UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN
4-year Ad Astra PhD Scholarship in the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice
Start Date – either September 2020 or January 2021 (to be agreed)
The School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, UCD, invites applications from highly motivated and talented students wishing to undertake a PhD in Social Policy, broadly defined. The successful candidate will be working under the supervision of (opens in a new window)Dr. Matthew Donoghue, Assistant Professor (Ad Astra Fellow) in Social Policy. The Ad Astra PhD scheme provides the opportunity for researchers with strong analytical skills to work in an interdisciplinary setting with the freedom to decide on their own topic of study. It is open to applicants of any nationality.Dr Donoghue welcomes applications in any area related to his research interests, especially:
- Social citizenship and social rights
- Resilience, hardship and inequality
- Social cohesion and integration
- Intersections between ideology, politics and policy(making) – inc. issues surrounding austerity, Brexit, etc.
Those working in a qualitative tradition, or in the subfields of interpretive or critical policy studies, are particularly welcome to apply – although this by no means a requirement.
Benefits
The Ad Astra PhD programme has been designed to attract and support talented students throughout the PhD process. This is reflected in the generous studentship, which includes:
- Full funding for tuition fees.
- Tax-free stipend of €18,000pa.
- Research expenses of €4,000pa.
- A range of training and professional development opportunities.
Requirements
Applicants should have:
- A Master’s degree in a relevant social science subject
- Some training in social science research methods.
- Cognate research interests, or a clear strategy to enable work in a new (sub)field.
Apply
Please send applications to (opens in a new window)SocPolAdAstra@ucd.ie no later than 23:59 Irish time, Thursday 7th May 2020. Applications received after this deadline cannot be considered. Applications must include:
- Research proposal (3,000 words maximum, not including references)
- Personal statement (1,000 words)
- CV/Resumé
- Academic transcripts (and certificates if available)
- Proof of English proficiency (6.5 IELTS minimum)
- 2 academic references
Applications will be considered by an appointment committee, who will recommend a shortlist of candidates to be invited to interview.
Potential applicants are welcome to contact Dr. Donoghue ((opens in a new window)matthew.donoghue@ucd.ie) to discuss informally the PhD programme and the studentship prior to applying.