3/11/2009 Postgraduate Funding and Scholarship…

Wednesday March 11, 2009 Home > Postgraduate

Funding and
Scholarships

Postgraduate Funding and Scholarships

1. PhD Scholarships
2. ESRC awards including a new CASE award on climate change
3. Scholarships for MSc programmes including the new Merit Scholarship
4. Alumni Scholarships for Exeter Graduates
5. University Sports Scholarships
6. Other University Scholarships
7. Information for Overseas Students
8. Scholarships for Chinese applicants

Research Opportunities at Exeter

The School of Psychology is pleased to be able to offer the following funded Postgraduate positions to students
pursuing postgraduate programmes.

PhD Scholarships in Psychology and Animal Behaviour

PhD Studentships & Bursaries **NEW**
The School of Psychology is seeking to appoint 3 PhD students starting in October 2009. The stipend will be
£13,000 p.a plus full payment of tuition fees. These positions are available to applicants intending to register for an
MPhil/PhD in October 2009. The School also has available 3 bursaries worth £7,000 pa.

The awards are open to students wishing to study in one of the following research groups: Animal Behaviour,
Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Psychology or Social, Economic and Organisational Psychology. See below for
specific information relating to each research group.

The School of Psychology is an exciting and vibrant place to study, consistently rated in the top 10 Psychology
departments in the UK, with particular research strengths in animal behaviour (e.g., sensory ecology), clinical
psychology (e.g., mood disorders), cognitive psychology (e.g., task-switching, associative learning) and social
psychology (e.g., social identity).

The successful applicants will be expected to participate in up to 90 hours of undergraduate teaching-related

duties per year, including leading small group tutorials, demonstrating, running the statistical helpdesk and
marking. A portion of the bursary may be liable to UK income tax; since this is a new scheme, we are still
seeking clarification of this from the relevant authorities, but the tax liability will be low. Students in receipt of a
£7,000 pa bursary will be expected to participate in up to 50 hours of teaching-related duties as described above.

…exeter.ac.uk/pgfunding.shtml 1/7
3/11/2009 Postgraduate Funding and Scholarship…
We strongly recommend that applicants identify a potential supervisor and discuss potential research projects
with the potential supervisor before applying. (See the School's Research web page for further information about
the research groups).

To apply for this position please send a CV, a covering letter confirming the potential supervisor and an approx
2,000 word research proposal, indicating at least one specific study you might conduct, and how that study
relates to previous work in that field.

Please send your application to:

Fiona Neligan, Postgraduate Secretary, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Washington Singer
Laboratories, Exeter, EX4 4GQ, United Kingdom, or email to f.c.neligan@ex.ac.uk

We recommend you contact a potential supervisor no later 1 March 2009. Applications must be received by 27
March 2009.

Presentations and interviews will be held in late April in the School of Psychology.

Awards are available in three of the following research areas

Cognition and Association

The area of cognition and association broadly defined. If interested in a PhD in this field, sub- areas that could be
addressed by research on this topic include task-switching, strategic control of task performance, dual-process
accounts of learning, memory and cognition especially those addressing the distinction between rules and
associations, and executive function. The research methods employed will draw on the School’s expertise in
experimental psychology, neuroimaging and computational modelling and will the use the School’s excellent
cognitive research facilities (e.g. cognitive electrophysiology, eye-tracking and transcranial magnetic stimulation
laboratories).

The successful applicant(s) will be supervised within the Cognitive Research Group, led by Professor Stephen
Monsell.

Further information http://psychology.exeter.ac.uk/resgrp/coggroup.shtml

Managing inconsistent social identities: the stress of maintaining work-life balance

In 2003 a controversial New York Times Magazine article claimed that women’s continued under-representation in
the upper echelons of organisations is due to their reluctance to make sacrifices required to make it to the top. It
argued that in order to achieve the work-life balance they desire women are rejecting the workplace and voluntarily
leaving full-time employment. In the UK there have been similar claims of an “opt-out revolution”. However, prior
work on the ‘glass cliff’ suggests that women’s decisions to opt out are heavily influenced by the range of
stressors that they are exposed to once they achieve senior positions (Ryan et al, 2008). This research suggests
that an inability to achieve a satisfactory ‘work-life balance’ can derive from the nature of the positions to which
women are appointed and the weight of attention and expectation focused upon them. This project will explore
these dynamics and develop evidence-based interventions that allow individuals and organisations to manage
these stressors more effectively. The work will represent a novel exploration of issues of stress from a social
identity perspective, associated with a recent multi-disciplinary bid to the Leverhulme trust.

…exeter.ac.uk/pgfunding.shtml 2/7
3/11/2009 Postgraduate Funding and Scholarship…
The successful applicant(s) will work with Dr Michelle Ryan, Dr Kim Peters and Professor S A Haslam. The PhD
research will be full-time and will involve a range of empirical methods (specifically, experimental and survey-
based).

Further information http://psychology.exeter.ac.uk/resgrp/seorg.shtml

Animal Behaviour
Successful candidates will work with one or more academic staff in the Animal Behaviour group and research
topics generally fall within one or more of the following areas: function, ecology and joint evolution of animal vision
and signals; animal cognition and behaviour; the function and evolution of social networks and social behaviour;
colour vision and visual learning in social insects; nature of the cost/benefit trade-offs made by animals during
foraging and food storing; and the effect of the social environment on the production, perception and assessment
of signals.

The group uses a variety of innovative methods and technology both in the laboratory and the field, and most of us
study wild animals in nature. For example, we have one of only two Microspectrophotometers in the UK (used in
vision research). PhD students receive an unusually broad training in all aspects of animal behaviour, and hands-
on experience with the latest theoretical, empirical and practical methods. Students can work in our first class
laboratory facilities for freshwater fishes, small mammals and birds, or in our established field sites in the UK and
overseas.

Further information http://psychology.exeter.ac.uk/resgrp/abgroup.shtml

Clinical Psychology
The Mood Disorders Centre is a partnership between the University of Exeter and NHS with the aim of improving
understanding of depression, developing psychosocial treatments for depression and ensuring treatments are
accessible in the NHS.

The successful applicant(s) will work with one of the academic staff in the Mood Disorders Centre and specific
topic areas could include: cognitive processes in depression; rumination; behavioural activation; cognitive
behavioural treatments for depression; treatments for Perinatal Depression; psychological processes in Bipolar
Disorder; cognitive behavioural treatment of Bipolar Disorder; Mindfulness-based CBT; Dialectical Behaviour
Therapy (DBT); personality disorders; basic emotion and emotion regulation research; emotionally constricted
personality disorders and co-morbid depression; organisational methods of improving depression care;
implementation research; low-intensity interventions for high-prevalence mental health disorders.

Further information http://psychology.exeter.ac.uk/resgrp/clingroup.shtml & http://centres.exeter.ac.uk/mood/

Exeter Graduate Fellowships - This position has now closed but an

additional round of recruitment may take place later in the year.
The School of Psychology is seeking to appoint a number of PhD students starting in October 2009. The stipend
will be approximately £13,000 p.a plus full payment of tuition fees at Home/EU rates (for non EU citizen, there is
an additional tuition charge of £8,500k pa). These positions are available to applicants intending to register for an
MPhil/PhD in October 2009.

The School of Psychology is an exciting and vibrant place to study, consistently rated in the top 10 Psychology
departments in the UK, with particular research strengths in animal behaviour (e.g., sensory ecology), clinical
…exeter.ac.uk/pgfunding.shtml 3/7
3/11/2009 Postgraduate Funding and Scholarship…
psychology (e.g., mood disorders), cognitive psychology (e.g., task-switching, associative learning) and social
psychology (e.g., social identity). The successful applicants will be expected to participate in up to 180 hours of
undergraduate teaching-related duties per year, including leading small group tutorials, demonstrating, running the
statistical helpdesk and marking. The award will be made for 3 years initially, subject to satisfactory performance,
but will be renewable thereafter for a further 12 months, thus providing 'guaranteed' financial support in the final
year in which the PhD will have to be completed.

We strongly recommend that applicants identify a potential supervisor and discuss potential research projects
with the potential supervisor before applying. (See the School's Research page and potential supervisors’ home
pages for further information).

To apply for this position please send a CV, a covering letter confirming the potential supervisor and an approx
2,000 word research proposal, indicating at least one specific study you might conduct, and how that study
relates to previous work in that field.

Please send your application to:

Fiona Neligan, Postgraduate Secretary, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Washington Singer
Laboratories, Exeter, EX4 4GQ, United Kingdom, or email to f.c.neligan@ex.ac.uk

We recommend you contact a potential supervisor no later 5 January 2009. Applications must be received by 16
January 2009.

Presentations and Interviews will be held for successful applicants on 12 February 2009 in the School of
Psychology.

ESRC studentships
The School expects to put forward at least one candidate for a 1+3 award or for a +3 award.

A successful applicant would receive an award to cover fees and living expenses. These awards are available to
candidates working in any area of Psychology represented by our Research Groups and recognised by the ESRC.

The School's recognition status means that it is authorised to host ESRC-funded 1+3 studentships with
Research Training foundation year provided by graduation from any of the following three MSc programmes:
The MSc in Psychological Research Methods, the MSc in Economic & Consumer Psychology and the MSc
in Social & Organisational Psychology.
Successful candidates for 1+3 awards are funded initially for a one year MSc to provide appropriate Research
Training (RT) and then for a further three years of PhD work (subject to satisfactory student progress). This
pattern of funding is referred to as "1+3" funding, for both full-time and part-time registrations.
In order to be considered for any of the 1+3 studentships, candidates should have a good academic record
and be qualified for a place on one of the School's ESRC-recognised MSc programmes with continutation into
PhD study (ie they must have a potential supervisor willing (in principle) to take them on for a PhD).
+3 Competition awards; Applicants who have graduated (or are about to do so) from any ESRC-recognised
RT-programmes (from Exeter or other institutions) may apply for "+3" awards to pursue PhD work in the
School of Psychology. Candidates should be be qualified for a place on the PhD programme, with a
supervisor willing to take them on if successful.
Applicants interested in being nominated for either a 1+3 or a +3 award should send a outline research
proposal plus CV and covering letter either by email to psy-pgsec@exeter.ac.uk or by mail to School of
Psychology, University of Exeter, Washington Singer Laboratories, Perry Road, Exeter, EX4 4G, United
…exeter.ac.uk/pgfunding.shtml 4/7
3/11/2009 Postgraduate Funding and Scholarship…
Psychology, University of Exeter, Washington Singer Laboratories, Perry Road, Exeter, EX4 4G, United
Kingdom, marking it for the attention of the Postgraduate Secretary. Applications should be received by
March 20th 2008. The School will then nominate an applicant to be put forward for the ESRC competition.
The applicant will need to be available to work closely with the supervisor to complete the ESRC applicant
form. Applications must include a draft research proposal. The successful nominee(s) will be helped to
prepare the formal ESRC application during April. Further details of the ESRC studentships are available
online.

The ESRC web site has eligibility criteria

ESRC CASE Award **NEW**

Dynamics of communicating climate change information

Applications are invited for a PhD CASE Studentship funded by the ESRC and the Met Office to investigate
“dynamics of communicating climate change information”. This studentship is available from October 2009 and
offers the opportunity to work on a collaborative project between the School of Psychology and the Met Office’s
Hadley Centre. The project will involve conducting survey and experimental research into the combined influence of
message content and audience motivations on cognitive and behavioural responses to climate change
communications. The project will be conducted within the ESRC-funded Capacity Building Cluster in Sport,
Leisure and Tourism at University of Exeter Cluster, and will focus on the influence of climate change messages
on travel choices. The student will be supervised by Dr Anna Rabinovich and Dr Thomas Morton in the School of
Psychology at the University of Exeter, and Dr Diogo de Gusmão from the Hadley Centre.

Main duties and responsibilities include:

Conducting an extensive literature review

Designing and conducting focus-groups/ surveys on audience needs for climate change information
Designing and conducting experimental studies to investigate the impact of message and audience factors on
responses to climate science communication
Quantitative and qualitative data analysis
Writing manuscripts for publication and reports on research progress for the Met Office
Presenting findings orally to academic and non-academic audience.

The successful student will be expected to spend a proportion of their time at the Met Office’s Hadley Centre
based in Exeter.

Applicants should have good (first, upper second class, or equivalent) degree in psychology, and should have (or
be about to complete) a Masters degree in social psychology or psychological research methods (or equivalent).
Candidates who have completed their master’s in an ESRC-accredited programme are especially encouraged to
apply. Applicants are expected to have a good knowledge of social psychological theories of communication,
persuasion and attitude/ behaviour change research, and to be familiar with qualitative and quantitative research
methods, and experimental design. Additional familiarity with issues related to communication of probabilistic
information and with environmental psychology is desirable. The successful candidate will be self-motivated, able
to work independently, have excellent communication skills, and prior experience of conducting independent
research.

This three-year studentship covers tuition fees and a maintenance award of £14,940 per annum for UK residents.
EU residents are eligible for fees only award.
…exeter.ac.uk/pgfunding.shtml 5/7
3/11/2009 Postgraduate Funding and Scholarship…

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Dr Anna Rabinovich (a.rabinovich@ex.ac.uk) or Dr Thomas Morton

(t.morton@ex.ac.uk).

Applications, with a detailed CV and the names and addresses of two referees and a covering letter explaining
how your skills and experience fit the requirements,should be sent (preferably by email) to:

Dr Anna Rabinovich

School of Psychology

University of Exeter

Perry Road

Exeter,
EX4 4QG

a.rabinovich@ex.ac.uk

Closing date: 6 April 2009.

Interview date: 24 April 2009

Other Sources of Funding

1. University of Exeter Full-fee Masters Merit Scholarships. The School can nominate one applicant for this
University scholarship, which covers full fees for one year. This award is aimed at high-achieving UK and
international students who can demonstrate not only exceptional academic ability but also the potential and
intention to progress to doctoral study at Exeter. Applications, including the draft research proposal, should be
received in the School by 31 March 2009. For further details see the Postgraduate Funding page
2. Psychology Alumni Scholarships . The School is pleased to be able to offer a scholarship for all Exeter
Psychology graduates. A 50% discount on UK/EU fees will be available for all alumni students achieving a 1st
in Psychology and a 25% discount for students achieving a 2.1.
3. School of Psychology MSc Scholarships. There are several scholarships available for our MSc
programmes. These are open to UK and Overseas applicants and cover either half or the full cost of UK/EU
fees - or, in the case of overseas candidates, reduce the fee by the same amount. Like the University
Scholarship (above) these are intended for students likely to progress following the MSc to doctoral study in
the School. Applications should be accompanied by a short research proposal. At least one of these awards
will be offered in the first instance to the best candidates who have applied by 31 March 2009. The others will
be held over for award to the best remaining candidates who have applied by 13th June 2009- see below for
how to apply.
4. Exeter Alumni Award For Overseas Graduates: Scholarships of £500 are available for any overseas
student who has already graduated from Exeter and subsequently registers for a Masters, MPhil or PhD
degree. There are no strict deadlines for these awards. To apply for this award please write to Prof Thomas
Kessler, Director of Postgraduate Research (psy-dpgs@ex.ac.uk) with details of the degree you have
completed at Exeter.

In addition we regularly have paid part-time Research Assistantship positions in which people are expected to
register part-time for one of the MSc programmes. Details of any that become available will be posted here.
…exeter.ac.uk/pgfunding.shtml 6/7
3/11/2009 Postgraduate Funding and Scholarship…

How to apply for Scholarships

If you are interested in applying for any of the School's awards, please make it clear on page 1 of your application
form, under Proposed Finance, that you would like to be considered for a scholarship, indicate which award you
would like to be considered for, and include a 1-2 page (A4) statement of your research interests. If you are
eligible for the award and your application is received on time, we will ensure that you are considered.

A meeting will be held in April to allocate the first set of MSc Scholarships. The remaining MSc awards will be
allocated in late June.

If you are applying for one of the MSc Scholarships, please also provide an indication of how likely you are to stay
on and do further research after the MSc. If the top-rated candidates are closely matched in terms of academic
performance, the Committee is likely to favour students whose research interests are closely related to those of
School Staff, and will prefer candidates who have indicated an interest in staying on to do an MPhil or PhD at
Exeter. We need to receive this research description and your application by the deadline dates given above. It is
advisable to have some contact with potential PhD supervisors prior to submitting an application of this kind.

If you are not applying for any University scholarships, applications will be considered until the start of September,
provided there are places available on the programme of your choice.

Application forms may be obtained from the Graduate School website or from Fiona Neligan, the Postgraduate
Secretary. For more general enquiries, please write to:

Prof Thomas Kessler, Director of Postgraduate Studies, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter,
Devon, EX4 4QG, U.K. e-mail: psy-dpgs@exeter.ac.uk

The University of Ex e te r, The Q ue e n's Drive , Ex ete r, De von, UK EX4 4Q J

Tele phone: +44 1392 661000
La st upda te d onW e dne sda y, 11 Fe brua ry, 2009
Copyright a nd Discla im e r

…exeter.ac.uk/pgfunding.shtml 7/7