Doctoral Scholarships in Health Psychology or Clinical Psychology

Deadline date for applications: April 12th 2013

The Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, is pleased to offer three funded PhD scholarships for outstanding UK/EU and overseas students wishing to undertake full time doctoral research in the Division of Health Research. Awards will be made for a maximum of three years full-time study. Funding covers:

1. a stipend (£13, 590 per annum)
2. fees (UK/EU rate only. Overseas students would be required to cover the balance between these and overseas fees)
3. a research training / fieldwork grant

Applicants should be able to demonstrate knowledge and interest in Health Psychology or Clinical Psychology in their application materials as a whole.

Applications must address one of the below topics:

Amputation and artificial limb use

People with amputations comprise a sizeable group who require access to a variety of different forms of health interventions and service provision. There are 62, 000 artificial limb users in the UK, with 5,000 new referrals each year. Projects on amputation and artificial limbs with a particular focus on one of the following areas are invited: (1) ethnicities, race and disability, (2) romantic and intimate relationships, (3) interaction with health care professional (particularly prosthetists). Interested candidates should contact Dr Craig Murray.

Emotional intelligence, compassion, and clinical communication

Studies have identified that there are relationships between emotional intelligence and compassion in the health professions. However, the concept of EI has arisen from outside medicine and there are reasons to question its applicability within clinical relationships. The study will investigate relevance/role of both concepts in health professions with a focus on clinical communication. Interested candidates should contact Dr Ian Fletcher.

The neuropsychological impact of Cranioplasty

Cranioplasty is a neurosurgical procedure involving the replacement of a piece of missing skull usually with a titanium mesh plate. Little is known about the psychological and cognitive impact of this procedure over time. Proposals on this topic should outline a research strategy that is comprehensive, patient outcome focussed, and able to holistically assess the neuropsychological impact of cranioplasty. Interested candidates should contact Dr Stephen Weatherhead.

Parent-infant mental health in Uganda

Research proposals on this topic will examine the impact that an increasingly medical model of care is having on the process of becoming a parent and developing attachment relationships during the perinatal period in Uganda. These will focus on either (i) parents' experience of having a baby in this context or (ii) differences in parent-infant interactions between families accessing hospital/home care. Interested candidates should contact Dr Jenny Davies.

Parkinson's disease

Psychological outcome in people with chronic neurodegenerative illness is often presumed to be related to the biological causes of the neurodegeneration. However, psychological research has indicated a range of psychological factors are involved in outcomes such as low mood, anxiety and happiness. This studentship will further explore such psychological explanations and could also explore and compare psychological factors more broadly across other types of chronic illness. Interested candidates should contact Dr Jane Simpson.

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Application process

The following stages are required and must be fully adhered to for candidates to be considered for one of the awards.

Stage 1

Applicants wishing to be considered for these awards must have contacted the person (potential PhD supervisor) named for a given project area to discuss their application by no later than February 1st 2013. This contact should be made by email in the first instance and be accompanied by a full CV and a document briefly outlining why the project area appeals to the prospective candidate. The contact person will reply to advise whether you should or should not submit a formal Expression of Interest form.

The Expression of Interest Form should be submitted with a 1 page CV by February 15th 2013. Contact Dawn McCracken for further information by email (d.mccracken@lancaster.ac.uk) or telephone her on +44 (0)1524 593936.
Your CV should clearly indicate your educational achievements to date (indicating the class of degree award achieved). Overseas students whose first language is not English must also clearly indicate their IELTS (or equivalent) score.

Applicants shortlisted to progress to the second stage of the application process will be informed by March 1st at the latest. If you have not heard from the Faculty by then your application will not have been selected to continue to Stage 2. Due to the number of applications received, the Faculty is unfortunately not able to enter into correspondence about why your application was not shortlisted.

Stage 2

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to make a full application via the online applications portal. The personal statement must summarise your interest and knowledge of Health Psychology or Clinical Psychology. The research proposal should be as succinct as possible but detailed enough to allow evaluation (around 1,500 words, plus references). It should include an introduction to the study topic, research questions, and the methods that may be used, by the deadline date of 12th April at 5.00pm.
Your CV should clearly indicate your educational achievements to date (indicating the class of degree award achieved) along with employment details, any methodological training/knowledge, research experience, and publications. As noted above, overseas students whose first language is not English must also clearly indicate their IELTS (or equivalent) score.

Applicants shortlisted for interview will be informed by May 24th 2013 at the latest. If you have not heard from the Faculty by this date then your application will not have been selected for the interview stage. Due to the number of applications received, the Faculty is unfortunately not able to enter into correspondence about why your application was not shortlisted.

Stage 3

Shortlisted applicants will be required to attend an interview in person (travel expenses within the UK (2nd class rail travel) only will be reimbursed) or by Skype/telephone for applicants outside of the UK. The interviews are likely to take place in the first week of June 2013. Candidates will be notified of the outcome within 3 working weeks. Applicants should be registered to commence their studies in October 2013.

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Terms of the awards

The terms of the award are as follows:

• The research proposal is indicative only. The final scheme of work will be agreed in collaboration with PhD supervisors.
• Award holders must be registered to undertake full time doctoral study in the Division of Health Research commencing in October 2013.
• Scholarship awards will be allocated to successful students in the form of a fees payment, stipend, and research training / fieldwork grant.
• Where an applicant has received a Conditional Offer of a place on a programme of study, any award made will be conditional upon the conditions being met in full.
• Award holders will normally be required to undertake a small amount of work in their Department, as a condition of their award, usually equivalent to approximately 2-3 hours per week. This will be negotiated with supervisors and the Research Director of the Clinical Psychology Doctorate Programme.
• PhD Awards are made subject to continuing satisfactory academic progress and may be withdrawn at any time if progress is deemed to be unsatisfactory.
• Scholarships will not be paid to holders of UK Research Council studentships, Faculty of Health and Medicine Studentships, or the equivalent thereof. The Faculty reserves the right to withhold the unpaid portion of any bursary in the event that the holder succeeds in securing alternative external funding at any time during the period covered by the award.
• Applicants wishing to defer the start of their programme must apply in writing to the Associate Dean for Postgraduate Studies for permission to do so. Any deferral of more than three months from the original start date of the programme will result in the withdrawal of the award.
• Students holding this award and wishing to intercalate during their studies must apply in writing to the Associate Dean for Postgraduate Studies for permission to do so, in addition to seeking the permission of their Head of Department.

No more than one application can be submitted by each candidate.

Please Note:

1. Competition for bursaries is extremely strong. Applications will only be considered from those who have achieved a good quality first degree equivalent to a 2:1 or above from a recognised University or HEI. Applicants with a Masters qualification should have achieved a Merit level pass or Distinction. Degrees in a range of disciplines will be considered.
   Individuals currently studying for a Masters degree, or in the final year of their first degree, must provide clear evidence that they are expected to achieve the above grades by October 2013.
2. Overseas applicants whose first language is NOT English will only be considered if they have achieved an overall IELTS (or equivalent) score of 6.5 or above, with a minimum pass of 5.5 in each of the core components.
3. These awards are not open to those students wishing to apply to the Distance Learning Doctoral Programmes in the Division of Health Research.