PhD Studentship in Politics and International Relations

Project title:  DIVIDED: Inequality and Polarization Prevention

Supervisors:  Dr Miriam Sorace

Project Overview:  The Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Reading welcomes applications for a full-time, 4-years PhD position for the UKRI-funded project ‘DIVIDED: Inequality and Polarization Prevention’ (PI: Dr. Miriam Sorace). The programme of research will unlock a new understanding of how citizens polarize under inequality, marrying sociological and rational choice based approaches. The project envisages extensive data collection and experimental/simulation work. Partners of the project include the social media company Meta (and its computational social science team), Opinium, the London School of Economics (LSE) Data Science Institute (DSI), the European Election Studies and the UK Labour’s Party Data and Targeting team. There are currently 4 secondment opportunities built into the programme, two at the LSE DSI, one at Opinium and one in the data and targeting team of UK Labour Party HQ, with plans to extend further secondment/consultancy calls to governmental units and other political organisations.

Eligibility: 

• A Master’s degree (at least 2:1 classification) in political science. Other social science disciplines (economics, psychology) also accepted. Students currently completing their Master’s degree are encouraged to apply as well: they can attach a provisional transcript with courses taken and a declaration including a note on expected final degree classification.
• Applicants are expected to have completed research methods modules, and to have completed at least one quantitative methods course with profit (at least 2:1). Preference will be given to applicants with quantitative methods training/experience.
• An overall score of 7.0 in the International English Language Test Score (IELTS) with no individual element scoring less than 6.0;
• The PhD fees covered by the funding are the UK home fees: this opportunity is therefore open to UK citizens or those with Indefinite Leave to Remain/Settled Status only.

Funding Details:   

• Starts 1st September 2025 or soon thereafter
• 4-year award
• Funding covers full tuition fees (UK home fees) plus non-taxable stipend which tracks UKRI stipends (currently £19,237 for the 2024/2025 academic year).

How to apply:  

To apply, please click the above “Apply” button. create your account, and use the link sent by email to start the application process. During the application process please select “PhD in Politics”.

*Important notes*

1) Please include your CV, all University transcripts (undergraduate and postgraduate) and 2 reference letters as attachments.
2) When the application system prompts you to submit a research proposal please enter 'DIVIDED: Inequality and Polarization Prevention – DRC25-006' in the research proposal box and move on to the next step as a proposal is not required for this call. 
3) Please quote the reference ‘DRC25-006’ in the ‘Scholarships applied for’ box which appears within the Funding Section of your on-line application.

Application Deadline:  14^th February 2025

Further Enquiries:  

Please note that, where a candidate is successful in being awarded funding, this will be confirmed via a formal studentship award letter; this will be provided separately from any Offer of Admission and will be subject to standard checks for eligibility and other criteria. 

For further details please contact Dr Miriam Sorace: m.sorace@reading.ac.uk.

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