Scholarships in Department of Health and Human Sciences, UK

Scholarships in Department of Health and Human Sciences
Investigating Choice And Consumption In A Health Care Context

Applications are invited for a range of studentships for PhD study starting in October 2008.

Fully funded Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) +3 studentships are available for Social Science approaches to the study of health and illness and are open to UK and EU students. We also invite applications for fully funded University Scholarships (open to students from UK, EU and overseas).

ESRC Studentships: Our PhD in Health Studies is recognised for ESRC +3 studentships for those who have already completed recognised ESRC research training (or equivalent) at Masters level. These awards include maintenance grants and tuition fees paid for UK students. Maintenance grants are approx £12,000 per year and do not attract income tax or National Insurance. For EU students the awards cover tuition fees only.

University of Essex Postgraduate Research Scholarships: Potential students are eligible to apply for a University Scholarship (up to a maximum of £12,000 per annum, plus home/EU fees) for full-time study. Subject to work permit requirements you will be permitted to undertake some paid employment by mutual agreement. The Department also offers a small number of fees only scholarships for students wishing to undertake a Professional Doctorate (fees only Professional Doctorate Scholarship is available for a maximum of 4 years, part-time).

Research support funding is available to students from the Department’s Research Endowment Fund. These monies can be used to assist in registering for conferences or training programmes.

Applications: By 15.00 GMT on Monday 18 February, 2008.

Please read further details at: http://www.essex.ac.uk/hhs/pg/Scholarships/HHS_Scholarships_Info.htm , and then complete the relevant application forms: http://www.essex.ac.uk/hhs/pg/pg-scholarships.htm . Please indicate which award(s) you want your application to be considered for.

Applicants are expected to have, an upper second or first class undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a social sciences, health sciences or related subject, or to be able to demonstrate other relevant experience including other postgraduate degrees.

For further information please contact the Graduate Administrator, Melanie Hassack, mahass (non Essex users should add @essex.ac.uk to create full e-mail address), (telephone: 01206 873375) in the Department of Health and Human Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom.

The Department of Health and Human Sciences is a multidisciplinary department and has an excellent reputation for research and teaching in health and social care. In the most recent UK Research Assessment Exercise, which took place in 2001, our research was submitted with the Department of Sociology which achieved the highest possible rating. We host PhD students with a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds. Applications for scholarships are particularly welcome in the following areas, although applicants wishing to pursue a PhD or Professional Doctorate in other areas relevant to the Department’s research are also encouraged to apply:

Investigating choice and consumption in a health care context

Supervisor: Dr Ewen Speed

I am interested in supervising doctoral students who are interested in topics in and around issues of consumption in relation to healthcare. Students should be interested in exploring any aspect of consumerism and consumption from a sociological (or closely related) context. My interests lie particularly in qualitative approaches to the study of the development of principles of ‘choice’ in relation to health care provision, and how this issue of choice might be related to bigger changes within health care provision, and indeed to bigger social processes of New Public Management (NPM) and Neo-liberalism. In a related context, I would also be interested in supervising students with an interest in the commodification or marketisation of health care, and the role of rubrics of ‘quality’ in these processes, again in relation to NPM and neo-liberalism.

Contact Ewen Speed (esspeed non-Essex users should add @essex.ac.uk to create full e-mail).