Category: Studentships

NTNU PhD Studentship: Social Work, International Migration, Refugee Studies (Norway)

“Studentships“PhD Candidate in Social work, with a focus on international migration and refugee studies, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. Deadline: 29 June 2025.

This three-years position is a part of the ANCHOR: Advancing Neighborhood, Community, and HOusing for the integration of Refugee families, an inter-disciplinary project funded under the NTNU’s strategic research area: Community. ANCHOR focuses on how housing and neighborhood environments can support refugee families’ wellbeing, social integration, and sense of belonging. This position will focus on Norwegian municipal contexts, examining how physical and social aspects of housing intersect with the everyday lives of refugee families with children.

ANCHOR investigates how entangled social, political, and environmental processes shape the housing experiences, wellbeing, and sense of belonging among refugee families in Norway. By focusing on non-linear and sometimes unexpected outcomes of policy, planning, and community design, the project aims to reveal how conventional approaches can inadvertently deepen uncertainties or, conversely, foster more inclusive forms of community life.

Challenging the traditional separation of social from material and environmental factors, ANCHOR takes a holistic and interdisciplinary approach, drawing on social and architectural anthropology, urban planning, social work, childhood studies, and public health. Central to this endeavor is an emphasis on intersectionality, which recognizes that factors such age, gender, cultural background, and generational dynamics can shape different layers of vulnerability or resilience within refugee families. Methodologically, the project combines creative, participatory methods with established qualitative techniques. This multi-method strategy seeks to co-create knowledge with refugee families, local communities, NGOs, and municipal authorities.

This project is a collaboration among the Departments of Architecture and Planning, Social Work and Public Health and Nursing, and it includes two PhD positions. The successful PhD candidate will work closely with their counterpart in the Department of Architecture and Planning. Norwegian and English are the main languages in use at the Department.

U Hamburg: 3 PHD Studentships in Linguistic Diversity and Social Participation Across the Lifespan (Germany)

“Studentships“3 Ph.D. Research Associates for the project Linguistic Diversity and Social Participation Across the Lifespan, University of Hamburg, Germany. Deadline: 15 June 2025.

The Faculty of Education at the University of Hamburg is a leader in conducting innovative and future-oriented research related to the educational and social consequences of diversity resulting from migration and globalization. This strength is now further expanded through the award of a Humboldt Professorship to Distinguished Professor Ingrid Piller as part of the faculty research center “Literacy in Diversity Settings (LiDS).”

The Humboldt Professorship is devoted to “Linguistic Diversity and Social Participation across the Lifespan” and is closely integrated with the activities of the Language on the Move platform. The research focus will be on migrant language socialization, language learning, and settlement across the lifespan and outside of institutions of formal education. This includes digital spaces as well as language brokering and other forms of informal language assistance that often undergird institutional communications in linguistically diverse societies.

Your responsibilities: Duties include academic services in the project named above. Research associates may also pursue independent research and further academic qualifications. They may also pursue doctoral studies outside of working duties. This is a unique opportunity to become part of an education-focused research center that aims to make major contributions to social cohesion in linguistically diverse societies.

U Groningen: PHD Studentship in Mediatizing the Homeland (Netherlands)

“Studentships“Mediatizing the Homeland: Diasporic Imaginaries of Palestine Ph.D. Studentship, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands. Deadline: 30 April 2025.

Fully funded four-year PhD position for the project Mediatizing the Homeland, positioned at the intersection of digital media, decolonial and diaspora studies. As a candidate, you will part of the Centre for Media and Journalism Studies at the University of Groningen, engaging with a thriving community of scholars at the forefront of critical media research. This PhD project offers a unique opportunity to work in an international environment and to acquire valuable research experience at a top-ranked European university. As a PhD student, you will develop your own research project in consultation with the associated supervisors. You will conduct independent and original academic research and report results via peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and ultimately a PhD dissertation. The PhD thesis has to be completed within four years. You will also have the opportunity to (further) develop your teaching skills.

This PhD project explores how diasporic identity and belonging are shaped through mediated imaginaries of the homeland. Focusing on the Palestinian diaspora as a case study, it examines how the homeland is discursively and visually constructed across various media forms, particularly as a space that remains largely inaccessible due to geopolitical constraints. More specifically, it investigates how Palestinian diasporic media production, content, and consumption contribute to identity formation and a sense of belonging in response to contemporary regional developments.

The project is guided by the central research question “How do Palestinian participatory media producers, content, and consumers construct diasporic identities and imaginaries of the homeland?” Instead of focusing on traditional media such as literature and cinema, this study looks at participatory media, such as social media, music and videogames. The aim is to inquire into how these media provide diasporic voices with new modes of expression, engagement, and identity negotiation, facilitated by their accessibility, platformization, and the blurring of production and consumption.

U London: Migrant Futures PhD Studentships (England)

“Studentships“Two Migrant Futures Goldsmiths Ph.D. Studentships, Goldsmiths University of London, London, UK.Deadline: 25 April 2025.

Two doctoral studentships are available for entry in 2025-26. These are fully-funded studentship that may be held on a full-time or part-time  basis, pro-rata, over three years and six years and are at an equivalent rate to fully-funded UKRI studentships. They cover tuition fees and an annual stipend at the yearly UKRI rate, together with a small annual research training and support fund.

One of the two awards for entry 2025-26 will be open to eligible home applicants who identify as migrants or refugees and from racialised ethnic minority backgrounds in any field of research and practice for which supervision is available at Goldsmiths, University of London. To be clear, applicants considered for this award need not be working on a migration related topic, but they should be able to describe how their work will enhance their own economic, creative and intellectual lives and that of others.

The second of these two awards will be open to all eligible home or international applicants – irrespective of background and experience – whose proposed PhD is focused on a topic related to migration, broadly conceived, including in relation to processes of race and racialisation. Proposals must be informed by the co-production of knowledge with people and groups from migrant and refugee backgrounds, and demonstrate potential for social and cultural impact.

Migrant Futures Doctoral Studentship holders will, upon award, be designated as Fellows of the Migrant Futures Institute and will be expected to contribute to developing and enhancing the research culture of the institute through their research, creative practice and participation in MFI activities and events. Successful applicants from racialised backgrounds will also be invited to participate in the activities of Generation Delta Goldsmiths.

U Amsterdam: Studentship in Argumentation, Identity and the Public Sphere (Netherlands)

“Studentships“

PhD Studentship in Argumentation, Identity and the Public Sphere, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Deadline: 14 April 2025.

The Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication (ACLC) currently has a vacant PhD position as part of the project Expressing Identity in Public Discourse through Argumentation led by principal investigator Dr. M.H. (Menno) Reijven. The ACLC prioritises diversity (taken in a holistic sense, e.g., ethnicity, social and/or linguistic background, gender, sexuality) and is committed to creating an inclusive research environment. They are seeking a talented colleague who can communicate well with the different ACLC research groups, develop interdisciplinary projects, and contribute to research-based teaching. The ACLC is one of the five Research Schools within the Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research (AIHR). Researchers in the capacity group of Speech Communication, Argumentation Theory and Rhetoric at the ACLC investigate argumentative discourse across a wide variety of contexts, as well as the linguistic and cognitive processes behind argumentation and persuasion. The PhD student is expected to collaborate with other researchers on argumentation within the research school as well.

U Warwick: PHD Studentship in the Peaceful Return of Victims of Forced Displacement (UK)

“Studentships“

PhD Studentship in PEACERETURN: The Peaceful Return of Victims of Forced Displacement, University of Warwick, Warwick, England, UK. Deadline: 14 April 2025.

The Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick, welcomes applications: (1) for an independent project focusing on the institutional trade-offs involving returnees in a future international mediation in Ukraine and/or the global impact of the Russian invasion on displacement; and (2) on the topic of Gender and Return in Post-Conflict Societies. Candidates will be considered for a full-time, 3.5-year PhD position plus a stipend at UKRI rates. Positions are open to both home and international students through a grant funded by the UKRI- Horizon Europe Guarantee (ERC) project PEACERETURN (PI: Professor Neophytos Loizides) at the University of Warwick.

(1) PhD theme: Displacement and Return in Ukraine

Supervisors: Professor Neophytos Loizides (University of Warwick)

(2) PhD theme: Gender and Return in Post-Conflict Societies

Supervisors: Professor Neophytos Loizides (University of Warwick) & Professor Betül Çelik (Sabanci University)

Bath Spa U: PHD Studentship in Developing Art-Based Interventions to Facilitate a Cross-cultural Dialogue on Forced Migration among Youth (UK)

“Studentships“

PhD Studentship in Developing art-based interventions to facilitate a cross-cultural dialogue on forced migration among youth, Bath Spa University, Bath, UK. Deadline: 20 January 2025.

This doctoral project explores the power of Art-Based Interventions (ABI) to facilitate a cross-cultural dialogue on forced migration among secondary school youth from refugee and non-refugee backgrounds.

This project involves a collaboration between the supervisory team, secondary schools in Bath, refugee youth, and the Holburne Museum. The Holburne will provide input in designing and hosting the ABI workshops, offer pop-up exhibitions based on outputs, and support youth to present their work to the public. The project will be co-designed by the doctoral student and the supervisory team.

Research question: How can participatory art-based interventions facilitate cross-cultural awareness and empathy on the effects of forced migration amongst youth?

Methods: A Participatory Research Approach will be adopted to allow young people to play a key role in the research via a cycle of action – reflection. The young people will be involved in choosing and developing the ABI and disseminating the research outputs via exhibits and community engagement events.

The doctoral student will be mentored in developing and leading the ABI by drawing on art-based methodologies such as storytelling, photovoice, and handling object boxes.

Royal Holloway U London: PHD Studentship in International Relations (UK)

“Studentships“

PhD Studentship in International Relations, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. Deadline: 7 January 2025.

The Department of Politics, International Relations, and Philosophy (PIRP) is an established centre of teaching and research excellence. Their research spans continents, covering all areas of the world and addressing current, pressing public policy problems. They house several research units and centres, including the Centre for International Public Policy, the Centre for Islamic and Western Asian Studies and the Democracy and Election Centre. Research units and networks emphasize Democracy, Elections and Campaigning; Public Policy; Contemporary Political Theory; New Political Communication; International Security; and Gender and Politics.

PIRP has an active PhD programme with several dozen students. Entering first-year students form a cohort and together take a professional development module that covers all aspects of progressing through the PhD programme alongside preparing for careers in academia and beyond.

PIRP offers a fully-funded studentship on a competitive basis, via the South East Doctoral Training Arc (SEDarc). They welcome applicants interested in proposing projects in politics and international relations that match one of five challenge themes: living sustainably; healthy, thriving communities; inclusive economic growth; secure, effective, and trusted organizations; and transformative technologies for society. The project is open to specific research focuses and may be co-developed between the student and the academic supervisor.

U Edinburgh: PHD Scholarship in Peace & Conflict Resolution 2025 (UK)

“Studentships“

Chrystal Macmillan PhD Scholarship, School of Social & Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. Deadline: 3 February 2025.

Applications are invited for the Chrystal Macmillan PhD Scholarship, which is offered by the School of Social and Political Science to a new PhD student studying a field relevant to Chrystal Macmillan. This is open only to new PhD pursuing a PhD topic in one of the following fields:

  • social justice
  • gender and equality
  • human rights
  • peace and conflict resolution

The scholarship I s available either as a three-year full-time or six-year part-time option.

This scholarship supports students who aspire to influence social change. It offers the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Chrystal Macmillan, the University of Edinburgh’s first woman to graduate with a science degree and a lifelong campaigner for social justice.

U della Svizzera italiana: Studentship in Intercultural Communication & Migration (Switzerland)

“Studentships“Ph.D. student and research assistant in Intercultural Communication and Migration, Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano, Switzerland. Deadline: 15 December 2024 (but open until filled).

The Institute of Communication and Public Policy at the Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano, Switzerland invites applications for a fully funded Ph.D. position in Intercultural Communication and Migration to conduct research for the project entitled “Relational integration in place: affect and power in everyday practices,” funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The candidate will join the research team of Prof. Jolanta Drzewiecka, conduct research for the project and carry our their PhD dissertation within its framework.

The project advances understanding of migrant integration as an affective process of negotiating difference and power in social relations and everyday practices in neighbourhoods. The project is interdisciplinary in nature as informed by scholarship in communication, discourse studies, cultural geography and cultural studies. It employs qualitative ethnographic and affective methods. Fieldwork will be conducted in Ticino, Switzerland.

The requirements include a master’s degree in communication, ethnic studies, cultural studies, anthropology, sociology or related disciplines; knowledge of qualitative methods, excellent English academic writing skills, and fluency in Italian.