ESRC North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership

In the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, we work closely with applicants whose interests are within the area of social work. If you are interested in submitting an application to the Criminology, Social Policy and Social Work pathway with a specific interest in social work, then we ask that you contact us directly before making an application so that we can provide support and guidance.

Once you have support for your application, you will need to follow the application instructions on the School of Social Sciences website.

Suggested contacts

• Dr Pat Cartney
• Dr Stephen Hicks
• Dr Dharman Jeyasingham
• Professor Alys Young

Pathway lead: Dr Laura Anselmi, laura.anselmi@manchester.ac.uk

Admissions contact: admissions.doctoralacademy@manchester.ac.uk – for returning completed ESRC NWSSDTP application forms and supporting documents

This pathway has a broad remit and examines health and well-being from a social science perspective.

It is ideal for social scientists and health/social care practitioners wishing to undertake applied research.

Examples of current activity include the social determinants of health, healthy ageing, international public health, mental health, managing long-term conditions, primary care and health technologies.

The pathway is particularly suitable for aspiring postgraduates with backgrounds in nursing, midwifery, allied health professions, medicine, health services research, psychology and sociology.

The pathway also offers advanced workshops in specialised areas open to all pathway students across the four institutions. These have included:

• narrative methods in health research;
• ethics in participatory and health research;
• medical anthropology;
• medical statistics;
• spatial epidemiology.

Networking opportunities are fostered through annual conferences within the pathway, cross-institutional supervision and joint seminars on themes such as mental health, health technology and ageing.

The health and wellbeing pathway provides an opportunity to develop key skills in health and social care research.

Whether you wish to influence the management of long term health conditions, healthcare policy or the societal implications of health inequalities, our training can support your career aspirations.

If you are interested in the 1+3 route, our MRes Health and Social Care programme at The University of Manchester provides an excellent foundation.

Project examples:

A natural experiment of the effects of “greening” the environment on physical activity and wellbeing: Theory development and developing guidance on practical issues for natural experiments

Jack Benton with Professor David French and Dr Sarah Cotterill

Frailty versus ageing: Older Adults Physical Activity Habits

Dominique Mauger with Professor Chris Todd, Dr Helen Hawley Hague and Dr Neil Pendleton

Virtue Theory in Practice: An evaluation of the impact of nursing values on patient experience

Sarah Ramsey with Professor Christine Hallett and Dr Jane Brooks

Pathway lead: Dr Alissa Ferry (alissa.ferry@manchester.ac.uk)

Admissions contact: admissions.doctoralacademy@manchester.ac.uk – for returning completed ESRC NWSSDTP application forms and supporting documents

Applicants must discuss potential research proposals with suitable academic supervisors in advance.

This will provide the basis for establishing whether a proposal can be supported, relevancy to ESRC and how it could be adapted to make the training experience all the more fulfilling.

View our research groups and academic profiles in this area as a starting point:

• Human Communication, Development and Hearing
• Psychology and Mental Health
• Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology

Most queries relating to the development of research proposals, and your suitability for a particular area of study should be directed to potential academic supervisors.

General questions pertaining to overall academic suitability, or equivalence of research experience can be directed to the pathway lead as outlined above.

Once you have identified a potential supervisor, you should contact him/her directly via email with details of your initial ideas for possible areas of study. Proposals should then be refined and developed in collaboration with your supervisor, where appropriate.

Final research proposals are expected to name a minimum of two potential academic supervisors, and we strongly encourage cross-institutional supervisory teams within the NWSSDTP.

Once you have identified a primary supervisor at the host institution, s/he will be able to offer help and advice on the most beneficial supervisory arrangements for your chosen area of study.

If you are interested in the 1+3 route, our MRes Psychology programme at The University of Manchester is ideally suited as it provides the opportunity to experience extended research across a range of research topics first hand.

The MSc Clinical and Health Psychology, MSc Health Psychology and MSc Neuroimaging for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience also provide an appropriate foundation.

Academic contacts:

Pathway Lead: Vladimir Jankovic (Vladimir.Jankovic@manchester.ac.uk)

Carsten Timmermann (carsten.timmermann@manchester.ac.uk)

Admissions contact: admissions.doctoralacademy@manchester.ac.uk – for returning completed ESRC NWSSDTP application forms and supporting documents

Find out more about postgraduate research in the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine.