WALES ESRC DTP PHD ‘COLLABORATIVE’ STUDENTSHIP - School of Social Sciences: Explaining immunisation against violence against the person in Wales and its implications for a narrative approach to evidence-based policy-making

Outline

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences invites applications for PhD study with the possibility of being awarded a fully-funded ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Partnership Studentship, available to start in October 2020, which is available through the Criminology Pathway.

The rationale of the proposed project is to rethink the kind of research that can best support crime prevention policy-making in Wales. To reinvigorate evidence-based approaches to the reduction of crime and disorder in Wales, including the adoption of public health approaches to problems of violence against the person, the All Wales Policing Group is interested in the contribution that advanced postgraduate research can make to work currently undertaken by ‘analysts’ from police, local government, HMPPS and Public Health Wales. Whilst analysts typically provide intelligence reports that describe crime problems, usually their frequency and concentration in particular ‘hot spots’ and times, there is interest in research that can provide explanatory narratives about such problems, posing questions about their conditions of existence and the related immunity of many from offending and victimisation, even within ‘at risk’ groups: why is it that so many don’t offend or aren’t victimised and what lessons can be drawn for policy reform? An exemplar of this shift being current work on the resilient factors that counteract ‘Adverse Childhood Experiences’ (ACEs) that otherwise provide pathways into offending and/or victimisation. The project focuses upon immunisation against problems of violence against the person, this being a priority for policy-making in Wales and a rationale behind the establishment of the new all-Wales Violence Prevention Unit. In these terms, the key questions for the proposed research are:

• What might explain the ‘immunisation’ of non-victims and non-offenders amongst populations at risk of violence against the person?

• What lessons can be drawn from this explanation for a violence prevention strategy that is concerned with enhancing resilience against violence against the person?

What is funded

Studentship Awards will cover your tuition fees as well as a maintenance grant (currently £15,009 p.a. for 2019/20 for full-time students, updated each year); and includes an additional Research Training Support Grant (RTSG), though an element of this latter fund may be ‘pooled’ and require separate applications from 2020 onwards. There are other opportunities and benefits available to studentship holders, including an overseas fieldwork allowance (if applicable), internship opportunities, overseas institutional visits and other small grants

Eligibility

Applications should have a first class or strong upper second-class honours degree, or appropriate Masters’ degree. We welcome applications for both full and part-time study, and studentships are available as either ’1+3’ (i.e. one full year of research training Masters followed by three years full-time Doctoral study, or the part-time equivalent), or ’+3’ (i.e. three years of full-time doctoral study or its part-time equivalent), depending on the needs of the applicant. Further details on types of awards and eligibility: http://walesdtp.ac.uk/studentships/.

These studentships are ‘collaborative’ awards. Applicants should take careful consideration of the working title and description of the project and may wish to contact the named member of staff for a discussion prior to applying.

How to Apply

Applicants should apply to the Doctor of Philosophy in Social Sciences with a start date of October 2020.

In the research proposal section of your application, please specify the project title and supervisors of this project and copy the project description in the text box provided. In the funding section, please select ’I will be applying for a scholarship/grant’ and specify that you are applying for advertised funding from WALES ESRC DTP PHD ‘COLLABORATIVE’ STUDENTSHIP.

Please include the following:

1. Covering letter with your reasons and motivation for applying to study at Cardiff University and the pathway; your understanding and expectations of doctoral study; your academic interests generally, and particularly of those relating to your proposed research. The letter should be no more than two pages.

2. Academic / Professional Qualifications Where appropriate, this should also include proof of English Language Competency (7.0 IELTS minimum).

3. Two academic references. Candidates must approach referees themselves and include references with their application.

4. CV no longer than two pages.

5. A Research Proposal should be up to a maximum of 1000 words, not including bibliographic references. We suggest that you use the following headings:

• Title, aims and purpose of the research;

• Brief overview of the academic literature relevant to your field;

• Proposed design/methods;

• Academic contributions of your research;

• Indicative bibliographic references.

The closing deadline for applications is 12.00 noon on Monday 3 February 2020. Short-listed applicants will be invited to interview, which are expected to take place between Monday 24 February – Monday 2 March 2020. After interview, a final short-list of applicants will be put forward to a Panel convened by the ESRC Wales DTP Management Group at which final decisions with regard to studentship awards will be made. In most cases successful applicants can expect to hear by early April 2020.