ESRC Centre for Population Change PhD Studentship

The domestic and housing transitions of LGBT young people

This PhD project aims to explore the interaction between sexuality and youth transitions through focusing on the housing and relationship experiences of LGBT young people in their late teens and twenties. It is an ESRC +3 studentship linked to the ESRC Centre for Population Change, where the student will work under the direction of Professor Sue Heath, one of the Centre’s Co-Directors.

Background

Most existing research on the domestic and housing transitions of young people tends to focus on heterosexual experience. The relative invisibility of non-heterosexual young adults in this body of research may be partly due to the lack of fit between the lived experiences of many LGBT young people and dominant models of youth transitions which often continue to assume eventual progression to heterosexual marriage and parenthood. The limited existing transitions research on LGBT young people is often focused on the experiences of those who have been affected by very specific difficulties (eg homelessness) in their housing transitions, such that we know even less about the experiences of a more general population of LGBT young people. This studentship is focused on the interaction between sexuality and the domestic and housing transitions of LGBT young people in their late teens and twenties, as well as on the ways in which housing transitions may differ for LGBT young people, in order to critically engage with the notion of transition underpinning much youth research. It is envisaged that the research will be primarily qualitative in focus, although the use of a mixed methods approach is not precluded. Beyond these parameters, the successful applicant will be free to develop their own research ideas within this broad topic area.

The Centre

The ESRC Centre for Population Change is based in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Southampton, and aims to improve understanding of the key drivers and implications of population change within the UK. The Centre is a joint initiative between the University of Southampton and a consortium of Scottish Universities in partnership with the Office for National Statistics and the General Registrar Office in Scotland, and is directed by Professor Jane Falkingham (University of Southampton) and co-directed by Professors Maria Evandrou, Sue Heath (both at Southampton) and Paul Boyle (University of St Andrews).

This studentship will contribute to a strand of research focusing on the dynamics of household change and living arrangements across the life course, which includes a project currently under way on the housing pathways of 25-34 year olds who live alone or in shared households. The successful applicant will be able to play a full part in the life of the Centre, as well as sharing in training and research activities with other research students in the Division of Sociology and Social Policy (Professor Heath’s divisional base), in the School of Social Sciences and within the Graduate School of the Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences.

Eligibility

Applicants should have or expect to have an ESRC-recognised master’s programme in a relevant social science discipline (please see the ESRC 'Guidance notes for applicants', in particular sections 2.13 to 2.16 and annex 1, for further details). They should also have a good understanding of and sensitivity towards methodological issues involved in conducting research with LGBT young people.

What the award pays

This ESRC award pays all University tuition fees, plus an annual maintenance stipend (set at £13,290 for the 2009-2010 academic year).

Application Procedure

No separate application form is required to apply for the studentship. Please apply following the steps below:

  1. Go to 'how to apply'
  2. Click on the button at the bottom of the page marked ‘Apply online here’
  3. Select the button marked ‘Research’ (if not already checked)
  4. Click the arrow to the right of ‘School’, pull down the menu and highlight and click ‘School of Social Sciences’
  5. Click the button marked ‘Search for Programme’
  6. Click ‘Apply online’ beside the MPhil/PhD in Sociology and Social Policy
  7. When completing the form, please state in Section 8 (funding) that you wish to be considered for the Centre for Population Change studentship.
  8. Please attach an up to date CV, including a summary of your grades thus far in your degree, and a covering letter. The covering letter should be no more than one side of A4, must clearly state why you think you would be a good candidate for the award, and provide a brief preliminary outline of how you would propose to develop a research design in this topic area.

Please send a copy of your CV and covering letter to Mrs Gill Crumplin at G.S.Crumplin@soton.ac.uk or by post to: Mrs Gill Crumplin, Building 58, Highfield Campus, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom, SO17 1BJ.

Further information

Informal inquiries may be made to Professor Sue Heath (sue.heath@soton.ac.uk).

The application deadline is 5 March 2010.

Shortlisted candidates will be called for an interview in late March.