Up to 10 PhD Studentships in Social Statistics and Demography

The Division of Social Statistics at the University of Southampton has an international reputation for world-class research in subjects from social statistics and sample survey methods to demography, statistical modelling and social policy. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, the research of the Demography group achieved a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3 and was ranked third in the country by the GPA measure. Research in Statistics also received excellent ratings, with a GPA of 2.75 and ranked second in the country using the power index. We are a group of more than 21
Demographers and Social Statisticians working on a variety of research topics in the following fields:

• demography and well-being
• statistical modelling
• sample survey theory and methodology

Studentships

We have been awarded up to 10 Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Quota Studentships for entry in October 2011 as part of the University of Southampton’s successful bid for a Doctoral Training Centre. All awards are EITHER for ‘1+3’ study OR for ‘+3’ study, and will involve programmes of study as shown in the table below.

The ESRC Studentships pay all University tuition fees, plus an annual maintenance stipend (for the 2010-2011 academic year this was set at £13,590). In addition, students applying for Social Statistics and Demography awards will normally qualify for an additional maintenance stipend of £3,000 per year for award-holders whose study or research involves Advanced Quantitative Methods. Finally, each studentship includes a Research Support Grant of up to £1,000 per year for each of the three years of MPhil/PhD study.

Eligibility
The ESRC has agreed that, for entry in 2011, Doctoral Training Centres will be able to recruit students for awards in Advanced Quantitative Methods without adhering to the current residential eligibility rules as laid out in the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide. Institutions are expected to waive the higher international fee rate for these students, where relevant. Therefore, provided that the proposed research involves the use of Advanced Quantitative Methods, these studentships are open to all candidates, regardless of place of residence, and both fees and stipends can be paid for students from outside the UK.

Candidates for a ‘1+3’ award must possess an upper second class honours degree or the equivalent. Candidates applying for a ‘+3’ award must have successfully completed the equivalent of an ESRC-recognised Research Training masters course (see pp. 6-7 of the ‘Guidance notes for applicants’.)

Application procedure
No separate application form is required to apply for these ESRC Quota Studentships. Please apply, as normal using the University application form. Candidates for ‘1+3’ awards should use the application form for Postgraduate Taught Courses and candidates for ‘+3’ awards the application form for Postgraduate Research.

To apply, follow the steps below.

Subject	'1+3' award	'+3' award
Demography	One year studying the MSc in Demography followed by three years MPhil/PhD research	Three years MPhil/PhD research on a demographic topic
Social Statistics	One year studying the MSc in Social Statistics followed by three years MPhil/PhD research	Three years MPhil/PhD research on a topic in the field of Social Statistics

1. Go to ‘how to apply’. Click on the button at the bottom of the page marked ‘Apply online here’
3. For ‘1+3’ applications select the button marked ‘Taught’ (if not already checked)
4. For ‘+3’ applications select the button marked ‘Research’ (if not already checked)
5. Click the arrow to the right of ‘School’, pull down the menu and highlight and click ‘School of Social Sciences’
6. Click the button marked ‘Search for Programme’
7. Then, for ‘1+3’ applications, EITHER click the link ‘Apply online’ beside the MSc in Demography (full-time) or MSc in Social Statistics (full time) as appropriate OR to download an application pack and apply by post click the link ‘Application pack’ beside the MSc in Demography or MSc in Social Statistics as appropriate. For ‘+3’ applications EITHER click the link ‘Apply online’ beside the MPhil/PhD in Social Statistics OR to download an application pack and apply by post click the link ‘Application pack’ beside the MPhil/PhD in Social Statistics (note that all ‘+3’ applications, whether for awards in Demography or Social Statistics, should complete the application form for the MPhil/PhD in Social Statistics).
8. When completing the form, please state in Section 8 (funding) that you wish to be considered for an ESRC Quota Studentship.
Whether you apply online or using a paper application, 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, and must clearly state why you think you would be a good candidate for the award. Please also send a copy of your CV and covering letter to Mrs Gill Crumplin, Postgraduate Research Office, School of Social Sciences, Building 58, Highfield Campus, Univerrsity of Southampton, SOUTHAMPTON, United Kingdom, SO17 1BJ.

Closing date for applications: Tuesday 19 April 2011
For queries and further information about the application procedure please contact our Postgraduate Research Office (pgr-enq@socsci.soton.ac.uk).

If you have academic related queries, please contact: Dr Yves Berger (Y.G.Berger@soton.ac.uk) or Dr Nikos Tzavidis (n.tzavidis@soton.ac.uk)