The School of Politics and International Relations (SPIR) offers a number of studentships each year, normally with a deadline of 31^st January, for an October start. Current studentships are outlined below. Candidates whose applications are received after an advertised deadline may be considered for admission but not for funding.

QMUL Principal’s Studentships

The following studentship is currently still open:

• The Mile End Scholarship in British Political History (joint with the School of History)    

The scholarship will be awarded to outstanding postgraduate candidates whose work contributes to the history of modern British politics and/or government. Applications are particularly welcome from candidates who are willing to engage with relevant methodologies, approaches and debates within both of these broad disciplinary areas.

Applicants are invited to contact Prof Michael Kenny in SPIR, or Dr Helen McCarthy, Dr James Ellison, Dr Peter Catterall and Dr Martyn Frampton in History to discuss their ideas before making an application.

The Scholarship is open to UK, EU and international students. It covers the cost of tuition fees and provides a maintenance allowance at the approved Research Councils UK rate of approx. £15,590 per annum, for up to three years. Candidates will normally be expected to have a good first degree (upper second, or above) and have achieved or be in the process of achieving a Master’s degree (merit, or above) in Politics, International Relations, History, or a related subject.

The deadline for completed applications is Friday 18^th May 2012.

Economic & Social Research Council: Doctoral Training Centre (London Social Science) Studentships ***APLLICATIONS FOR OCTOBER 2012 ARE NOW CLOSED***

The School of Politics & IR is part of a prestigious ESRC-funded Doctoral Training Centre (DTC), London Social Science, with QMUL and Goldsmiths, University of London. The DTC will provide funding for up to two PhD studentships in SPIR for entry in 2012. Applications in any field where we can offer expert supervision are encouraged. A full list of research interests in SPIR is here.

Studentships cover up to four years of tuition fees and provide a standard maintenance grant of £15,590 per year. PhDs with a particular emphasis on quantitative research may receive an additional Advanced Quantitative Methods (AQM) stipend of £3,000. Successful applicants will be offered a variety of flexible models of combined PhD study and research training: either a 1 + 3 model (i.e. 1 year doing an MA or MRes in advanced research training plus 3 years of PhD) or a model where the research training is completed throughout the course of the 4 years of the studentship.

Please note that you need to complete an additional ESRC application form to be considered for funding through the DTC. Further details and guidance on how to apply are below and available here: http://www.londonsocialscience.org.uk/index.html.

Candidates must adhere to the current residential eligibility rules as laid out in the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide available here.

How to Apply

For all types of studentship, apply via the standard online doctoral application process, indicating in your application that you wish to be considered for funding. Applications can be made online here. Further details on how to apply are here. Hard copies of the application form are also available.

Successful applicants to all funding schemes are expected to start in October 2012.

You are encouraged to visit our website to establish if your research ideas fit with our current areas of interest. In addition, you are encouraged to make informal contact with a potential supervisor to discuss your proposed topic, in advance of making your application. Two of the College studentships indicated above pertain to specific subject areas – click on the links above for more information.

Applications to both College and ESRC-funded studentships must consist of the following:
• A research proposal which should include a hypothesis, key questions to be addressed by your research, methodology and an indicative bibliography. Further advice on writing a research proposal is here. Please note that the research proposal word length for a studentship application is max. 2000 words.
• You should have a 2:1 or equivalent in your first degree and if your first language is not English you must be able to provide recent evidence that your spoken and written command of the English language is adequate for the programmes for which you have applied. You need to provide evidence of anlish language test score or intend to take a test before your studies. Information about English language entry requirements can be found here.
• Transcripts from previous degrees
• 2 academic references
• A full curriculum vitae (CV)
• Supporting statement which states why you want to take the programme

If you are still studying for your Master’s degree, it is essential that one of the referees is able to comment on your progress so far and your predicted grades. Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that your references are returned before any advertised deadline. The College or School will not pursue outstanding references on your behalf. Applications without references will be considered incomplete and will not be processed further.

General enquiries about making a formal application can be addressed to the Research Manager by email politics-pgresearch@qmul.ac.uk, or call +44 0207 882 5829.