Northumbria is a core partner of the ESRC-funded Northern Ireland and North East Doctoral Training Partnership (NINE DTP), a collaboration of seven universities in North East England and Northern Ireland dedicated to offering world class training to its students. We are seeking applications to join the DTP to carry out doctoral research with an ESRC studentship. The next intake of NINE DTP students will be in October 2025.
At Northumbria we are offering studentship opportunities, across the following disciplinary and interdisciplinary training pathways:
The Conflict, Security & Justice pathway at Northumbria University is situated within the Department of Psychology, offering an enriching research environment conducive to ambitious, cross-disciplinary, and innovative PhD proposals. The Psychology department boasts a vibrant community of globally recognised academics, renowned for their cutting-edge research; rated as 'internationally excellent' and 'world-leading' in the latest Research Excellence Framework (2021).
A standout feature within the department is the Psychology and Communication Technology Lab (PaCT Lab) - one of few research and training facilities in the UK embedded within a psychology department. PaCT Lab has secured over £20 million in research grants, addressing the intersection of technology and human behaviour (e.g., research relating to healthcare technology, artificial intelligence, social media, mobile devices, cyberinsurance). Notably, the lab has made significant contributions to the fields of cybersecurity, eHealth, privacy, trust, and behaviour change.
We welcome PhD proposals encompassing various aspects of conflict, security, and/or justice, provided they adopt a psychological approach. We actively encourage proposals that explore the intersection between technology and issues pertaining to these topics. This provides wide scope for creative and cross-disciplinary proposals.
We provide expert supervision by internationally leading researchers. For more information or to discuss your application please contact Dr Dawn Branley-Bell. dawn.branley-bell@northumbria.ac.uk
The Criminology, Prisons and Policing pathway at Northumbria is located in the Department of Social Sciences, which was recently rated 3rd in the UK for research power. The Department is home to a large and diverse team of criminologists working at the cutting-edge of the discipline. Academic staff and research students collaborate across institutions, disciplines and sectors, co-producing knowledge with a range of external partners and policymakers. Colleagues have been instrumental in significant and pioneering work on social harm, green criminology, policing, drugs, social disorder, and criminological theory. This includes the work of the Centre for Crime and Policing, which provides world-leading research on key 21st century challenges including online and digital crime, terrorism, environmental crime, organised crime, gender-based violence, and the impact of crime and harm on vulnerable communities. Much of this is cross-national and extends beyond the remit of police services and the criminal justice sector.
We welcome ambitious and imaginative PhD proposals on all aspects of crime, harm and justice. Proposals that are interdisciplinary and collaborative in nature are particularly encouraged. For more information or to discuss your application please contact Dr Mick Hall. michael.hall@northumbria.ac.uk
The Economic and Social History pathway at Northumbria is located within the Department of Humanities which offers a rich research environment for ambitious, cross-disciplinary and imaginative proposals for PhD study.
History research at Northumbria spans more than 700 years and six continents. Our team comprises 38 historians, whose work covers a variety of fields – including political, social, cultural, environmental, religious, gender, business, and migration history – and with expertise that ranges from the study of medieval France and Spain to the British Empire, the nineteenth century Middle East, post-colonial Africa, and the contemporary Indian diaspora. Academic staff work across disciplinary boundaries, within national and international networks, and with a range of external partners and audiences. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), the History subject group’s publications were ranked within the UK’s top 10 and the majority of its research environment was deemed ‘world leading.’
We particularly encourage PhD proposals which will explore themes that relate to our departmental research groups, including Global and Transnational History, Environmental Humanities, Conflict and Society, Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Histories of Activism, and American Studies.
For more information or to discuss your application please contact Dr Patrick Andelic. patrick.andelic@northumbria.ac.uk
The Human Geography pathway at Northumbria is located within the Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences which offers a rich research environment for ambitious, cross-disciplinary and imaginative proposals for PhD study. Departmental research spans human geography's sub-disciplines, with particular expertise in: activism and resistance; urban geographies; mobilities, migration and bordering; historical geographies; political cultural economy; development geographies; identities and inequalities; political ecology; critical security studies; and media geographies. The Department is home to the Social and Cultural Geographies Research Group, whose work explores radical and critical approaches in human geography to develop a more in-depth understanding of global injustices and the struggles of those seeking to challenge them. The Centre for Global Development is also based in the Department, and we have research expertise spanning diverse geographical regions, including across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa.
We encourage PhD proposals which will examine context-sensitive approaches to tackling global injustices - environmental, social, economic, political - in their multiple and differentiated forms and which draw on decolonial, creative and participatory methodologies.
We provide expert supervision by internationally leading researchers. For more information or to discuss your application please contact Professor Kathryn Cassidy. kathryn.cassidy@northumbria.ac.uk
The Environment, Climate and Sustainability pathway at Northumbria is located within the Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences which offers a rich research environment for ambitious, cross-disciplinary and imaginative proposals for PhD study. The Department brings together the subject areas of Human Geography, Environmental Sciences and Physical Geography, with scholars working on a wide range of subjects related to global development; the climate crisis and climate adaptation; energy futures; ecology; biodiversity; nature-based solutions and responses to environmental degradation; volunteering, activism, and civil society. Our research expertise spans diverse geographical regions and ecosystems (air, land and water), including across Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa, and the Polar regions.
We encourage PhD proposals which seek to understand the diverse ways in which individuals, communities, policymakers, and civil society are impacted by and responding to the challenges of environmental degradation and pollution, the climate crisis, large-scale resource extraction, biodiversity and habitat loss, water scarcity, conflict, migration and displacement, and how they are envisioning more just and sustainable development futures. Interdisciplinary proposals that aim to work across Human Geography, Environmental Sciences and/or Physical Geography are especially welcome.
We provide expert supervision by internationally leading researchers. For more information or to discuss your application please contact Professor Katy Jenkins. katy.jenkins@northumbria.ac.uk
The Environmental Planning pathway at Northumbria University is situated within the Department of Architecture and Built Environment, offering a dynamic research environment for innovative, interdisciplinary PhD proposals. Our departmental research encompasses various aspects of environmental planning, with particular expertise in: sustainable materials for construction, sustainability change initiatives modelling and scenario development; sustainable urban development; climate change adaptation and mitigation; green infrastructure; sustainable/active transport; energy-efficient building design; and smart cities and digital planning.
The Department hosts the Sustainable Construction Futures Research Group, whose work addresses wider issues in the construction industry through the development of socio-technical innovative solutions. The People and Place Research Group is also based in the Department. Positioned at the cross-boundary between architecture, urban design, planning and the social sciences, P&P investigates the interactions between people and the built environment, through a range of cross-cutting themes including sustainability and the natural environment.
We welcome PhD proposals that investigate innovative approaches to addressing environmental challenges in urban and rural settings, considering the intricate relationships between built environments, natural systems, and human communities.
The department provides expert supervision by internationally recognized researchers in the field. For more information or to discuss your application, please contact Dr Tara Hipwood. tara.hipwood@northumbria.ac.uk
The Health, Wellbeing and Society Pathway at Northumbria is located within the Department of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, providing a vibrant research environment in which more than 80% of research activity is rated as world leading or internationally excellent. The Department offers a strong cross-disciplinary research focus which brings together practitioner researchers and social scientists engaging in health and social care related research. Examples of areas of significant research activity include integrated health and social care, workforce development, health inequalities and the social determinants of health, healthy ageing, health economics, patient safety, implementation science, and military veterans and families health.
We would encourage PhD proposals which aim to examine health and health and social care provision and practices in their widest sense via interdisciplinary approaches which demand integration of practice-led concerns with those of health-related social sciences (including e.g. health economics, health policy, health psychology, medical geography, medical sociology, social gerontology, social epidemiology, sociology, social policy, social work and education).
For more information or to discuss your application please contact Dr Mick Hill. michael.hill@northumbria.ac.uk
The Law pathway at Northumbria is located within the Department of Law which offers a rich research environment for ambitious, cross-disciplinary and imaginative proposals for PhD study. Northumbria Law School is one of the largest law schools in the UK and is ranked 7th amongst UK law schools for research power in REF 2021. We have a national and international reputation for excellence in legal education, enriched by the research excellence and professional practice expertise of our staff. All staff belong to one of three research groupings: Law & Society, Centre for Evidence & Criminal Justice; Law in Emerging Contexts (encompassing space, cyber and environmental law). We encourage PhD proposals that broadly align with the activities of one or more of our three research centres. We encourage PhD proposals which reflect these departmental research interests.
We provide expert supervision by internationally leading researchers. For more information or to discuss your application please contact Dr Claire Bessant. claire.bessant@northumbria.ac.uk
The Management, Business and Economics pathway at Northumbria is located within the Newcastle Business School which offers a rich research environment for ambitious, cross-disciplinary and imaginative proposals for PhD study. NBS research is wide-ranging and multidisciplinary. For example, the business school numbers leading business historians, consumer behaviourists, sociologist sand human geographers amongst its research groups and departments, as well as more traditional areas of expertise.
We therefore particularly encourage PhD proposals which will examine the social contexts in which organisations and businesses operate, and the responses of those who might consume their services. Further, we would welcome studies seeking to explore the business world from alternative contexts and which celebrate marginalised and ignored voices, from service workers to consumer typologies and associated entrepreneurial endeavours.
We provide expert supervision by internationally leading researchers. For more information or to discuss your application please contact Dr Riad Shams riad.shams@northumbria.ac.uk
The Psychology pathway at Northumbria is located within the Department of Psychology which offers a rich research environment for ambitious, cross-disciplinary and imaginative proposals for PhD study.
The Department offers three Clusters of research activity and expertise: Cognition and Neuroscience, Health and Wellbeing, and Evolution and Social Interaction. Within those clusters are specialised research groups which bring together researchers engaging in work in focused areas, including developmental disability, forensic, health behaviour, hoarding, language and communication, memory, neuroscience, nutrition, perception, psychobiology, psychopathology, sleep and social psychology.
We encourage PhD proposals which will examine the human mind and behaviour, specifically exploring psychological phenomena and practices that are experienced by people across society. We provide expert supervision by internationally leading researchers. For more information or to discuss your application please contact Dr Nicki O’Brien. nicki.obrien@northumbria.ac.uk
The Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work pathway at Northumbria is located across the Department of Social Sciences and the Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing. Both departments offer rich research environments for ambitious, cross-disciplinary and imaginative proposals for PhD study.
The Department of Social Sciences is a leading centre for creative academic research, and works in partnership with a broader range of stakeholders, from domestic abuse charities to homelessness groups. We encourage PhD proposals which examine pressing challenges facing our communities, including (but not limited to) wellbeing and happiness; work and employment; activism around class, gender and the environment; media and digital-related topics; oppression of marginalised groups; and any aspects of gender-based violence.
The Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing includes academics in the fields of applied social sciences, medical sociology, public health and social work practice.
We provide expert supervision by internationally leading researchers. For more information or to discuss your application please contact Dr Clare Wiper. clare2.wiper@northumbria.ac.uk
The Sport and Society pathway at Northumbria is located within the Department of Sports, Exercise and Rehabilitation which offers a rich research environment for ambitious, cross-disciplinary and imaginative proposals for PhD study. Ranked 5th nationally for Research power in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, the Department prioritises the generation of research addressing the challenges, opportunities, and dilemmas encountered by participants, practitioners, educators, and policy makers in a wide range of sport, exercise and rehabilitation contexts (i.e., high performance, community, and recreational organisations and settings). Example of our social science inquiry include a) the cultural, socio-emotional, and pedagogical, dimensions of sporting experience and sports work, b) power-relations and social influence in organisational life, c) the social and emotional well-being of performers, participants, volunteers, and practitioners, and d) the micro-level enactment of sport, health and recreation policies.
We encourage PhD proposals which will critically examine the relationship between sport and society, especially those that connect practice and policy-led concerns with those of sport related social sciences (e.g., sport coaching and pedagogy, the sociology of sport, sport management, and the social-psychology of sport). Examples include a) embodying, juggling and managing emotions in everyday practice, b) inequality in sports volunteering, c) the enactment of physical education policies, and d) the social and relational complexity of leadership and management work in high performance and/or community sport organisations. Applicants are encouraged to visit the staff/supervisor profile pages on our Department webpages for further information.
We provide expert supervision by internationally leading researchers. For more information or to discuss your application please contact Professor Paul Potrac. paul.potrac@northumbria.ac.uk
Home and International students are eligible to apply. The studentships include a full stipend, paid for three years at UKRI rates (for 2024/25, this is £19,237 per year) and full tuition fees.
For further details of this doctoral training partnership, visit https://www.ninedtp.ac.uk
It is essential that you engage with the identified pathway lead prior to application. Your formal application to Northumbria University must be submitted by 4pm on Monday 20th January 2025 quoting the relevant advert reference above via our online application form available here.
For enquiries relating to eligibility or application process please contact Admissions at pgr.admissions@northumbria.ac.uk.
Start date of course: 1 October 2025
Northumbria University is committed to creating an inclusive culture where we take pride in, and value, the diversity of our postgraduate research students. We encourage and welcome applications from all members of the community. The University holds a bronze Athena Swan award in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality, we are a Disability Confident Leader, a member of the Race Equality Charter and are participating in the Stonewall Diversity Champion Programme. We also hold the HR Excellence in Research award for implementing the concordat supporting the career Development of Researchers and are members of the Euraxess initiative to deliver information and support to professional researchers.
Northumbria University Business and Law School
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