PhD Degrees

This is a call for applications for a three-year, fully funded, ESRC North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP) CASE PhD studentship hosted by the Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, in collaboration with Hongkongers in Britain, starting October 2023.

The deadline for applications is 17th March 2023.

We will inform candidates whether we will offer them an interview by 22 March 2023.

Interviews will likely take place online week commencing 27 March 2023 and will include questions in Cantonese.

The research

This PhD centres on the experiences of young Hong Kongers newly arriving in the UK. Empirical research with Hong Kongers newly arriving in the UK is necessarily at an incipient stage and has yet to focus exclusively on young Hong Kongers, for whom routes to migration and settlement are, because of their age, inherently more complicated and, as they are within the age group more likely to have been involved in pro-democracy movements, more politically charged.

It is organised around the following research questions:

1. In the context of migration flows from Hong Kong to the UK and their governance through both the Hong Kong BN(O) visa route and standard immigration controls, what routes are young Hong Kongers—18-24 years old—using to migrate to and settle in the UK?
2. How are their experiences of migration and settlement in the UK shaped by coming of age in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) against the backdrop of pro-democracy uprisings? How do these shape the ways in which they advocate for political and migrant rights?
3. In what ways are their political actions shaped by the longstanding relationship between the British Government and the people of Hong Kong?

This PhD study will adopt a mixed methods approach to map how young Hong Kongers are arriving and settling in the UK through statistical analysis and new survey data; design and deliver in-depth qualitative research with non-academic partner organisation Hongkongers in Britain to document the experiences of migration and settlement among young Hong Kongers newly migrating to the UK, and provide research evidence that can be used within an advocacy for migrant rights.

The supervisors

Professor Michaela Benson, Department of Sociology, Lancaster University

Dr Ala Sirriyeh, Department of Sociology, Lancaster University

Dr Eva Li, Department of Sociology, Lancaster University

Simon Cheng, Hongkongers in Britain

This NWSSDTP CASE Studentship includes

• Payment of tuition fees for the duration of the studentship;
• An annual maintenance Stipend (£17,668 (2022/23 rate), exact rate for 2023/24 onwards subject to confirmation from the RCUK);
• Reimbursement of eligible research expenses via the Research Training Support Grant
• Opportunities to apply for additional funding to support internships, fieldwork and overseas institutional visits.

• Access to existing anonymised data held by Hongkongers in Britain
• Access to office space at Hongkongers in Britain and opportunities to present work within the organisation and through its networks
• Access to a range of training and development provided by the Sociology Department, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Lancaster University, and the NWSSDTP.

Person Specification

• Candidates must have qualifications of the standard of a Bachelor’s degree at first or upper-second-class level, and must also have a suitable Master's degree or equivalent (or will have completed a Master’s degree by the starting date of October 2023) in social research/social science.
• Candidates will need to demonstrate that they have received rigorous training in the theoretical, philosophical, and methodological aspects of both qualitative and quantitative research.
• Candidates will have a high level of fluency in spoken Cantonese is essential and a high level of proficiency in reading and writing Cantonese is desirable
• Candidates must satisfy the ESRC's academic and residential eligibility requirements; the studentship is open to UK and International (including EU and EEA) candidates
• Candidates will preferably have a background and academic interest in sociology or a cognate social science discipline

Application Information

Please send enquiries about the vacancy by email to Professor Michaela Benson (michaela.benson@lancaster.ac.uk)

Applications should be submitted through the Lancaster postgraduate admissions system (apply for “PhD Sociology October 2023 entry”).

Applications should include

• A full academic CV
• Contact details for two named referees (one of whom should be your most recent academic tutor/supervisor);
• A copy of the Bachelor’s degree and Master's degree transcript (or copy of equivalent qualifications);
• A letter of application (not exceeding two pages of A4) outlining your suitability for a PhD and explaining how you would approach the research – please note: this should be submitted on the system where it requests a research proposal
• An example of postgraduate level is written work (e.g. essay, dissertation or research article)
• Under ‘personal statement’ please state you are applying for "NWSSDTP Case Studentship Young Hong Kongers”

Once you have submitted your application please email Professor Michaela Benson (michaela.benson@lancaster.ac.uk) with your postgraduate application number.

The successful applicant will be required to submit a full application to study for a PhD in the Department of Sociology at Lancaster University and will need to be offered a place on the programme. This information will also need to be submitted to the NWSSDTP before the studentship is confirmed.

A full description of the project can be found here: NWSSDTP CASE Studentship Project Description: Young Hong Kongers in Britain.

Deadline Tuesday 1st February 2023 (5pm GMT)

Lancaster University forms part of the North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP) which offers scholarships covering tuition and maintenance for a Master's plus PhD (1+3) or for a PhD alone (+3, +2).

The pathways available within the Sociology Department are:

• Criminology, Social Policy and Social Work (MA Social Research, PhD Criminology)
• Development and Humanitarianism in an Unequal World (PhD Environment and Society)
• Social Anthropology (PhD Sociology)
• Social Studies of Science, Technology and Medicine (MA Social Research, PhD Sociology, PhD Science Studies)
• Socio-legal Studies (MA Social Research, PhD Criminology, PhD Law)
• Sociology (MA Social Research, PhD Sociology)

Please note that Master's programmes can only be funded as part of a 1+3 studentship. The NWSSDTP does not fund standalone Master's programmes.

Due to the competitive nature of this funding, usually only students with a first-class UG degree or a distinction in their MA would be successful.

Full details on eligibility and how to apply can be found on the FASS Funding website and NWSSDTP website

If you are interested in applying for a PhD place at Lancaster in the area of Media & Cultural Studies and you are interested in applying for Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funding, please first look at the information on the NWCDTP website.

The application process is lengthy, so you should contact Debra Ferreday as soon as possible.

Deadlines

Apply online for a PhD place at Lancaster: 13th January 2023 (at the latest, the earlier the better)

Draft AHRC funding application: Monday 16 January

Final funding application: 5pm 3rd February 2023

Securing AHRC (NWCDTP) funding is very competitive, so to stand a chance of success you need to have a 1^st class degree at the undergraduate level and a Distinction at Master's level (or if you are currently doing your MA, grades that look like you will achieve a Distinction by the end of your Master's degree).

The AHRC North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership (NWCDTP) doctoral studentship competition is now open, including ring-fenced studentships for BAME and disabled students. All applicants must have a confirmed offer of a place on a doctoral programme at Lancaster University. International students, as well as UK students, may apply. More information about the NWCDTP application process and what subjects they cover is available on the NWCDTP website.

To apply for an award, candidates must have applied for a PhD place at Lancaster University by Friday 13 January 2023. The PhD in Media & Cultural Studies is run by the Sociology department. (See these web pages for how to apply). But you may also apply for Media & Cultural Studies AHRC pathway funding if you intend to register on another PhD degree (e.g. PhD Gender & Women’s Studies, PhD Sociology) if your PhD project is based on media or culture.

Writing the AHRC PhD application (including the research proposal) is complex and you should work with your proposed PhD supervisors on improving your draft as much as you can. Your draft should also be shown to Debra Ferreday for comments.

All draft applications for the AHRC (NWCDTP) should be sent to Debra Ferreday for comments by Monday 16 January. Candidates must submit a NWCDTP Funding Application by Friday 3 February 2023 (5pm).

Further details including frequenty asked questions can be found on the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences website.

Deadline for Scholarship applications: Tuesday 21st March 2023, 17:00 GMT

Eligibility: UK students and international students (including EU and EEA)

Applicants must already hold an offer of a place to study a postgraduate doctoral programme in any department in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences before applying for a scholarship, and be due to commence their studies during the 2023-24 academic year.

We warmly welcome applications from students in all diversity groups. Two of the scholarships are reserved for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) applicants from the UK.

Details of Award: Cost of tuition fee plus a maintenance award equal to the UKRI minimum award, currently £17,688.

For further details, and to download the funding application form please see the Faculty of Arts and Social Science website

Level of Study: All

Eligibility: EU (Non-UK), International (Non-EU), UK

Open for applications: 10th March 2023

Deadline: 29th May 2023

Up to £4,000 and paid in three termly instalments dependent on termly satisfactory academic progression.

The awards are available for the support of students for first or higher degrees, in any subject. The period of the award is one academic year, although students can apply each year. The value of the award is determined by the Trustees in each case.

Applicants must be aged 21 and over on the first day of the first term for which they are seeking assistance. The award is based on academic merit and financial hardship. The Trustees will consider both academic and financial positions.

For further details see the University funding website.

Visit the faculty website for details on other funding sources for PhD applicants and registered students.

Research Support and Training Costs

All registered PhD students are eligible to apply to the Department for research support and research training costs. This may cover, for example, travel and other expenses for research trips to libraries, archives, museums, etc.; expenses related to attending academic conferences where you are giving a paper; or the costs of training in a skill necessary for your research, such as enrolling in a language or other skills course for which no provision exists in the university. Individual requests are usually limited to £250.