SEDTC Application Guidance Notes 2015 Applicants should read the ESRC Funding Guidelines and check their eligibility for funding before completing their application. All forms and supporting documents can be downloaded from partner websites and from: www.southeastdtc.ac.uk Applicants are advised to seek advice from the University in which the PhD will be primarily located when completing the form. Applicants must also apply for a place on the PhD programme of the same University. Contents General Notes on completing the form Page 2 Submission Checklist Page 2 Detailed Notes on completing the form (by question) Page 2 Notes on Supporting Documents: Degree Transcripts Page 5 When the application form has been completed Page 5 Notification and Acceptance of Awards Page 6 Equal Opportunities Monitoring form Page 6 SE DTC Awards Assessment Criteria Page 6 General Notes on completing the form Application forms should be completed by the applicant in conjunction with their proposed supervisor(s). Application must be supported by two references. Degree Transcripts: Applications must include Degree Transcripts as evidence of marks and degree results. All sections of the form must be word-processed using at least 10pt font. Text should be confined to the spaces provided. Please ensure that the format of the form is preserved. Any additional information submitted with the application (for example personal statement or covering letter) will be removed prior to assessment. It is the applicant's responsibility to monitor the progress of the completion of the application. The applicant should keep in regular contact with all those who are involved in completing the application to ensure that all parts are completed and submitted by the appropriate deadlines. Application assessment criteria are provided at the end of these notes. Submission Checklist In order to complete your application, please ensure that the following have been sent to the relevant University contact (as per Question 9) by the deadline of 4pm on 2nd February 2015: - Completed application form (including copies of your degree transcripts) - Completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form - Ensure that your Referees have completed and returned their references to the relevant University contact as per Question 9 by the deadline of 4pm on 2nd February 2015 - You must also apply to the relevant University for a place on their PhD programme. Detailed Notes on completing the form Question 1: Pathway Please indicate which one of the following Pathways you will be following, you may only choose one pathway: Economics (Kent; Reading; Royal Holloway; Surrey) Human Geography (Reading; Royal Holloway) Management and Business Studies (Kent; Reading; Royal Holloway; Surrey) Political Science and International Studies (Kent; Reading; Royal Holloway; Surrey) Psychology (Kent; Reading; Royal Holloway; Surrey) Social Anthropology (Kent) Social Work and Social Policy (Kent) Socio-Legal Studies (Reading; Kent) Sociology (Kent; Royal Holloway; Surrey) Environment, Energy and Resilience (Kent; Reading; Royal Holloway; Surrey) Question 3: Contact details The academic Department in which you propose to study, the Researcher, Faculty / 2 School Office and/or the University Registry may need to contact you between April and August 2015. Please provide contact details that will cover that period. Question 4: Mode of Study Please indicate whether you will be studying Full Time or Part Time. Please note that the maximum period of funded registration for a part time student is 6 years at 50% for completion of the +3 element of the PhD. Please discuss with your supervisor which mode is most suitable for you. The CASE award involves collaboration with and funding from a non HE partner. For this award please also indicate the structure (e.g. +3 CASE) Typical course structures include: +3 programme: funding for a 3 year PhD (assumes that a student has already met the majority of the core training requirements or the PhD focus is largely on more advanced training) 1+3 programme: an integrated masters programme supersedes the 3 year PhD which will deliver the majority of the core training requirements 2+2 programme: a longer masters programme followed by a shorter PhD programme +4 programme: up to 4 years funding for a PhD which assumes that core and advanced training requirements can be met during the course of the programme 2+3 programme: an extended masters for specialist training followed by a standard 3 year PhD programme. Question 5: Student Classification South East DTC funding is only available to Home or EU students. Both Home and EU students have to satisfy the standard research council eligibility criteria. See Annex 1 of the ESRC’s Postgraduate Funding Guide at ESRC Funding Guidelines EU students who have not been resident in the UK for the 3 years preceding the award (i.e. on 30th September 2015) will be entitled to a Fees Only award. Question 6: Current funding applications Please indicate if you are also applying to other institution(s) for an ESRC studentship. Please be aware that if an applicant is offered more than one studentship place by different DTCs only one can be accepted. Question 7: Professional experience Provide information about any employment, work or professional experience (research and /or practice-based) that is relevant to your proposed programme of study and will therefore strengthen your application. Please use the space provided and do not attach additional pages. Question 8: Career in higher education to date If you have more than one qualification at the same level, please provide details of all those relevant to this application. Question 9: University details Please enter the contact name for the partner University with whom you are registering. The referees will be asked to send their references to this contact and you should also send your completed application forms to this contact. Contacts are: Kent: Ros Beeching c.r.beeching@kent.ac.uk Reading: Chris Robson c.robson@reading.ac.uk Royal Holloway: Ben Credland Ben.Credland@rhul.ac.uk Surrey: Charlie Kang / Danielle Westrom fahsstudentships@surrey.ac.uk 3 Question 10: Supervisor details The SEDTC encourages its students to pursue joint supervision during their studentship. Having ‘joint supervision’ would mean that your supervisors will be based at two (or more) of the SEDTC’s partner institutions (i.e. one supervisor from Kent and one supervisor from Reading). The SEDTC strongly encourages its prospective students to look into opportunities for joint supervision as one of the benefits of the SEDTC is the versatility of access students have to more than one institution. In the section below, please give the details of your supervisory team. All DTC supervision must involve at least 2 supervisors, irrespective of which institution they come from. If applying for a CASE studentship or working in collaboration with industrial or non-Higher Education partners then students should give details of a supervisor from the collaborative partner. At least one supervisor must have at least one PhD Completion. If the application lacks experienced supervisors, the Selection Panel may suggest a 3rd supervisor with more experience to support the supervisory team listed by the student. Question 11: Proposed training You will need to discuss this section with your proposed supervisor(s). Please give an indication of the modules you will need to take. Full module lists will be available from your proposed department. Question 12: Proposed research project. Please give the title of your proposed research project (or current project if you have already started your PhD). Supporting statement for proposed research project Your 'supporting statement' is key to your application. You should discuss the content of this section with your proposed supervisor(s). Assessors will look for evidence of high quality and strong potential for doctoral study (evidence of intellectual purpose and originality, reasons for, and approach towards, undertaking your proposed study, awareness of the research context). See SE DTC Awards Assessment Criteria below. Use clear and concise language, avoiding jargon. Bear in mind that the members of the Selection Panel may not all be experts in your particular specialist field: you should write your 'supporting statement' with this audience in mind, not your proposed supervisor. Please note there is a strict limit of 10,000 characters (including spaces and references). The number of characters used must be provided. Please note that any text exceeding 10,000 characters will be blacked out and the assessor will not be able to read it. Brief academic references should be included in this character limit. A list of references at the end of your research proposal is preferable to footnotes. Consider covering the following points: You should describe your research project, reasons for undertaking it and consider addressing the following: o key areas/issues of the project, and why you wish to pursue this research; o the research problems or questions you intend to address; o the research context in which those problems or questions are located; o the particular contribution to knowledge and understanding in this area that you hope to make, explaining why the work is important; noting relevance to non-academic beneficiaries, as appropriate; o the methods and critical approaches that you plan to use, and the sources, if appropriate; o how the proposed work relates to what you have studied already (where there is overlap between your Masters dissertation and your doctoral research, you should demonstrate how the project will go further and state the added value of continuing to research in this area); o how the project will develop over the period of the award (e.g. key stages, timetable); o how the doctoral research relates to your eventual career aims. If you have already begun your doctoral study, indicate the work you have undertaken to date, providing information on main pieces of work completed; 4 Preparation and previous relevant experience. Include a brief indication of any previous experience or preparation that is relevant to your proposed research project (e.g. aspects of your Masters study, additional degrees, qualifications, training or relevant skills) and how this previous experience (academic and professional) has prepared you for doctoral study and research; Question 13: Summary of Supporting Statement A summary of your full-length supporting statement must be included in the box provided. Please also shorten your project title to 80 characters including spaces or less (if necessary) in this section. If selected for studentship funding, this information will be uploaded into a profile on a student database called Je-S which will require an explanation of your project proposal with a limit of 3800 characters maximum including spaces. Please note that this Je-S student profile and statement is an ESRC requirement. Question 14: Ethical Considerations The question of ethical considerations must be properly addressed throughout the duration of your project and demonstrated as necessary. If you intend to reference a professional code of ethics governing research in your area, please specify which code in the box provided. Even if your research does not involve any ethical implications you must still explain why (e.g. ‘secondary analysis of existing data previously subject to ethical review’; ‘desktop project’; ‘library sources only’) in the box provided. In that same box, please indicate whether the proposal will undergo a formal ethical review (this need not take place until the notification of any award). Question 15: Potential Impact As the ESRC is keen to capture the impact of students funded through the SEDTC, please provide details of any potential knowledge exchange activities or generated impact which you envision spawning through your research. Question 16: Overseas Fieldwork If you envisage conducting overseas fieldwork please provide details here. In order to qualify for additional funding for overseas travel and subsistence this section must be completed. Please refer to Table of Overseas Fieldwork Costs available from http://southeastdtc.surrey.ac.uk/apply/ this gives a list of countries with an up-front element plus weekly rate for each. You should calculate the cost of your fieldwork trip using these figures: Front End Element + (weekly rate x number of weeks). You and your supervisor will need to submit a more detailed application for this trip should you be successful in the studentship competition. Overseas fieldwork will be considered for funding from the DTG and assessed on a case by case basis Question 17: Difficult Language Training Difficult language training can be applied for by students who qualify for funding according to the ESRC description of categories of difficult languages. If you believe that you will need to take difficult language training in order to complete your research, then please state so here and provide the information requested concerning the training needed. Please note that the Selection Panel will assess whether or not your project is feasible according to the Difficult Language Training you propose, which may affect the decision concerning the funding of your project. In exceptional circumstances, the Selection Panel may require further evidence that you will be capable of learning the language in the time allotted to the degree necessary in order to successfully carry out your research. It is possible to be granted an extension to your funding for up to one year if you need to acquire or develop a working ability with a difficult language in order to carry out your research. You and your supervisor will need to submit a more detailed application for this element should you be successful in the studentship competition. To view the ESRC’s definition of a difficult language, please refer to Annex 3 in the postgraduate training guide: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/_images/ESRC-Postgraduate-Funding-Guide-DTCs_tcm8-28310.pdf Please note that in order to qualify for an extension for difficult language training this section must be completed. 5 Question 18: Your referees You should choose your two referees carefully: together they should have a good knowledge of your academic record to date and your plans for the research project. They should be in a position to judge your suitability and preparedness for doctoral study. Only one of your referees can be a member of your proposed (or actual) supervisory team. You may ask the supervisor of your Masters dissertation to be one of your referees. You can send them the Reference Form for 2015 South East DTC Studentship Competition available from http://southeastdtc.surrey.ac.uk/apply/. Ensure that you draw their attention to the guidance notes for referees contained in this form. Please note that it is the applicant's responsibility to monitor the progress of the application and check that all parts are completed on time. The University will not request references on your behalf from your referees, and your application will not be considered if both references are not received. Question 19: CASE or other Collaborative Awards CASE and other Collaborative Awards are designed for research students to carry out projects within the Social Sciences in collaboration with companies/business/policy organisations etc. They provide PhD students with the opportunity to gain experience of work outside an academic environment. An academic supervisor and a company supervisor support students. The partner organisation makes a financial contribution as cash or “in kind” to the DTC and / or student. This section should only be completed if your project fits into this description. Question 20: Applicant’s declaration Please sign and date the form confirming that the information provided is complete and accurate. Notes on supporting documents: Degree Transcripts Please provide copies of your Degree Transcripts as evidence of your academic performance to date. When the application form has been completed: pass a copy of the completed application form, along with copies of Degree Transcripts (evidence of your marks and degree results) to each of the referees you have identified so that they can complete their reports; they may use the SEDTC Referee Form if they wish and, at the same time pass the completed application form to the University contact person in the institution at which you propose to study, along with Degree Transcripts (evidence of your marks and degree results). The referees should send complete references directly to the University contact person (as provided in Question 9). Both referees are asked to return their references to the relevant University by 4pm on Monday 2nd February 2015. This is the deadline by which the University must have the completed application form, reference forms and all the supporting documents. Complete the separate Equal Opportunities Monitoring form and return to the University contact person in the institution at which you propose to study (as provided in Question 9). Notification and Acceptance of Awards 6 Letters will be issued at the latest by mid-May notifying candidates of the decisions made by the Selection Panel. The ESRC have encouraged students to submit a prompt response to the offer. Each Offer letter will indicate the final date by which the University must have received your acceptance. Please note that proof of posting is not proof of acceptance. In order to gain proof that the University has received your acceptance it is recommended that you use a recorded signed for mail delivery service. If you email your acceptance then a personal email response (not an out-of-office response) from the registering institution acknowledging receipt would be sufficient, however, you should allow additional time for this by sending ahead of the deadline. Once any offer conditions have been satisfied, acceptance of the offer constitutes a binding agreement between the applicant and University which is not transferable to another DTC (except in exceptional circumstances after the student has started the PhD as stipulated by ESRC and by agreement between the two DTCs concerned). Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form The SEDTC is committed to ensuring that applicants are selected on the basis of merit. Completion of the Equal Opportunities Monitoring From will help us to ensure that our policies and procedures are effective in avoiding discrimination and promoting equal opportunities in awarding studentships. Please complete the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form and return to your University contact detailed in Question 9 by the deadline of 4pm on 2nd February 2015. Your answers will be used to evaluate the effective operation of our Equal Opportunities Policy and to report to the ESRC. Please note: Your answers will not affect your application in any way. The form does not need to be sent to your referees or potential supervisors. SE DTC Awards Assessment Criteria 1. Evidence of the quality and feasibility of the proposal This will be based on the applicant's account of the proposed research project, their reasons for pursuing it, and its wider significance. It will also be based on the information supplied by the potential supervisors. The assessors will be looking for evidence of the applicant's ability to articulate a research project, a coherent and well thought-out plan for doctoral study, a good awareness of the place of his/her research within the current field, and potential impact. Reference will be made to the Supporting Statement written by the applicant in his/her application. 2. Evidence that the applicant is well-prepared for his/her proposed research and future career This will be based on the applicant’s description of how his/her previous experience (academic and professional) has prepared him/her for doctoral study and research, the referees’ acknowledgement of the applicant’s suitability for doctoral research and his/her research project (through evidence provided about the applicant's performance at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and of any relevant professional experience), and their description of how the programme will contribute to their long-term career aims. Reference will be made to Degree Transcripts, individual module marks and degree results. 3. Evidence of the suitability of the proposed supervision and training This will take into account the expertise and relevance of the supervisors’ research areas in relation to the proposed project, the individual roles of the supervisory team, how the particular knowledge and expertise of the supervisors will work synergistically to enhance the student’s project, and the training needs listed and how they are envisioned to supplement the student’s research. Reference will be made to the information provided by both supervisors and the list of intended pathway training modules mentioned by the student. 7