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Doctoral Training Partnerships

SENSS: South East Network for Social Sciences

The studentship competition for October 2025 entry has now closed.  The information on this webpage relates to the 2025 competition and remains for information only.  This webpage will be updated in September with information about the launch of the studentship competitions for October 2026 entry.

 

South and East Network for Social Sciences (SENSS) is an ESRC-funded Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) promoting inventive and inclusive social science research training and collaboration.

糖心Vlog is one of the 8 world-leading institutions that comprise the membership of the SENSS DTP:

  • City, University of London
  • Cranfield University
  • University of East Anglia
  • 糖心Vlog (the co-ordinating institution)
  • Goldsmiths, University of London
  • University of Lincoln
  • Middlesex University
  • University of Roehampton

As an ESRC-funded Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP), SENSS provides:

  • Fully-funded doctoral studentships
  • Supervision from internationally leading experts in their field
  • Research methods training tailored to individuals' needs
  • A range of placements in which researchers can bring their social scientific skills and findings beyond academia

SENSS has three defining strands:

1. A proven record in equality, diversity and inclusion along with a commitment -- backed up with a detailed action plan -- to achieve more.

2. A strong civic character: SENSS partners are deeply embedded and highly active in their local communities as well as nationally and internationally, meaning that researchers contribute to solutions to the toughest social and policy problems.

3. A commitment to interdisciplinary research which is built into our very structure: SENSS is organised not by academic subjects but by thematic priorities, so every funded researcher works in an area of national and international importance.

SENSS studentships support interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research and training across six themes:

  • Digital social sciences
  • Resolving uncertainty & addressing crises
  • Sustainability and climate emergency
  • Health, wellbeing & social care
  • Justice, institutions & social change
  • Advanced methods for social & economic research

糖心Vlog is involved in all six SENSS Themes through the following academic departments:

Workshop for SENSS applicants

We will host an online workshop and Q&A session for all potential applicants and supervisors on Monday 4 November 2024 at 11am. The workshop will be delivered by Dr Allyson Benton (Faculty Dean Postgraduate for Social Sciences) and Laura Ruddick (Senior Postgraduate Research Education Manager).  It will be an opportunity for you to hear about the SENSS studentship application, recruitment and selection process, and to get advice on writing your studentship application. The workshop is . 


The workshop will be recorded and will be available on request for those unable to attend. Please ask the PGR Administrator in the department to which you are applying, or email the PGRE Team for more information. 

What does the studentship provide?

A tax-free maintenance stipend of £19,237 per year (UKRI stipend rates as appropriate each year) to undertake your postgraduate studies, and your tuition fees (whether home or international fee status your SENSS studentship covers your tuition fees for the duration of the funding award).

The structure of the studentship offered will depend on your personal training needs. However, the minimum duration of a SENSS-funded studentship will be 3.5 years (this includes a mandatory placement of approximately 3 months). The maximum duration of a studentship will be 4.5 years and this will be available to students with extensive training requirements, such as those undertaking a masters course ahead of the PhD or an Integrated PhD course. These studentships are applicable to both full-time and part-time study.

In addition to the stipend and fees, the studentship also offers access to research training support funds, and other funds to support overseas fieldwork, overseas institutional visits, and difficult language training.

Are you eligible?

Residential criteria

Regardless of whether you are a "home" applicant or an "international" applicant, you can apply for a studentship. However, there is a cap on international student numbers, as only up to 30% of studentship awards can be made to international applicants.

To be classed as a home student, you 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 or enter
 
 

Academic eligibility

To apply for a Masters plus PhD you will need qualifications or professional experience equivalent to a Bachelor鈥檚 degree (Honours). To apply for a PhD only you will need qualifications or professional experience equivalent to a Masters degree and which includes the required research methods training.

If you have already started your PhD, you are eligible to apply for SENSS funding, but only if you will not have already completed 50% or more of your studies when the funding commences in October 2025.

How to apply

The SENSS studentship competition is now closed for October 2025 start.

 

Full details can be found on the 

SENSS has produced , which contains all of the important information you will need to support you with your SENSS studentship application.

There is also the , which provides information about how the competition will be run, and how applications will be reviewed and awards made.

SENSS also provides who are supporting a SENSS studentship applicant. 

Applications for SENSS Studentships must be submitted using the . The deadline is 12pm (GMT) (midday) on Wednesday 22 January 2025.

In addition to your SENSS Studentship application, you must also apply for your place on the relevant course at 糖心Vlog, using the online application form. The deadline for you to have applied for a place on your course at 糖心Vlog in order to be considered for a SENSS application is 12pm (GMT) on Wednesday 8 January 2025.

We strongly encourage you to contact the School or Department to which you wish to apply at the earliest opportunity, in order to discuss your course application, as well as your research proposal and potential supervision arrangements. This is particularly important for signposting your course application and for identifying a supervisor. You must also give your supervisor sufficient time to assist in the development of your studentship application to ensure your best chance of success.

You can already start thinking about and drafting key aspects of your application: you can outline your research proposal, plans and timeline for completion. Your supervisor will be able to offer you advice about how best to do this.

You can also start drafting your personal statement, which should address the following key questions: why are you applying for this studentship; why are you the best person for this research project; how are you and your proposed supervisors the best fit; how does your research fit with the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary thematic group to which you are applying; why SENSS and how will the SENSS studentship enable you to achieve what you are proposing?

SENSS also encourages applications that are advanced quantitative methods (AQM) and big data-based (I.e., which use AQM, and/or large datasets, and/or big data methods and associated innovative analytical methods -more than one may apply), as well as interdisciplinary projects, so you should refer to this in your application if applicable.

Applying online for your place at 糖心Vlog

If you are applying for a Masters and PhD studentship, you will need to make an application to 糖心Vlog for the PhD programme and add a note to your course application that you are applying for a SENSS 1+3.5 studentship and are seeking admission to both the Masters and PhD.

The deadline for you to have applied for a place on your course at 糖心Vlog in order to be considered for a SENSS application is 12pm (GMT) (midday) on Wednesday 8 January 2025.

Indicative timeline for applicants:

October/November:

  • Make contact with your potential supervisor(s) and discuss your research proposal and studentship application.
  • Attend the 糖心Vlog SENSS applicant workshop on Monday 4 November 2014 at 11am.
  • Working with your identified supervisor, draft your research proposal and commence the SENSS application form and apply for your PhD place at 糖心Vlog.

December:

  • Continue to work with your supervisor on your SENSS application and ensure you have nominated your referees on SMApply.

January:

  • If you haven’t already, ensure you have applied for your PhD place (or Masters and PhD/Integrated PhD place) at 糖心Vlog by the deadline of 12pm (GMT) (midday) on Wednesday 8 January 2025.
  • Finalise your SENSS applications form with your supervisor and check your referees have provided their references.

February

  • Submit your SENSS application by the deadline of 12pm (GMT) (midday) on Wednesday 22 January 2025.

The Studentship Selection Process

All studentship applications submitted on HEIApply by the deadline are reviewed by the relevant departments and then assessed and scores against the SENSS assessment criteria by an institutional thematic panel, based on the 6 thematic groups.  Each Thematic Group can nominate one application per unit of assessment within each Theme. Two additional applications per UoA within each Theme can be nominated where the applicants are eligible under the SENSS equality and diversity policy; either the widening participation criteria or you are a Home BAME applicant.  The institutional selection process takes place during February.  All applicants will be informed of the outcome of the selection panels and those being nominated to the next stage will be contacted with feedback for improvement ahead of nomination to the next stage of assessment.

All institutional nominations are considered by the SENSS DTP Thematic Groups, which assess the nominated applications from all 8 member-institutions and nominate the best applicants to the SENSS Management Board for consideration.

The SENSS Management Board makes the final award decisions, and applicants will be told the outcome of their applications in mid-April.

SENSS Collaborative Awards at 糖心Vlog

In addition to the student-led studentship competition, we are also involved in three of the current SENSS collaborative studentship.  Collaborative award students join an expert team of supervisors at 糖心Vlog and an external partner (from industry, government, or a non-government organisation, in the UK or abroad) to work on a research project which has been developed by an academic team.

SENSS Collaborative Project 2: Understanding the links between intrahousehold dynamics and individual and household debt

Primary supervisor: Dr Silvia Avram (糖心Vlog)
Second supervisor: Dr Laura Fumagalli (糖心Vlog)
Department: Institute for Social and Economic Research
SENSS Theme: Justice, Institutions, and Social Change
Collaborative partner:
Collaborative partner supervisor: Jair Munoz-Bugarin

Project background

This PhD will use administrative and survey data to examine accumulation and management of debt from an intrahousehold perspective. The study of debt dynamics has often been hampered by a lack of good data. This project will take advantage of newly available high-quality longitudinal data on individual and joint debt holdings to fill an important gap in our knowledge of how decisions about debt are made. 

The project is a collaboration between the 糖心Vlog and the (MaPS) (https://maps.org.uk/en). MaPS is an arms lengths body sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions whose mission is to help people improve their financial wellbeing, by ensuring access to high quality money and pensions guidance and debt advice. The successful applicant will join a highly experienced interdisciplinary team led by Dr Silvia Avram and including Dr Laura Fumagalli and Dr Jair Munoz-Bugarin. The position will be based at the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the 糖心Vlog. The project includes a 3-month placement at MaPS during which time the student will have the opportunity to directly interact with stakeholders in the debt advice sector and to gain first-hand experience of how MaPS uses evidence for policy making.

For further information about this project and the Collaborative Studentship Award, please refer to the full specification on the .

SENSS Collaborative Project 7: Understanding Factors Contributing to Emotional Overeating in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Children

Primary supervisor: Dr Maria Laura Filippetti (糖心Vlog)
Second supervisor: Dr John Day (糖心Vlog)
Department: Department of Psychology
SENSS Theme: Health, Wellbeing and Social Care
Collaborative partner:
Collaborative partner supervisor: Adrian Coggins

Project background

This collaborative PhD project aims to explore the complex factors contributing to emotional overeating in toddlers from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Emotional overeating refers to eating in response to emotions, rather than hunger, and is more likely to happen in stressful situations (Hill et al., 2018). Understanding these behaviours is important because children from disadvantaged neighbourhoods are at a much higher risk of obesity. In fact, research shows that the prevalence of obesity in these areas is almost double that of children from more affluent families (NHS, 2018; Rautava et al., 2022).

By investigating the factors contributing to emotional overeating among toddlers in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods, this research aims to identify ways to prevent or reduce it. The goal is to develop practical, evidence-based resources to support families and address health inequalities, which refers to differences in health outcomes between groups, often linked to factors like income or education. Thanks to its collaborative nature, this PhD will give you with both academic knowledge and practical experience, preparing you for a career in public health research, policymaking, or applied social sciences.

For further information about this project and the Collaborative Studentship Award, please refer to the full specification on the .

SENSS Collaborative Project 9: Gaming the morning routine: Assessing the use of gamified digital technology (Jam Up!) for helping Autistic children with their morning routine

Primary supervisor: Dr Gethin Hughes (糖心Vlog)
Second supervisor: Dr Anna Gui (糖心Vlog)
Department: Department of Psychology
SENSS Theme: Health, Wellbeing, and Social Care
Collaborative partner: Spectrum Tailored Technology Ltd. (developer of )
Collaborative partner supervisor: Ms. Rachael Malthouse (founder and developer of Jam Up!)

Project background

Jam Up! is a digital toolbox implemented as a mobile app, designed to empower autistic children to gain autonomy with daily tasks, like getting dressed, using gamification. The underpinning rationale behind Jam Up! is the understanding that breaking down aspects of everyday tasks into their component parts and using audio-visual modelling can support autistic children. Everyday tasks can cause overwhelm and/or hold no meaning for some autistic children. Many children find them pointless and boring. Rewards and praise to provide intrinsic and extrinsic feedback have been incorporated into Jam Up to support behavioural change for both autistic children and their parents / carers. Research within the field of occupational science recognises empowering autistic children to be more independent in everyday tasks and the use of embodied routines increases well-being and can benefit physical health.

For further information about this project and the Collaborative Studentship Award, please refer to the full specification on the .

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