Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships Programme for Interdisciplinary Resilience Studies

Apply

Two routes

We will conduct an annual call for studentship proposals. Proposals can be submitted either by supervisory teams (two to three academic staff from different Schools), to which prospective students then apply, or by prospective students themselves.

The details

The following interdisciplinary projects have been proposed by supervisory teams from across the University and are open for applications:

This project examines the resilience strategies of small and medium-sized enterprises in Mumbai, India, facing climate change impacts. Through ethnographic fieldwork and interdisciplinary analysis, it explores how SMEs navigate environmental uncertainties and resource constraints. The project also includes policy research to inform strategies for enhancing SME resilience in Global South.

Full description: Cheuk_PIRS_advert_2024

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mass Observation Archive collected thousands of diaries and other writing from British residents. This project will combine methods from human geography and the digital humanities to analyse this large qualitative dataset and to advance understandings of individual and group resilience during pandemic-like societal disruptions.

Full description: Clarke_PIRS_advert_2024

Surprisingly little is known about people’s resilience to climate change. You will address this gap by using big data to map out individual adaptation and resilience strategies to extreme weather events in England, and identify how these vary by poverty levels, greenspace access and future vulnerability to climate change.

Full description: Eigenbrod_PIRS_advert_2024

Blending anthropology, arts-based practice, cultural studies and psychology, this participatory research engages in, reflexively appraises, and critically evaluates creative and arts-based methods carried out in sanctuary initiatives for refugees or asylum seekers which enable creative expressions of the experience of adversity and positive adaptation, reflective of resilience.

Full description: Everett_PIRS_advert_2024

Vulnerability of supply chains worsen inequalities in diets. This project employs mixed methods to portrait the supply chains of fruit and veg and their crucial impact on healthy diets. Collaboration with stakeholders will identify operational strategies to boost resilience of diets across UK through better conceived supply chains.

Full description: Hezarkhani_PIRS_advert_2024

Considering marine fish populations and the fishing communities they support, this project will investigate the cumulative effects of a series of shocks (e.g. Brexit, Covid-19, War in Ukraine) on resource resilience and sustainability. Interdisciplinary skills using innovative methodologies that combine machine learning, remote sensing, and social surveys will be developed.

Full description: Kemp_PIRS_advert_2024

Globally soft coastlines represent major regions of population and biodiversity. They are under threat from rapid environmental and population growth. To date, understanding of the resilience both environmental and community systems are based on short (<150yr) records. This research will combine long (600yr) sources of evidence found in documentary and sediment archives.

Full description: Lambert_PIRS_advert_2024

Outer Space provides critical socioeconomic benefit and irreplaceable cultural value but is under threat from exponentially growing satellite and space debris populations. This project focuses on the cultural evaluation and measuring of space sustainability and such detailed aspects as the technically central term of “orbital carrying capacity”.

Full description: Lewis_PIRS_advert_2024

Trade policy between developed and developing states has tended to avoid inclusion of environmental and social justice dimensions. This project will explore the implications of this on the contribution of trade policy to sustainable development, focused on agriculture in developing states, and how policies can be developed to be more resilient to climate change.

Full description: Sheffield_PIRS_advert_2024

Poor wellbeing and compassion fatigue are serious risks to the social care workforce, and to service delivery. This project investigates the psychological mechanisms underpinning the relationship between heritage engagement, the development of historical empathy, and the translation of empathy into workplace compassion to support resilience and work engagement.

Full description: Sofaer_PIRS_advert_2024

Despite the integration of ‘resilience’ into most UK government policy since 2004, and its adoption in wider UK language relating to personal capability, there is little understanding of what resilience looks like in practice. This project explores the lived experience of resilience to extreme heat through community perspectives, narratives across diverse forms of literature, and government policy.

Full description: Tompkins_PIRS_advert_2024

When creating a research proposal, consider the question or issue you want to address with their project. Think about the context for the idea, and how your research will be an original and interdisciplinary contribution to scholarship. Also think about the methods you may use to conduct your research.

Potential supervisors

Because applicants submitting their own proposals may be less aware of research expertise among academic staff across the University, the programme Board will use its institutional breadth to review and recommend supervisory teams for student-led proposals.

You can search our academics to find potential supervisors whose research interests align to yours. When you find a match, contact them to discuss your ideas. Allow time for them to respond, and consider their feedback. Contacting potential supervisors as you develop your project concept will help you build a stronger application.

How to structure your proposal

Your research proposal can be up to 1,500 words (excluding a bibliography) and should include:

  • Title
  • subheadings:
    • Introduction
    • Interdisciplinary context
      • background / framing the conceptual space(s) in which your idea fits
    • Research question
    • Methods
      • including potential data sources, research methods, critical approaches you’ll use
    • Potential challenges
      • what aspects of this idea might not work? and how might you work around that?
    • Bibliography

Write with short paragraphs and sentences. Use images and diagrams as appropriate. Your submitted version should be in pdf format.

Writing your research proposal

You should keep your proposal clear and realistic. Your proposal should convey:

  • the question you want to address
  • clear objectives of what you aim to achieve
  • relationship and references to previous work in the academic (or other) literature
  • why the research is relevant and original
  • your proposed method and approach
  • how your skills will help to conduct the research
  • any training you may need to undertake the project

Up to six students will comprise each cohort. We will offer:

  • 4 x studentships to UK (or UK-domiciled) students
    • fully funded for 48 months at UKRI base rates for maintenance and tuition
    • £10k (£2.5k per year) Research Support and Training Grant
  • 1 x studentship to an international student
    • fully funded for 48 months at UKRI maintenance and University international tuition rates
    • £10k (£2.5k per year) Research Support and Training Grant
  • 1 x “Master’s + PhD” studentship to an eligible UK (or UK-domiciled) student*
    • fully funded for 60 months at UKRI maintenance and University tuition rates for:
      • 12 months research master’s degree
      • 48 months doctoral degree
      • £10k (£2.5k per year) Research Support and Training Grant

*Note that funds for the “Master’s + PhD” track are ring-fenced for supporting students from underrepresented groups. To be eligible, applicants must be:

  1. a UK domiciled student
  2. not already have a master’s degree from the University of Southampton
  3. be from a low-income household background evidenced by, for example, being in receipt of a full maintenance loan or Special Support loan during their undergraduate studies

and/or

  1. be one of the following categories of ethnicity:
    • Black African
    • Black Caribbean
    • Black Other
    • Mixed – White and Black Caribbean
    • Mixed – White and Black African
    • Other mixed background (including Black African, Black Caribbean and Black Other)

General requirements

You will need to have a 2:1 honours undergraduate degree or equivalent qualification. If your grade was lower than 2:1 you can still apply, but your application and narrative CV should demonstrate progression since your degree.

If you have completed a master’s degree, you should have achieved a merit or above including 60% for the dissertation. If you have not completed a master’s, you’ll need to show you can produce high quality writing and analysis.

English language requirements

If English isn’t your first language, you’ll need to demonstrate that you possess a minimum standard of English language proficiency in order to be admitted to a course at the University, per University requirements. Full information on English language proficiency requirements are available here.

Selection criteria will emphasise interdisciplinarity and the applicant’s potential to undertake research.

Applications for studentships starting October 2024 are now open: complete applications are due by 4PM (GMT), 6 March 2024.

** Please submit your application documents to pirs@soton.ac.uk **

A complete application will include:

  • Programme for Interdisciplinary Resilience Studies application document (download: Soton_PIRS_cover_application_2024)
  • pre-formatted CV (download: Soton_PIRS_CV_template_2024)
  • narrative résumé (download: Soton_PIRS_narrative_resume_2024)
  • academic transcript of your undergraduate degree showing modules and marks achieved, in English
  • undergraduate degree certificate (if you have graduated)
  • academic transcript from your master’s degree (if applicable) showing modules and marks achieved
  • master’s degree certificate (if applicable, and if you have graduated)
  • English Language Qualification (if required)
  • project proposal if applying for a student-led project – further guidance on creating a project can be found here, or above, under “Student-led route: Propose your own project”)
  • 2 academic references from your most recent place of study or details for 2 academic referees
  • University of Southampton EDI form (download: Soton_PIRS_EDI_form_2024)

Applications submitted without all of the necessary documents will not be shortlisted for further consideration.

All shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview.

If you are an international (non-UK) applicant – please note that PIRS cannot cover the costs of a visa and UK health-check fees associated with enrolling in a PhD programme as an international student. Nor will those costs be otherwise covered by the University. This incurred expense (should you accept an offer) may inform your decision to apply.