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Vice-Chancellor’s Studentships 2025

Funded PhD opportunities with University of the West of Scotland

University of the West of Scotland (UWS) is one of Scotland’s most innovative modern universities. In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, 90% of UWS research was classed as world-leading, internationally excellent, or recognised internationally. In the 2024 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, UWS was ranked second in Scotland and joint 16th in the world for reduced inequalities, against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Find out more about funded PhD opportunities →

Research-led solutions for global problems

Under the UWS Vice-Chancellor’s Studentship Scheme 2025, eight PhD studentships are offered for October 2025 start. These highly selective studentships span the University’s four academic schools: Business and Creative Industries; Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences; Education and Social Sciences; and Health and Life Sciences.

The studentship themes are aligned with the University’s strategic ambitions and underline the University’s commitment to distinctive research and innovation, and addressing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

About these Projects

University of the West of Scotland is seeking to attract PhD candidates of outstanding ability and commitment to join our vibrant and growing programme of internationally excellent research.

The funded studentships are open to UK citizens and applicants with pre-settled or settled status. Funding for applicants meeting these criteria will cover UK fees and they will also receive an annual stipend (currently £20,780).

You will find more details on these exciting funded studentship opportunities, as well as the contacts for more information, in the project summaries below.

School of Business & Creative Industries

University of the West of Scotland (UWS) is seeking to attract a PhD candidate of outstanding ability and commitment to join its vibrant and growing programme of internationally excellent research.

This is a fully funded PhD Studentship and includes payment of tuition fees for 36 months at the home/UK rate and an annual maintenance stipend equivalent to UKRI minimum stipend rate (£20,780 pa from 01/10/2025). The successful candidate must meet the following criteria: be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or have settled status, or have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or have indefinite leave to remain.

The Project

This PhD project will investigate the evolving model of major and mega-sporting events, using the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as a focal case study. At a time when the efficacy of delivery models for hosting these events is being questioned, this research will explore how the Commonwealth Games Federation's (CWGF) aim to "reset" the Games towards a more sustainable and impactful future can be operationalised.

It will examine how the 2026 Games addresses issues of equality, accessibility, social inclusion, environmental sustainability, infrastructure development, and long-term legacy. Furthermore, it will analyse how partnerships between the CWGF, local organisers, government, and communities can be effectively leveraged to achieve these sustainable outcomes.

The candidate would spend some of their time with the Organising Committee and the Legacy Manager for Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026 (Glasgow CWG 2026). Embedded within the 2026 Games cycle (October 2025 - post-Games 2026), the research will involve a systematic review of policy and an exploration of local engagement strategies, mapping outcomes using a theory of change developed by the successful candidate in conjunction with G2026. A key objective is to determine the transferability of this new model to smaller host nations, with a focus on understanding community needs, mitigating negative impacts, and ensuring meaningful resident involvement in planning and implementation.

Specifically, the project aims to:

  • Critically evaluate the Glasgow CWG 2026 structure and the decision-makers' approach to hosting the 2026 Games, assessing its potential for future host nations beyond 2030.
  • Critically examine the 2026 Games' contribution to inclusion, social impact, and sustainability in relation to the UN SDGs.
  • Explore the Glasgow CWG 2026 strategy to reimagine the 2026 Games as a "reset" towards a sustainable event that prioritizes social impact through equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), offering a new approach for smaller nations.

The candidate/eligibility criteria

Candidates should possess a strong academic background with a relevant Master’s degree in areas including sports management, event management, sociology, urban studies, public policy, or related social science disciplines. They should demonstrate a proven understanding of research methodologies, including qualitative and quantitative approaches, and possess excellent analytical and writing skills. Prior research experience, in conducting literature reviews, undertaking data collection, and performing data analysis, is highly desirable. Furthermore, experience or a demonstrable interest in the events sector, social impact assessment, sustainability initiatives, community engagement, or related fields would be advantageous. The successful candidate will be a highly motivated and independent learner with a strong work ethic and a passion for contributing to impactful research.

For more information, or to discuss the project informally, please contact (via email) Dr Briony Sharp (Briony.Sharp@uws.ac.uk).

Application Deadline: 20/06/2025

Start Date: 01/10/2025

University of the West of Scotland (UWS) is seeking to attract a PhD candidate of outstanding ability and commitment to join its vibrant and growing programme of internationally excellent research.

This is a fully funded PhD Studentship and includes payment of tuition fees for 36 months at the home/UK rate and an annual maintenance stipend equivalent to UKRI minimum stipend rate (£20,780 pa from 01/10/2025). The successful candidate must meet the following criteria: be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or have settled status, or have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or have indefinite leave to remain.

The School of Business and Creative Industries at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) has a strong and growing research community of world-leading excellence.

This funded PhD Studentship presents a unique opportunity to engage with Scotland’s – and one of the UK’s – leading intersectional feminist theatre companies, Stellar Quines (SQ). Dedicated to promoting the role of performance in ensuring gender justice for all, SQ is at a pivotal moment in the organisation’s development, having moved from Edinburgh's cultural centre to a new base in Kirkcaldy, Fife in 2024. This move is concurrent with, and resultant from, a radical reappraisal of SQ’s creative and working practices to place a greater focus on community engagement and co-creation.

Since its inception in 1993, SQ has been committed to addressing the lack of opportunities for women in the arts and beyond. Since then, its objectives have increasingly focused on addressing and advancing intersectional feminist issues. The company’s relocation to Kirkcaldy is motivated by the stark disparity between investment in arts and culture outside of Scotland's central belt of Edinburgh and Glasgow. This project will therefore be ideally placed to document and contribute to Kirkcaldy’s sustainable regeneration.

Building on existing UWS research collaborations with SQ, this PhD project will explore and document this key moment, critically reflecting on the company’s practices to date and their plans for a new, community-led, intersectional feminist working model for arts-based initiatives in specific Scottish locales. In so doing, this project directly contributes to scholarship and practice on community, gender justice and the arts and the changing landscape of contemporary Scottish theatre.

Research Objectives:

RO1 to document SQ’s relocation to Kirkcaldy and their development into a place-based theatre company.

RO2 to conduct an analysis of SQ’s process of co-creating artistically with community groups in Kirkcaldy to critically evaluate how the community shapes the organisation.

RO3 to critically engage with the concept of intersectionality and explore in practice how an intersectional framework informs Stellar Quines and Scotland’s wider arts ecology.

The candidate/eligibility criteria:

Eligible candidates should have a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field (e.g. Theatre Studies, Performance Studies, Community Engagement, and/or Creative Industries, Cultural Studies). The candidate should demonstrate an interest in, and knowledge of, at least some of the following: contemporary Scottish theatre; intersectional feminism; community engagement; dramaturgy; institutional change.

The recruitment procedure will be in compliance with the UWS Equality Diversity and Human Rights Code. In consideration of the intersectional feminist nature of SQ’s work and the necessary research focus on intersectional feminism, we especially encourage applications from BiPOC and Global Majority applicants as well as from women, non-binary individuals and people of marginalised genders.

For more information, or to discuss the project informally, please contact (via email) Dr Ann-Christine Simke (Ann-Christine.Simke@uws.ac.uk) or Dr Catriona Fallow (Catriona.Fallow@uws.ac.uk).

Application Deadline: 20/06/2025

Start Date: 01/10/2025

School of School of Computing, Engineering & Physical Sciences

University of the West of Scotland (UWS) is seeking to attract a PhD candidate of outstanding ability and commitment to join its vibrant and growing programme of internationally excellent research.

This is a fully funded PhD Studentship and includes payment of tuition fees for 36 months at the home/UK rate and an annual maintenance stipend equivalent to UKRI minimum stipend rate (£20,780 pa from 01/10/2025). The successful candidate must meet the following criteria: be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or have settled status, or have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or have indefinite leave to remain.

This exciting PhD project aims to leverage Virtual Reality (VR) and Machine Learning (ML) to enable native British Sign Language (BSL) communication within immersive virtual environments, tackling social isolation and enhancing communication accessibility for deaf people.

Deafness significantly impacts individuals, often leading to isolation and a higher incidence of mental health challenges compared to the hearing population. While VR offers potential for connection, current solutions for sign language communication are limited as sign language is rich and complex, involving not just hand gestures but also facial expressions, body posture, and lip patterns, posing significant technical challenges for VR implementation.

By developing technology that allows deaf BSL users to communicate naturally in VR, we aim to reduce isolation, foster social integration, and make virtual spaces, including those for training and education, more inclusive.

The core aim is to develop and validate a system that enables native BSL communication in VR. Key objectives include:

  1. Run user studies to understand deeply the requirements and needs of Deaf individuals in VR.
  2. Mapping the specific requirements for implementing full body BSL effectively in VR.
  3. Developing a comprehensive dataset of BSL signs, including associated facial expressions and body movements (potentially comparing with ASL).
  4. Designing and training novel Machine Learning algorithms to interpret these inputs and represent BSL signing accurately in VR.
  5. Generalising the approach to create a framework applicable to other sign languages.
  6. Validating the developed technology and framework through user studies with deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, potentially collaborating with communities like 'Helping Hands' and UK charities (e.g., SIGNHEALTH).

This project will adopt a human-centred design approach. It will involve user needs analysis, prototyping, benchmarking input capture technologies suitable for VR, dataset creation, ML model development and training, framework design, and rigorous user validation.

Expected Outcomes:

  • A practical framework for implementing sign language support in VR social spaces.
  • Contribution to reducing isolation and improving mental well-being within the deaf community.
  • Novel ML algorithms specifically designed for inclusive communication in VR.
  • High-impact publications (targeting at least three 3*/4* peer-reviewed papers).

You will join a dynamic and vibrant research environment at UWS, working within the School of Computing Engineering and Physical Sciences, and join UWS Creative Computing Technologies research group (https://uwscct.co.uk/). This project aligns with the University's Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) strategy and contributes to signature research in assistive and enabling VR technologies. You will be part of a supportive research community.

Candidate Profile:

We are seeking a highly motivated candidate with:

  • A strong undergraduate degree (First or Upper Second Class Honours) or a Master’s degree in Computer Games Development, Immersive Technologies, HCI, AI/Machine Learning, Computer Science or a closely related discipline.
  • Proficiency in programming (Unity development is highly desirable).
  • A keen interest in Virtual Reality, Human-Computer Interaction, and/or Assistive Technologies.
  • Experience in conducting user studies.
  • Knowledge/understanding of BSL or Deaf Culture
  • Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
  • Strong communication skills (written and verbal).
  • A proactive and independent approach to research.

Desirable but not essential: Experience with ML frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch).

For more information, or to discuss the project informally, please contact (via email) Dr Soheeb Khan (Soheeb.Khan@uws.ac.uk) or Dr Marco Gilardi (Marco.Gilardi@uws.ac.uk)

Application Deadline: 20/06/2025

Start Date: 01/10/2025

University of the West of Scotland (UWS) is seeking to attract a PhD candidate of outstanding ability and commitment to join its vibrant and growing programme of internationally excellent research.

This is a fully funded PhD Studentship and includes payment of tuition fees for 36 months at the home/UK rate and an annual maintenance stipend equivalent to UKRI minimum stipend rate (£20,780 pa from 01/10/2025). The successful candidate must meet the following criteria: be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or have settled status, or have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or have indefinite leave to remain.

The increasing digitalisation of industrial sectors across the UK calls for a new class of communication systems—ones that are agile, intelligent, and dependable. This PhD project investigates how emerging Next-Generation Networks (NGNs), including Beyond-5G (B5G) and 6G, can be connected to ensure secure, high-performance mission-critical communications, vital for sectors such as manufacturing where reliability, security, and real-time responsiveness are essential, enabling a smooth shift from legacy systems to advanced digital infrastructures.

The successful candidate will explore programmable, AI-enhanced networking frameworks designed to meet the evolving demands of Industry 5.0. This includes developing novel architectures that combine Software-Defined Networking (SDN), Network Function Virtualisation (NFV), and artificial intelligence to improve network responsiveness, efficiency, and resilience.

The project will begin by assessing the impact of communication performance on UK manufacturing and identifying risk mitigation strategies to strengthen industrial agility and operational resilience. It will then focus on designing a robust and adaptable network architecture, alongside a comprehensive communication framework that caters to a wide range of industrial requirements. A further key strand of the research involves the development of a user-friendly, AI-driven network management platform that can adapt to the evolving technical demands of B5G/6G environments.

The candidate will join an expert research group with a strong track record in NGNs and virtualised infrastructures, and benefit from access to the Digital Connectivity and Innovation Centre (DCIC). Facilities include a private 5G Mobile Network and an open-source, software-defined Radio Access Network (Open RAN), both ideal for testing advanced mission-critical scenarios. Close industry partnerships, particularly with national mobile operators, will further enrich the research environment through hands-on technical support and real-world validation. Expected outcomes include high-impact publications, a functional network management platform, and tangible contributions to the future of mission-critical communications in smart manufacturing.

We are seeking an ambitious and technically capable individual with a strong academic background in Computer Science, Computer Networking, Telecommunications, or a closely related field. Applicants should hold a first-class Honours degree, and preferably a Master’s qualification.

A thorough understanding of computer networking is essential, with particular emphasis on virtualisation, containerisation, and cloud-native architectures such as Kubernetes. Experience with programmable network technologies—including P4, Open vSwitch (OVS), and/or eBPF—is highly desirable, as is familiarity with network management and orchestration tools.

Applicants should also be proficient in programming languages such as Python, C, or Go, and have experience with network simulation or emulation platforms, for example ns-3 or Mininet, which would further strengthen their application.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong analytical and problem-solving skills, self-motivation, and a genuine interest in applied research with real-world impact. The ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary environment is essential.

For more information, or to discuss the project informally, please contact (via email) Dr Pablo Salva-Garcia (Pablo.Salva-Garcia@uws.ac.uk).

Application Deadline: 20/06/2025

Start Date: 01/10/2025

School of Education & Social Sciences

University of the West of Scotland (UWS) is seeking to attract a PhD candidate of outstanding ability and commitment to join its vibrant and growing programme of internationally excellent research.

This is a fully funded PhD Studentship and includes payment of tuition fees for 36 months at the home/UK rate and an annual maintenance stipend equivalent to UKRI minimum stipend rate (£20,780 pa from 01/10/2025). The successful candidate must meet the following criteria: be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or have settled status, or have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or have indefinite leave to remain.

Project title

The changing landscape of third sector employment: longitudinal evidence from linked administrative data.

Project outline

Insecure work, low paid jobs, and overqualification are all characteristics of underemployment; a situation more akin to being unemployed than being employed with regards to its negative consequences on health, wellbeing, and finances (Virick & McKee-Ryan, 2018). Research in underemployment is growing, although the focus has been on a few ‘typical’ industries and on the private sector (e.g. hospitality, retail). Third sector organisations are significant employers and make important contributions to well-being and social cohesion in the UK (House of Lords, 2024). The passage of the Employment Rights Bill significantly impacts underemployment and pay in the UK and threatens the viability of these organisations and the delivery of essential public services (BBC, 2024).

This PhD will address the evidence gap on the levels, causes and impact of underemployment in the third sector by:

  • mapping the degree of underemployment in third sector by organisation type (e.g., care, employability) and size.
  • analysing the consequences of underemployment on the third sector’s workforce and on the delivery of critical services for disadvantaged communities.
  • examining the nature, causes and consequences of gender and geographic inequalities in underemployment and pay in the third sector.

The PhD will use mixed-method (quantitative and qualitative) research. The quantitative component will be based on the analysis of an administrative dataset created by Dr McDonnell as part of a ESRC project in collaboration with the ONS: (https://doi.org/10.57906/2j3p-ts21). The qualitative part will consist mainly, although not exclusively, of interviews with third sector employees and employers, building on knowledge from Dr Fuertes ESRC Underemployment project (https://underemployment.info).

Employment practices and remuneration are urgent priorities for the UK Government in securing sustained and inclusive economic growth (UK Government, 2024). The PhD will shed light on the third sector’s contribution to underserved individuals and communities (SDG10), contribute towards decent work (SDG8), and gender equality (SDG5).

Collaboration: The studentship will be co-supervised by Dr Vanesa Fuertes, Dr Diarmuid McDonnell, and Dr Nicola Hay. By virtue of the scholarship funding, the successful candidate will also become a member of the Sustainable Policy Analysis Research Centre (SPARC).

Location of position: Paisley, Scotland.

Eligibility criteria and conditions

Applicants will hold:

  • A good honours degree from a UK or EU University or equivalent institution - normally at First Class or Upper Second Class level.
  • And a Master’s level qualification (or equivalent) in social or public policy, sociology, political sociology or relevant discipline (e.g. social research, social sciences, etc.).
  • Applicants, whose first language is not English must produce appropriate IELTS score (overall score 6.5, no subtest less than 6) unless their honours and/or master’s degree has been fully obtained from an English-taught UK University.

Two academic references are required.

In addition to undertaking a full time study the research studentship holder will normally be expected to contribute up to 6 hours a week to UWS’ research related activities e.g., participating in UWS research events and conferences, supporting research centre activities.

For more information, or to discuss the project informally, please contact (via email) Dr Vanesa Fuertes (Vanesa.Fuertes@uws.ac.uk), Dr Diarmuid McDonnell (Diarmuid.McDonnell@uws.ac.uk) and Dr Nicola Hay (Nicola.Hay@uws.ac.uk).

Application Deadline: 20/06/2025

Short-listed applicants will be invited to an interview, which is expected to take place mid/end June 2025.

Start Date: 01/10/2025

University of the West of Scotland (UWS) is seeking to attract a PhD candidate of outstanding ability and commitment to join its vibrant and growing programme of internationally excellent research.

This is a fully funded PhD Studentship and includes payment of tuition fees for 36 months at the home/UK rate and an annual maintenance stipend equivalent to UKRI minimum stipend rate (£20,780 pa from 01/10/2025). The successful candidate must meet the following criteria: be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or have settled status, or have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or have indefinite leave to remain.

The project:

This PhD project is an exciting opportunity to use psychological theories of language processing to determine the effects of aging and dementia on complex communication skills of older adults.

In healthy cognitive ageing or those with cognitive deficits, the ability to communicate and understand is key to healthy relationships, particularly with those in a caring role. This project will consider understanding and use of pragmatic language in older adults with and without dementia with the aim of providing guidance to caring dyads on complex communication.

The studentship will involve a systematic literature review of people will dementia, and disease-free older adults’, language abilities. Familiarisation with literature surrounding pragmatic language use and the techniques used to examine this will also be needed.

The student with then spend time with older adults and people with dementia to co-develop methods to assess language abilities and communication needs. Established theoretical frameworks and experimental techniques may be used, however, the co-creation of novel methods of enquiry is anticipated and encouraged. Developed methods will then be used to collect data, in the lab and community. The project will conclude with the successful candidate leading the dissemination of advice on complex communication and pragmatic language use to carers and those supporting people with dementia.

The candidate/eligibility criteria:

The successful candidate will have a 2:1 / Upper Class undergraduate degree in Psychology, and ideally a Master’s degree in a relevant subject (e.g., Psychology, Cognitive Ageing, Psychological Research Methods or Experimental Linguistics/Pragmatics). Experience of working with theories and methods of language processing would be an advantage, as would a grasp of programming and statistical analysis with R. The successful candidate will be required to work in the community with older adults, people with dementia, and their carers; and will be expected to lead co-creation workshops, as such, being comfortable with qualitative data collection and analysis would be helpful. Previous experience working with older adults with dementia and their carers would be an asset. Confidence, excellent communication skills, and the ability to work independently in new environments is essential.

For more information, or to discuss the project informally, please contact (via email) Dr Joanne Ingram (Joanne.Ingram@uws.ac.uk)

References:

Bambini, V., Tonini, E., Ceccato, I., Lecce, S., Marocchini, E., & Cavallini, E. (2020). How to improve social communication in aging: Pragmatic and cognitive interventions. Brain and Language, 211, 104864. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2020.104864

Application Deadline: 20/06/2025

Start Date: 01/10/2025

School of Health & Life Sciences

Nurturing the Implementation of the Coach’s Eye: the NICE project (VC25004)

University of the West of Scotland (UWS) is seeking to attract a PhD candidate of outstanding ability and commitment to join its vibrant and growing programme of internationally excellent research.

This is a fully funded PhD Studentship and includes payment of tuition fees for 36 months at the home/UK rate and an annual maintenance stipend equivalent to UKRI minimum stipend rate (£20,780 pa from 01/10/2025). The successful candidate must meet the following criteria: be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or have settled status, or have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or have indefinite leave to remain.

Resistance training (RT) induces many benefits for health and well-being, leading public health guidelines to recommend regular RT for people of all ages. However, these guidelines often take a one-size-fits-all approach and overlook trainees’ individual needs, thus limiting training effectiveness.

Technological advances have introduced methods to accurately prescribe and adjust RT training, enabling personalisation. One such method is velocity-based training (VBT), which tailors RT to individual needs by tracking movement velocity changes. Yet, VBT relies on velocity-monitoring devices, which are costly, time-consuming, and technically demanding. A tech-free alternative, leveraging coaches’ observational judgment—“the coach’s eye”—to track velocity changes, could reduce dependence on technology and make VBT more accessible.

The Nurturing the Implementation of the Coach’s Eye (NICE) project addresses these limitations and aims at improving RT coaching through the coach’s eye method. The project’s objectives are:

  1. Increase the coach’s eye accuracy and efficiency by narrowing the expected repetition ranges associated to different training variables (e.g., exercise, load, velocity loss threshold) using insights from an Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis.
  2. Validate the coach’s eye in real-world settings, prioritizing exercises coaches identify through a Personal and Public Involvement (PPI).
  3. Validate the coach’s eye as a testing tool to detect performance changes.
  4. Improve the coach’s eye accessibility by developing a mobile app containing the meta-analysis results and a performance testing feature and train coaches to implement the method.

Over the course of 3 years, this project has the potential to inform best practices in the areas of training load monitoring and management and coaching practice.

Qualifications & Eligibility

To be eligible, candidates should:

  • Be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or
  • Have settled status, or
  • Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
  • Have indefinite leave to remain.

Candidates should have a Bachelor (minimum 2:1 class) or Master’s degree in Sports Science or other related discipline. Candidates should have excellent interpersonal skills (oral and written), confidence in quantitative research methods, work well within a team, and possess the ability to work independently.

It is essential that the candidates possess the following:

  • Management and completion of an extended piece of research (such as a dissertation) at either undergraduate or postgraduate level
  • Experience of quantitative research methods
  • Experience working as part of a Multidisciplinary Team
  • Competency in IT and experience of data management

Desirable criteria include:

  • Experience of coding skills (e.g., R or Python programming languages) for data visualisation tasks and statistical analysis.
  • Experience of data collection and analysis with eye tracking technology
  • Experience of computer vision analysis techniques
  • Experience of conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses

Application process

A completed University of the West of Scotland Postgraduate Research Degree application form including contact details of two academic referees.

Prospective applicants are encouraged to initially contact Dr Laura Carey (laura.carey@uws.ac.uk) or Dr. Antonio Dello Iacono (Antonio.Delloiacono@uws.ac.uk) to discuss the project further.

Application Deadline: 20/06/2025

Start Date: 01/10/2025

The impact of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) on mothers and their children (VC25048)

University of the West of Scotland (UWS) is seeking to attract a PhD candidate of outstanding ability and commitment to join its vibrant and growing programme of internationally excellent research.

This is a fully funded PhD Studentship and includes payment of tuition fees for 36 months at the home/UK rate and an annual maintenance stipend equivalent to UKRI minimum stipend rate (£20,780 pa from 01/10/2025). The successful candidate must meet the following criteria: be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or have settled status, or have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or have indefinite leave to remain.

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is a severe mood disorder characterised by debilitating psychological symptoms and suicidality. For mothers’ with PMDD, this disorder has a complex impact on parenting. Early interdisciplinary work by the supervisory team found that mothers had specific concerns about the impact their PMDD had on their children. The successful candidate will explore this important issue in the context of emerging Scottish policy pertaining to women’s health, early years and health inequalities.

Objectives:

  1. To explore lived experiences of parenting while living with PMDD, including mothers’ engagement with services/policies (e.g., welfare system)
  2. To explore insight of professional stakeholders who engage with mothers with PMDD
  3. To produce a programme theory (theory of change) that identifies pathways for support for mothers with PMDD and their families

The PhD will involve a three phased study. Phase 1, a systematic review of evidence exploring parenting and other mental disorders; Phase 2, a qualitative study incorporating individual interviews with mothers with PMDD (n=12-18), and 2-3 focus groups/workshops (3-6 per group) with professionals who engage with mothers with PMDD e.g. social workers.; and Phase 3, development of a programme theory (theory of change) to identify intervention points for support.

The successful candidate will benefit from the team’s existing links with: (i) the Scottish Government; (ii) a range of stakeholders including health professionals, third sector services and charitable organisations; and (iii) the UK’s PMDD insight group and the Special Interest Group. They will also work alongside UWS’s Social and Health Inequalities Research group (SHEIR) and benefit from the support of colleagues in the Women’s Health Research Network.

Eligible candidates should have a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field (e.g., health, psychology etc). The candidate requires an interest and knowledge of menstrual mental health and ideally will have experience of working with vulnerable populations.

For more information, or to discuss the project informally, please contact (via email) Dr Lynsay Matthews (Lynsay.Matthews@uws.ac.uk).

Application Deadline: 20/06/2025

Start Date: 01/10/2025

How to apply

Applications can only be accepted through the UWS online system, by clicking the Apply button below.

Submit your application along with the required documents mentioned in UWS guidance.

Closing date for applications: 20th June 2025

Professor James Miller FRSE

Vice-Chancellor’s Message

I am incredibly proud to offer these fully-funded, cross-disciplinary studentships, which will provide invaluable opportunities for talented aspiring academics.

The subject areas are fully aligned with the University’s vision to create better futures together and will further strengthen our international reputation in tackling global challenges describes in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Vice-Chancellor Studentships are a crucial investment in the future and enhance our diverse research portfolio. By supporting talented students and equipping them with the resources they need to pursue their passions, we can unlock groundbreaking discoveries, push the frontiers of knowledge, address societal challenges, and create a brighter, more sustainable future for all.

Professor James Miller FRSE
Principal and Vice-Chancellor of UWS