The School of Law is able to offer one studentship in socio-legal studies which is funded by the European Research Council as part of the New Sites of Legal Consciousness research programme, an innovative interdisciplinary research programme which aims to explore the role of advice agencies in the UK.  The programme will begin in April 2012 and contains three interrelated projects. The primary focus of two of the projects in the programme will be to understand the role of the Citizens Advice Bureau; the research carried out under this third project is intended to complement that work.

In this project, the aim will be to investigate a campaigning organisation which provides advice services as part of its remit. The research will investigate what difference it makes (to its campaigning activities, its workers and to clients and policy-makers) if the primary mission is campaigning for social policy change, in contrast to Citizens Advice for whom the provision of free, impartial advice came first but now has the twin aims of advice-giving and influencing social policy, both of equal status.

Applicants are invited to submit a research proposal, identifying an organisation that is to be the subject of the research and to formulate appropriate research questions and methods of investigation that utilise your specific skills, training and background. Whilst the focus of the New Sites programme is the UK, an organisation with a European and/or international dimension may be an appropriate subject for investigation. The research proposal and research questions should take into consideration the overall aims of the New Sites programme.  Further details.

The deadline for applications is midnight on Monday 7 May 2012. To apply make a PhD application via the School of Law website here and upload a research proposal of no more than 1,000 words. References and proof of qualifications will also be required.

Informal enquiries may be made to Mark Samways, the Postgraduate Student Administrator.