Postgraduate Research Scholarships in the School of Social Policy and Society

Our academics are internationally recognised as authorities in their fields, and our research contributes to academic debates and has worldwide impact. Our research outputs in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), were placed in the top 10 in the UK for social policy and social work.

Types of Scholarships

We are offering a select number of Scholarships.

School Scholarships are to support students who will commence their PhD studies in September 2026. As such, only new applicants (and not existing PhD students) are eligible to apply. These scholarships cover Home fees and stipend for 3 years full time (or 6 years part time), subject to satisfactory progress. In some cases, Schools may also offer a stipend or cover fees for international students. However, please note that School Scholarships cannot be used to support distance learning PhD programmes.
- Applicants will automatically be entered into the School Scholarship competition, when they apply for an ESRC-funded studentship from the Midlands Graduate School Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP). The deadline for applications for ESRC Scholarships is midday on Tuesday 13 January 2026 (12:00 GMT).
  
  Applicants for the School of Social Policy and Society who wish to only apply to the School studentship but not the ESRC should email sosppgr@contacts.bham.ac.uk for more details and an application form.
  
  Decisions on School Scholarships will usually be announced between late March and early May.

ESRC-funded studentshipsfrom the Midlands Graduate School Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP). The deadline for applying for an ESRC funded studentship is Tuesday 13 January 2026 (12:00 GMT). Details on the application process provided in the link above. Note that you need to have applied for a place onto one of PhD programmes linked to your chosen pathway in order to be considered. Please do this at your earliest convenience.
Decisions from the ESRC Midlands Graduate School are usually made by the beginning of April. By applying to the ESRC you will automatically be entered into the School competition if you are applying to a School of Social Policy and Society PhD programme.

Information about other specific scholarships will appear on this site as these opportunities arise.

The School of Social Policy and Society is offering funding for doctoral research. The studentship will explore the impact of NIHR funded surgical trials on clinical practice in the UK. The successful applicant will be supervised by academics from the Centre for Evidence and Implementation Science (CEIS), University of Birmingham (Professor Amy Grove, Dr Arabella Scantlebury) and University of Liverpool (Professor Michael Jenkinson).

The CEIS are a multi-disciplinary team at the forefront of methodological innovation and policy and practice change. The Centre encompasses: 1) A Technology Appraisal Review team 2) an Evidence Synthesis Group 3) an Evidence Based Surgery Unit and 4) a policy and methods group. The successful applicant will benefit from opportunities for professional and personal development through established collaborations such as the Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) and NIHR Patient Safety Research Collaboration (PSRC).

The studentship is part of a wider programme of work led by Professor Michael Jenkinson and the Royal College of Surgeons for England (RCSEng) Collaborative. This collaborative includes Royal College of Surgeons Surgical Trials Units, Chairs of Surgical Trials and Surgical Specialty Leads, who the student will be required to work collaboratively to deliver this project.

We anticipate that the studentship will involve:

Using routinely collected NHS secondary care datasets (e.g. Hospital Episodes Statistics) to evaluate how NIHR surgical trials have influenced surgical practice.
Using health economics and real-world data to determine the economic impact of surgical trials on practice.
Close collaboration with national leaders in surgical research and practice.
Developing new research methods for measuring how trial evidence influences surgical practice.

For informal enquiries, please contact Arabella Scantlebury: a.l.scantlebury@bham.ac.uk

How to Apply for the PhD studentship

Applications must be made through the University of Birmingham Postgraduate Application portal. Your scholarship application will not be considered if you do not apply for admission. To apply for admission, select PhD in Health Services Management (Full Time only). Once you have applied, please email Pearl Pawson (p.pawson@bham.ac.uk) with your details and application number.

Your application should include:

A personal statement / cover letter explaining why you are a suitable candidate and what you would bring to the PhD (2 pages maximum)
A short (2 page maximum) research protocol to address the proposed research question.
A CV
Two academic references
Transcripts (previous qualifications)

Please mention that you are applying for CEIS, Evidence Based Surgery PhD studentship within your application. Full information about applying for a PhD at the University of Birmingham can be found at Apply for an advertised PhD - University of Birmingham

The deadline for applications is 10^th November 2025

Eligibility

The studentship is offered as a 3-year award (commencing January 2026) on a full-time basis. UK only applicants.

Applicants are expected to have a strong first degree (2:1) in a relevant applied health sciences/social science discipline, including demonstrable experience in applied health services research, health economics and quantitative research methods. Master’s degree in a relevant discipline with research methods training (or equivalent professional training) is usually expected.

The studentship covers:

Full tuition fees at the Home rate (currently £5,006 per year)
An annual maintenance grant for 3 years (currently £20780 per year).

Find out more about our Doctoral Programmes.

Find out more about the areas of research in the School of Social Policy and Society.