ESRC Funded Studentships in Education at Brunel University London, via the Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership.
Brunel University London is pleased to invite applications for studentships in Education, offered through the ESRC-funded Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership (GUDTP).
The GUDTP is an exciting collaboration between Brunel, the University of Oxford and the Open University, which offers its students access to innovative social science research training across all three institutions. Brunel DTP students in Education will be members of the GUDTP Education Pathway led by the University of Oxford and Brunel and delivered collaboratively by the two universities. You can find further information on
Brunel DTP students on the Education pathway will join the Department of Education. Education at Brunel is a leading department in the UK offering the full range of provision at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In common with the university as a whole, the department has a rich ethnic mix among its student population and attracts a significant proportion of students from outside the European Union. The Education Department is ranked top 5 in London (Complete University Guide, 2024), and 1st in London and 3rd in UK for Education graduate jobs and further study (LEO 2023). In the last Research Excellence Framework, 60% of the Education Department’s research was world leading or internationally excellent and 90% of its impact was graded as internationally excellent.
Our doctoral researchers are a key part of our research and scholarly community, and we seek to nurture and develop them as the next generation of researchers in education who both create and co-create new knowledge in order to advance the field.
We view education as a discipline in its own right as well as drawing on other disciplinary fields such as history, philosophy, sociology and human geography to inform provision for both our PhD and EdDoc researchers. We believe in the holistic development of the researcher and offer opportunities for doctoral researchers to become fully immersed in Department, College and wider University research networks, providing them with new insights into theory, methodology, methods, ethics and real-world application.
Our research addresses education in the broadest sense, taking in both formal and informal education (including youth work and welfare contexts) and focusing across the lifecourse to include early years, schooling, higher education and lifelong learning.
Departmental research is currently organised and led through four research groups:
The Department is also affiliated with the following research groups and centres:
Applicants are requested to contact Professor Emma Wainwright emma.wainwright@brunel.ac.uk to discuss their applications and indicate the member(s) of staff they consider suitable to potentially support their application.
Joint Oxford-Brunel supervision will be available where beneficial, drawing on existing external co-supervision practices. More information on the Education research areas available at Brunel is available on our Grand Union DTP web page.
Studentships are available as either three-year PhD (+3) or four-year studentships, depending on the level of research training already achieved, on a full-time or part-time basis. Successful applicants for a Full-time award will receive an annual maintenance stipend of approximately £21237 per year (2024/5) UKRI rate paid monthly in advance) for the period of their award (three or four years) plus Fees at the current UKRI rate for Full-time or Part-time courses. Successful applicants for a Part-time award will be paid pro rata for the period of their award (six or eight years).
Eligibility
- Qualifications/experience equal to the standard undergraduate honours degree at a first or upper second class level from a UK research organisation
- Masters qualification is not a prerequisite for the award of a studentship from the Grand Union DTP
- Anyone can apply – there are no residency or nationality restrictions for a full award (stipend & fees) But the DTP can only offer up to 30% of its awards each year to international students
How to apply
For the Education Pathway, find application and contact information on our Grand Union DTP web page.
For any further enquiries contact: emma.smith@brunel.ac.uk
Deadline for final applications is 10 January 2025.
Please note, all candidates must contact the relevant research group lead in advance of the deadline for final applications. Interviews with potential candidates with be held w/c 3 February.
Emma Wainwright - Emma is a Professor and interdisciplinary social scientist with a background in Human Geography. She is co-lead of the Human Geography: Space, Place and Society research group (with Nicola Ansell and Monica Degen) and the Education, Identities and Society research group (with Utsa Mukherjee). Emma studied Geography at the University of Aberdeen and, after completing her PGCE (Secondary) at the University of Edinburgh and a brief period of secondary teaching, was awarded a scholarship by the University of St Andrews to undertake her PhD in Social and Historical Geography. Prior to working at Brunel, Emma was a Research Executive in the Social Research Institute at MORI (now Ipsos MORI).
Emma's research interests focus on the geographies of education, training and welfare, and social and educational inequalities. In particular her works explores higher education and student experience; social housing and resident engagement; family, parenting and home-school engagement; embodiment, body work and emotional labour. Emma's work engages low-income, marginalised and 'hard to reach' groups.
Research has been funded through external grants awarded by the ESRC, the British Academy, the City of London Corporation, Barclays, the Froebel Trust, the Learning and Skills Council, and the Money Advice Service. Emma has successfully collaborated with various social housing providers across London and the South East including A2Dominion, Catalyst and East Thames (now L&Q) to deliver research and evaluation projects. The impact of this research was captured in a REF 21 case study.
For six years, Emma was editor of the British Educational Research Journal (Jan 2018- Dec 2023). She has recently been external examiner at the University of Hertfordshire (BSc Geography), University of Newcastle (BSc Geography) and Cardiff University (MSc Education and MSc Childhood and Youth), and acts as a regular reviewer for various academic journals. In 2006 Emma was awarded the Newbigin Prize by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society for her paper published in the Scottish Geographical Journal. Recent work has been published in Area, Educational Review, Education 3-13 and Population, Space and Place.
Emma has worked at Brunel for 20 years, nine years as part time. She currently works 4-days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday).
Qualifications
PhD, Geography, University of St Andrews
PGC in Higher Education, Brunel University London
PGC in Secondary Education (Geography and Modern Studies), Moray House, University of Edinburgh
MA (Hons) Geography (1st Class), University of Aberdeen
Awards and Prizes
BERA Conference Award for Best Paper in the Educational Policy and Educational Research SIG, 2023
BERA Conference Commendation for Best Paper in the Alternative Education SIG, 2021
Brunel Teach Award for Innovative Assessment, 2018
University's Student-Led Teaching Award for Outstanding Feedback, 2017
Royal Scottish Geographical Society, Newbigin Prize, 2006