Academics and students at Queen Mary and Goldsmiths, both University of London colleges, are celebrating after being awarded Doctoral Training Centre status.
Over the next five years, 50 PhD students at the two universities will be fully-funded for their fees and living costs – 10 in each year – and this will be paid for by the Economic and Social Research Council. This represents two percent of the total allocation nationally and doubles the number available previously at the two universities.
The subjects available under the scheme include anthropology, cultural studies, business and management, economics, geography, media and communications, politics, psychology, socio-legal studies and sociology.
Four studentships each year will have a strategic steer, in that they have to go to students taking the Advanced Quantitative Methods course.
“As research-intensive institutions, and as colleges of the federal University of London, Queen Mary and Goldsmiths are already committed to the highest standards in postgraduate education,” said Professor Virginia Davis, Dean for Research in Humanities and Social Sciences at Queen Mary.
“Our status as one of 21 national ESRC Doctoral Training Centres recognises our achievements in this area and will enable us to build on that success. By working together, we will raise even higher the standard of our postgraduate training and widen opportunities for the entire social science cohort at both institutions and beyond.”
“Indeed, much of our advanced interdisciplinary training including one-day colloquia will be open to students from other institutions both within the University of London and further afield,” Professor Davis added.
Training will take place on both campuses in the schools within the named disciplines and in dedicated postgraduate space such as the Lock Keeper’s Centre at Queen Mary’s Mile End site.
Professor Carrie Paechter, from the Department of Educational Studies at Goldsmiths, said: “I am absolutely delighted that the Goldsmiths and Queen Mary Social Science partnership has been awarded Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) status, one of only 21 Centres nationally.
“This recognises the outstanding work being done in research and research training in departments across both institutions. These will be very prestigious awards to support the most outstanding students.
“However, all Goldsmiths and Queen Mary social science PhD students will benefit from the excellent and innovative research training that will be provided within the DTC, some of which will also be open to students from elsewhere. This integrated interdisciplinary research training builds on the very best of that which is currently provided by each of us separately.
“The award of the DTC also recognises the strong collaborative relationship we have with Queen Mary, our sister college in the University of London. I look forward enormously to continuing this collaboration through the DTC, and to a long and fruitful relationship.”
“The award of this Doctoral Training Centre will contribute significantly to the Faculty's aim of increasing its research student numbers and enhancing the support for researchers,” explains Professor Morag Shiach, Vice-Principal, Humanities and Social Sciences at Queen Mary. “Our collaboration with Goldsmiths will allow us to ensure that research across the social sciences continues to thrive.”
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