This multidisciplinary cluster builds on the established success of three ESRC-recognised MAs in Research Methods and includes three subject area pathways for Sociology, Social Policy and Science and Technology Studies (STS). It also encompasses three sub-pathways in Social Work, Public Policy and Health (students who choose one of these options will graduate with a PhD in the specified sub-pathway). This cluster also has strong links with the multidisciplinary pathways on Mental Health and Wellbeing, Energy and Environment, and Digital Society.
The School of Sociology and Social Policy employs over 40 academic and research staff and 50% of its output was judged 4*/3* in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. It has internationally recognised strengths and research capacity in childhood and family studies; identity, citizenship and migration; social work; public and social policy; and wellbeing, health and social care. The Institute for Science and Society (ISS) is part of the School and has an international reputation for research and postgraduate training in STS.
The School won over £7m in external funding in the last Research Assessment Exercise period, including £1.8m from ESRC. The School has established research collaborations with Warwick in two areas: firstly in employment research, and secondly, in STS work on neuroscience and society (especially cognitive enhancement). Staff are also collaborating with the University of Birmingham in the areas of social work research on supporting families with complex needs and through an ESRC seminar series on Rhetorics of Moderation. social care.
PhD students are attached to the different research groups in the School and are integrated into all research activities and encouraged to publish with the support of supervisors. There is also an annual postgraduate research conference in the School and a regular student journal. The School has an excellent track record in supporting early career development, winning 11 postdoctoral fellowships in the last Research Assessment Exercise period.
A significant number of postgraduate research students are mature and over 50% of PhD students go on to work in higher education, with graduates employed as research fellows and academic staff in a number of leading universities (Bristol, Edinburgh, LSE, Oxford, Warwick, York), as well as in the NHS, local authorities, and the voluntary sector.
All Schools involved in this cluster have strong links with the NHS through the Nottinghamshire Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (several joint academic appointments and shared PhD training) and the Institute of Mental Health and have successfully won a large number of ESRC CASE awards since 2004, including a joint DWP/ESRC collaborative award on the expectations of public service users. Other organisations collaborating in CASE include: Macmillan Cancer Research, Migrants' Rights Network, Nottingham City Primary Care Trust, Regeneration East Midlands, Action on Smoking and Health and The Princess Royal Trust for Carers.
Studentships on the Social Policy (Health) sub-pathway are admitted through the Division of Social Research in Medicines and Health (School of Pharmacy) or the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Physiotherapy. Applicants for this sub-pathway should contact one of these two Schools in the first instance.
Find out more about individual Sociology and Social Policy pathways