Join our vibrant and supportive PhD community.
Studying for a PhD is a highly rewarding and challenging process.
As part of a research community and with individual supervision you will become a leading expert in your area.
All of our academic staff are active researchers, who are at the cutting edge of their research field. We have an outstanding reputation for research in our specialist areas.
You are encouraged to explore our research communities and contact the academic whose interests match your own.
Our research is divided into four themes. Each research community is led by staff who are at the forefront of their fields.
How do we develop an understanding of the world around us? We look at cognitive, social, emotional and language development from before birth through to adolescence.
.jpg)
What are the fundamental cognitive processes behind language, learning, memory, and attention? How does our understanding of cognition impact society?
.jpg)
How does the brain respond to different environments and govern cognitive function? We research how humans understand and process the world around us.
.jpg)
How do we develop definitions of morality or trust, and how do they affect our emotions in social interaction or decision making?
Loading People
Each year the Psychology Department offers several fully-funded PhD studentships (commencing the following October), as well as opportunities to apply for other studentships via the ESRC's North West Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP).
In all cases, we are looking for academically excellent students, who are passionate about doing research and have an exciting project they want to pursue.
For more information on funding, see the Funding Opportunities section.
For more information on the application process, please visit our Current Opportunities page.
To begin the process, you will need to find a PhD Supervisor whose research interests align with your own. You will need to contact them to discuss your application.
We will require a research proposal on the area/s you are interested in joining us to study. This proposal will be used to help us determine who will be the most suitable potential academic supervisor for your research.
This step is the starting point to find a suitable supervisor who will then, if interested, contact you for a phone interview. In this interview, you will discuss the proposal and intended research, meaning your plan is not your permanent topic for your PhD studies and open to negotiation. Past guidelines have suggested the following:
We recommend that you submit your research interests and the PhD Admissions Tutor can pass your application onto the most relevant and available supervisor.
To apply, create an account on the Applying for postgraduate study website.
Here you can submit applications for the programme(s) which you wish to study, upload supporting documentation and provide us with information about referees. You may apply for all our postgraduate programmes using this method.
If you are a current Lancaster student or have recently graduated from Lancaster, we can reduce the amount of information that you will need to provide. You will need to offer only one reference and will not need to supply your Lancaster degree transcript. We will also pre-fill your details, ready for you to check.
If you use the Postgraduate Applications website, then you will be advised which documentation you need to upload or send to us. We can automatically contact your referees once you have submitted your application if you ask us to.
The supporting documentation screen will provide you with a list of required documents. These will usually include:
You can apply at any time of the year for PhD study, but we encourage you to start at one of the predefined start dates of October, January or April. We will consider the July start date in some circumstances. An MSc by Research will usually start in October. If you would like us to recognise you for funding, are applying from overseas or require on-campus accommodation, we recommend you apply as early as possible.
Each year, the Department offers several PhD studentships, as well as opportunities to support applications for studentships via the ESRC’s North West Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP).
Studentships typically provide funding for 3 or 3.5 years and cover fees, a maintenance stipend and access to a Research Training and Support Grant. Additionally, all new PhD students receive a laptop with a monitor and workstation.
Some studentships cover fees for applicants with a ‘Home’ fee status only, while other studentships cover fees for applicants with a ‘Home’ or an ‘International’ fee status.
More information on how the University determines an applicants’ fee status can be found on our Fee Status pages.
The Department supports applications for studentships via the Economic and Social Research Council’s North West Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP), which include standard studentships and CASE studentships (for collaboration with a non-higher education partner). NWSSDTP studentships are open to both applicants with a ‘Home’ fees or an ‘International’ fee status. However, across the DTP, no more than 30% of studentships can be allocated to applicants with an ‘International’ fee status. Within the NWSSDTP, applicants can apply for funding for a master degree in combination with doctoral studies (1+3) or for funding to support their doctoral studies (+3). The NWSSDTP currently supports several studentships ring-fenced for students from a Global Majority background. The ESRC has also awarded the NWSSDTP a number of ‘steered’ studentships in the ‘priority areas’ of advanced quantitative methods, longitudinal studies (using ESRC datasets) and interdisciplinary work. Please visit our ‘Current Opportunities’ for information on how to apply via our Department.
The Department of Psychology at Lancaster University regularly has a studentship funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council available. This usually is a studentship for PhD funding (+3). It provides full tuition fees, a maintenance stipend (at the general UKRI rate) and access to a research training support grant. These studentships are open to both applicants with a ‘Home’ fee or an ‘International’ fee status. However, across the DTP, no more than 30% of studentships can be allocated to applicants with an ‘International’ fee status. As a department, we particularly encourage applications to work with early career staff. This year these include: Dr Amy Atkinson, Dr Abigail Fiske, Dr Stefan Leach, Dr Alice Milne, Dr David Neequaye, Dr Alice Rees, Dr Heather Shaw, and Dr L-J Stokes. Applications to work with these members of staff are weighted preferentially at the short-listing stage for this studentship. Please see under ‘Current Opportunities’ for information on the application process
The Department of Psychology at Lancaster University usually has one or more studentships funded by the Faculty of Science and Technology available. The award is for PhD funding (+3) and provides tuition fees at the ‘Home/UK’ rate, a maintenance stipend in accordance with UKRI rates, and access to a grant towards research training support. Applicants with an ‘International’ fee status must fund the difference between Home/UK and International fees themselves, if successful. As a department, we particularly encourage applications to work with early career staff. This year these include: Dr Amy Atkinson, Dr Abigail Fiske, Dr Stefan Leach, Dr Alice Milne, Dr David Neequaye, Dr Alice Rees, Dr Heather Shaw, and Dr L-J Stokes. Applications to work with these members of staff are weighted preferentially at the short-listing stage for this studentship. Please see under ‘Current Opportunities’ for information on the application process.
The Department of Psychology is happy to support applications to the Lancaster University-China Scholarship Council Joint Scholarship. If you would like to apply via the Department of Psychology, please contact postgraduate.psychology@lancaster.ac.uk for information on the application process.
The first study will focus on disinformation and AI-generated images. It will investigate the importance of cognitive biases (including risk-taking, sensory defects and experience with the technology) and social factors (e.g. ethnicity, social networks, social isolation, trust) in accepting disinformation and AI-generated images. It will also study the efficacy of interventions (Nightingale et al. 2022) that intend to help people detect disinformation and image manipulation.
The second study will focus on the detection of manipulated video (both AI-generated “deepfakes” and simpler manipulations, such as false subtitles). The study will investigate participants familiarity with these manipulations, and factors that predict their ability to detect them (including those in work package 1) and test the efficacy of Nightingale et al.’s (2022) intervention in helping participants detect them.
The third study will focus on participants' attitudes to immersive technologies and manipulated content. Do older people perceive immersive technology as ‘real’ and what would they consider ‘fake’ or ‘manipulated’ in such virtual or augmented spaces?
Candidates should have:
Desirable:
To have worked with older adults
Studentship start date: October 2024
Funding details: EPSRC stipend plus tuition fees for UK students
How to apply: Submit an application for full-time study here Applying for postgraduate study - Lancaster University and complete the Qualtrics Survey here Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management
Deadline: 31st May 2024
For more information, please contact Dr Lara Warmelink at l.warmelink@lancaster.ac.uk
Project description: Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD studentship to study the impact of children’s auditory technology on communication in a naturalistic listening environment. The project will be based on the Paediatric Listening, Cognition and Neuroscience (PELiCAN) Lab at the Department of Psychology, Lancaster University.
Children with mild to moderate hearing loss (MMHL) are behind their peers in educational attainment and in language development through to adulthood and do not get as much benefit from auditory technology as adults. We are seeking to recruit a curious and highly motivated PhD student to be part of Hannah Stewart’s UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship ‘Impact of Children’s Auditory Technology (iCAT)’. The overarching aim of iCAT is to provide the evidence base needed to deliver child-appropriate auditory technologies for primary school-aged children with MMHL.
You will work on iCAT’s naturalistic assessment of the listening project. This is a ‘blue skies’ project combining social behavioural (e.g., eye and motion tracking) and behavioural outcomes with mobile neuroimaging, to assess communication between children and a teacher in a naturalistic research classroom. This PhD studentship focuses on the social behavioural side of the project. In particular, you will be trained in hearing sciences, and eye and motion tracking study design and analysis.
You will join a multidisciplinary team of highly driven researchers from experimental psychology, auditory neuroscience, and education. The Psychology Department has a very active auditory group, including six permanent academic staff, postdoctoral researchers, and PhD students. The department is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusivity as demonstrated by our Athena Swan Silver Award.
The PhD candidate must have a first or upper-second-class Undergraduate honours degree or Master in a discipline relevant to the project. While we expect that this project would suit graduates from a psychology background, we are also keen to receive applications from a wide range of backgrounds that might enhance the project. The technical demands of the expected work may well suit applicants from a mathematics, computer science, or linguistics background. A demonstrable understanding and passion for psychological research is essential. Experience working with children is highly desirable, but not essential. The successful PhD candidate will need to complete an enhanced DBS check.
This PhD studentship is fully funded for up to 3.5 years with a tax-free studentship stipend of £18,622, along with paid tuition fees, subject to satisfactory progress. A budget for training and attending conferences will also be provided. Due to tuition fee restrictions, these positions are only available to applicants who are eligible for UK fee status (see https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding/fee-status/ for further details).
For informal enquiries about the project please contact Hannah Stewart (h.stewart5@lancaster.ac.uk).
Studentship start date: October 2024 or January 2025
How to apply: Please email the following documents to postgraduate.psychology@lancaster.ac.uk with the title “Impact of Children’s Auditory Technology PhD studentship” by 5th June 2024. The successful candidate will be asked to submit an application to Lancaster University for full-time PhD study with a start date of either October 2024 or January 2025 as agreed.
Deadline: 5th June 2024
