative framework, developing and testing the approach across Australia's liberal welfare regime and the United Kingdom's social welfare model. The framework embeds three responsible AI principles: interaction modelling capturing synergies and conflicts between interventions; uncertainty quantification providing reliability bounds for decision-makers; and equity auditing preventing systematic disadvantage to marginalised populations. Through participatory co-design with service providers, the research ensures algorithmic recommendations reflect operational realities and community values.

Supervisory Team

Principal Supervisor: Dr Rosa Taghikhah (USYD)

Secondary Supervisor(s): Professor Bowei Chen (UofG), Professor Junbin Gao (USYD) & Dr Anupam Singh (UofG)

About the School/Research Unit

The University of Sydney Business School is a leading business school in the Asia-Pacific region, home to a vibrant research community in data science, analytics, and computational social science. The Research Discipline of Business Analytics specialises in machine learning, optimisation, and AI-driven decision support. The supervisory team at USYD (Dr Rosa Taghikhah and Professor Junbin Gao) brings expertise in AI and algoritm development.

The Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow is a triple-accredited (AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA) business school with internationally recognised research in management science, data analytics, and decision-making under uncertainty. The supervisory team at UofG (Professor Bowei Chen and Dr Anupam Singh) brings expertise in AI applied to business and societal challenges.

Together, the two institutions provide a rich cross-disciplinary and cross-national research environment for the successful candidate.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria

Applicants will have a a First Class Honours degree, or Master's by Research with outstanding results (at least 80%) [or overseas equivalent]
Applicants must also have completed a 20,000 word (approximate) honours or Master's thesis (an entry requirement of USYD's Doctor of Philosophy (Business) programme)
Applicants must be able to study full-time basis only
Applicants must have a demonstratable interest in the topic area under investigation.
Applicants must be able to commit to enrolling/registering on PhD programmes at both institutions simultaneously and spend time physically based at each institution during the PhD
Successful applicants must be physically based at USYD for commencement of the Collaborative PhD.
Applicants should have strong quantitative skills, including experience with programming (Python preferred), statistical modelling, and/or machine learning.
Background in one or more of the following is neccessary: computer science, statistics, mathematics, or a related quantitative discipline.
Experience in explainable AI is advantageous but not required.

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy (Business) [USYD] and the Management, PhD [UofG].

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in January 2027. The funding is provided by USYD and includes:

An annual stipend valued at $AUD 42,754 p.a. (2026 rate) via a UPA for domestic students or USYDIS for international students;
Tuition fees covered by RTP fee offset for domestic students or covered by University of Sydney Tuition fee scholarshipfor international students;
A one-off Sydney Global Mobility Joint PhD Travel Scholarship ($5000 AUD)

Additionally, the UofG's College of Social Sciences will provide a Fee Waiver to cover the tuition fees for the UofG PhD programme.

Other information

The successful candidate's home institution will be the University of Sydney, where year one and three will be spent. Year two will be spent at the University of Glasgow.

Application process

Applicants must apply via the Scholarships Application Portal (please see Scholarships Application Portal - Applicant Guide for more information). The funding opportunity is under 'College of Social Sciences Postgraduate Research Funding > COSS-25-017'), uploading the following documentation:

USYD-UofG Scholarship - Responsible AI application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Academic Prizes
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)

Closing Date: 21 April 2026

References from referees are due no later than 28 April 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

All scholarship awards are subject to candidates successfully securing admission to a PhD programmes in USYD's University of Sydney Business School and UofG's Adam Smith Business School. Successful applicants will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programmes after they are selected for funding.

Contact details

Questions on the project: Dr Rosa Taghikhah or Professor Bowei Chen

Questions on the Scholarships Application Portal only: College of Social Sciences Graduate School

CoSS PhD Scholarship - Our Safety, Our Work, Our Views: Sex workers' experiences of violence, regulation and resistance in Scotland

Project details

This PhD project examines sex workers’ experiences of violence, regulation, and resistance in Scotland, placing their own perspectives and forms of knowledge at the centre of analysis. Current policy debates tend to frame sex work primarily as gender-based violence, often overlooking the complex ways in which sex workers navigate risk, safety, and work.

The project adopts a critical criminological and feminist labour perspective, treating sex work as work and examining how structural inequalities – including poverty, housing precarity, and stigma – shape working conditions and exposure to harm. It explores how sex workers understand their labour, how they manage safety, and how they engage with and respond to existing legal and policy frameworks.

The research will be conducted in collaboration with National Ugly Mugs (NUM), a UK-wide organisation led by and for sex workers. This partnership will support ethical, participatory research design and ensure that the project is grounded in lived experience and community priorities.

Methodologically, the project combines:

qualitative semi-structured interviews with sex workers in Scotland
creative participatory methods, including zine-making workshops

These approaches enable both individual and collective accounts of experience and support forms of expression that extend beyond conventional academic formats.

The project will generate new empirical insights into sex workers’ experiences of violence and regulation, alongside co-produced outputs (e.g. zines and policy briefings) designed to inform public debate, policy, and practice.

Supervisory Team

Principal Supervisor: Dr Susan Batchelor

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Jenny Morrison & Dr Mindy Ptolomey

About the School/Research Unit

The School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow is an internationally recognised centre for research and teaching in sociology, criminology, and social policy. The successful applicant will be based within the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR), a leading interdisciplinary research centre with strong links to policy and practice communities.

SCCJR has an established track record in qualitative and critical criminological research, particularly in relation to violence, victimisation, gender, and social inequalities. The Centre offers a supportive and intellectually engaged environment for postgraduate researchers, including access to seminars, training, and collaborative networks.

This project also includes a formal partnership with National Ugly Mugs (NUM), providing opportunities for applied research, knowledge exchange, and engagement with third-sector and advocacy organisations.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria

Applicants will have a good Masters degree (or overseas equivalent)
Applicants will have a demonstratable interest in the topic under investigation
Applicants can study part-time or full-time
Applicants will have a background in sociology, criminology, geneder studies, politics, social policy, oir a closely related discipline
Applicants will have demonstrable knowledge of, or engagement with, debates relating to sex work, labour, gender, or social inequalities

Desirable atrributes:

Experience of, or a commitment to, working ethically with marginalised or stigmatised communities
Experience engaging with policy, advocacy, or third-sector organisations
Experience of collaborative, participatory, or co-produced research approaches
Experience communicating research or copmplex ideas to different audiences (e.g. public, policy, or community settings)

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Criminology, PhD.

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in October 2026. The funding includes:

An annual stipend at the UKRI rate
Fees at the standard home or international fee rate
Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year

Other information

Applicants with prior training in economics, health economics, or a closely related field are especially encouraged to apply

Application process

CoSS PhD Scholarship - Our Safety, Our Work, Our Views application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Academic Prizes
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)
A sample of writing e.g. disseration chapter, or essay

Closing Date: 21 April 2026

References from referees are due no later than 28 April 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

All scholarship awards are subject to candidates successfully securing admission to a PhD programme in the School of Social and Political Sciences. Successful applicants will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programme after they are selected for funding.

Contact details

Questions on the project: Dr Susan Batchelor

Questions on the Scholarships Application Portal only: College of Social Sciences Graduate School

CoSS PhD Scholarship - Understanding social security take-up and child poverty amongst labour migrants and minorities ethnic groups in Scotland

Project details

Minoritised ethnic children make up just 12% of Scotland’s children but account for a staggering 27% of those living in poverty (Scottish Government 2025). Amid this reality, little is known about how child poverty among migrant and minoritised ethnic families is connected to low social security take-up. Underclaiming and benefit refusals leave families without essential resources they are often entitled to, which deepens their structurally precarious circumstances and exclusion. Without better understandings of how and why the system continues to fail minoritised ethnic families, the Scottish Government may not meet its statutory target to reduce child poverty by 2030.

This collaborative PhD is co-designed with a leading anti-poverty charity, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG). The research will address ethnicity gaps in knowledge and data to inform policy development. Intersectional barriers to realising social rights will be explored. New evidence will be generated about low social security take-up and child poverty by utilising reflexive and intersectional methodologies including an ethnicity data gaps mapping exercise, interviews and co-production workshops with migrant and minoritised ethnic parents/carers and interviews with key stakeholders.

By offering nuanced understandings of how race/ethnicity, racism, immigration status and socio-cultural factors combine, the study will take a key step towards supporting structurally disadvantaged families vulnerable to child poverty.

Supervisory Team

Principal Supervisor: Dr Anna Gawlewicz

Secondary Supervisor(s): Professor Sharon Wright & Dr Mark Wong

About the School/Research Unit

The student will be based in the Social and Urban Policy subject group in the Division of Urban Studies and Social Policy, School of Social and Political Sciences – all with long-standing histories of researching migration, ethnic inequalities and social security. They will join a dynamic research community with access to tailored training via annual progress reviews, divisional away days/conferences, and opportunities to disseminate their work. A range of internal networks are available including the cluster ‘Just Cities and Societies’ and a weekly workshop series alongside an interdisciplinary PhD cohort.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria

Applicants will have a good Masters degree (or overseas equivalent)
Applicants will have a demonstratable interest in the topic under investigation
Applicants can study part-time or full-time

Desirable criteria:

Knowledge of additional language(s) (beyond English)
Experience of working with migrants and/or minoritised ethnic communities

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Social & Public Policy, PhD.

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in October 2026. The funding includes:

An annual stipend at the UKRI rate
Fees at the standard home or international fee rate
Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year

Other information

This PhD is co-designed with a leading anti-poverty charity, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG). The student will benefit from access to CPAG’s specialist expertise. The student will be supported to develop a range of policy influencing skills and to present findings to key stakeholders.

Application process

CoSS PhD Scholarship - Understanding social security take-up application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Academic Prizes
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)

Closing Date: 21 April 2026

References from referees are due no later than 28 April 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

Contact details

Questions on the project: Dr Anna Gawlewicz

Questions on the Scholarships Application Portal only: College of Social Sciences Graduate School

CoSS PhD Scholarship - Hydrogen Futures, Rural Transitions: Skills for a Just Transition in the Highlands and Islands

Project details

This PhD project investigates how the green hydrogen transition is reshaping skills needs and labour market opportunities across Scotland’s Highlands and Islands. Green hydrogen is positioned as a ‘Regional Transformation Opportunity’ by Highlands & Islands Enterprise, with the region emerging as a critical site for development through infrastructure projects such as the Cromarty Hydrogen Project and the Outer Hebrides Energy Hub leading the charge. However, persistent challenges ranging from demographic shifts and geographic isolation to skills shortages and barriers to access for underrepresented groups risk exacerbating rural inequalities unless addressed through a just transition framework.

Combining labour market analysis, policy review, and qualitative fieldwork in selected green hydrogen hub communities, this research will explore how green hydrogen infrastructure intersects with local training ecosystems and rural livelihoods. It will assess workforce readiness, reskilling pathways from oil and gas, and the role of institutions such as Creed Hydrogen Skills & Innovation Centre and University of the Highlands and Islands campuses in enabling inclusive transitions.

Grounded in frameworks of ‘just transition’ (Heffron & McCauley, 2018) and ‘stranded communities’ (Atkins, 2024a), the project will critically examine how regional and national skills strategies can be more spatially and socially responsive. It will draw on international comparisons to co-produce policy recommendations with stakeholders and citizens, supporting equitable rural development within the hydrogen economy.

Supervisory Team

Principal Supervisor: Professor Andrew Cumbers

Secondary Supervisor(s): Ms Gemma Milne

About the School/Research Unit

The University of Glasgow has been changing the world since 1451. We are a world top 100 university and a member of the prestigious Russell Group of leading UK research universities. Glasgow has been home to numerous scholars including Lord Kelvin, James Watt, William John Macquorn Rankine, Robert Stirling, John Logie Baird, Adam Smith, Joseph Black and Frederick Soddy. The University has had 8 Nobel Prize winners and is home to a diverse student population of over 23,000 undergraduates and 19,500 graduates from over 140 countries.

This PhD Project will be situated in the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow. The school is named after Adam Smith, known as the founder of modern economics and a renowned moral philosopher. We aim to follow his legacy by developing an enlightened, engaged and entrepreneurial community of scholars and graduates. We create inspiring leaders, researchers and professionals whose research and relations with industry have impact, influencing organisations as they develop and grow globally.

Our PhD programmes are aimed at those who wish to become experts in a specialised field. A PhD is increasingly necessary for a successful academic career, but is also becoming an important distinguishing qualification for those who aspire to top positions in industry, politics, and the media. We provide research students with challenging and high-quality training in the theory and practice of research in accounting, finance, economics and management disciplines. As a research graduate, you will be equipped to design and conduct high-quality research, and you will be prepared for employment where excellent analytic and communication skills are valued.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria

Applicants will have a good Masters degree (or overseas equivalent)
Applicants will have a demonstratable interest in the topic under investigation
Applicants can study part-time or full-time
Applicants must be able to undertake periods of fieldwork in the Highlands & Islands during the course of the PhD.

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Management, PhD.

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in October 2026. The funding includes:

An annual stipend at the UKRI rate
Fees at the standard home or international fee rate
Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year

Other information

Application process

CoSS PhD Scholarship - Hydrogen Futures application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Academic Prizes
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)

Closing Date: 21 April 2026

References from referees are due no later than 28 April 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

Contact details

Questions on the project: Ms Gemma Milne

Questions on the Scholarships Application Portal only: College of Social Sciences Graduate School

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