Fully Funded Swansea University UK 2022 DePOT PhD Scholarship

The Department of History, Heritage and Classics at Swansea University is delighted to be offering a three-year full-time PhD studentship in the history or heritage of deindustrialisation starting in October 2022. The successful applicant will form part of the international research team working on the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada-funded Partnership Deindustrialization and the Politics of Our Time (DePOT). The project consists of 33 partner organizations and 24 co-applicants and collaborators from six countries in Western Europe and North America. The partnership examines the historical roots and lived experience of deindustrialization (the reduction of industrial activity in a country or region) as well as the political responses to it. The overall goal is to understand deindustrialization in transnational and comparative perspective, its causes, the responses to it, its effects, and its legacies. 

The successful applicant will work independently on their own self-designed PhD research project on any aspect of deindustrialisation linked to one (or more) of DePOT’s six research initiatives:

• Politics of Industrial Closure
• Gender, Family and Deindustrialization
• Race and the Populist Politics of Deindustrialization
• The Politics of Industrial Heritage
• Deindustrialization and the Environment
• Working-Class Expression

Projects focusing on an aspect of deindustrialisation in Wales are particularly welcome.

The student will become an associate member of DePOT and, if relevant, a member of the Centre for Heritage Research and Training (CHART) at Swansea University and is expected to be active in the intellectual life of the department and the larger DePOT project. The student will be supervised by Dr Hilary Orange and departmental staff with research expertise most appropriate to their PhD topic. The student will also benefit from the help and advice (via annual project symposia and periodic events) of the academics who are part of the DePOT collective.

All our research students are provided with a research allowance for conference presentation and research trips, and are members of the College Graduate Centre, which offers dedicated desk space and IT facilities, organizes an annual conference and runs a programme of training and skills workshops. PhD Students also benefit from University-wide postgraduate induction, skills and career development workshops.

We seek to enhance the employability of our PGRs by offering them teaching opportunities, placements, and opportunities to engage in other professional and networking activities. Recognizing postdoctoral precarity, we actively support our PGRs in this transitional phase, with mentoring towards publication and job applications.

The Department of History, Heritage and Classics sits within the School of Culture and Communications. Our expertise ranges across history, heritage, material culture, archaeology, ancient languages and classical literature, and spans Europe, the Middle East, North America and Asia. While our research has global reach, our research environment is shaped by the needs of the community in which we are rooted. In a region profoundly affected by industrialization and de-industrialization, by political devolution and Welsh cultural identity, we take seriously our responsibility to work in partnership with outside organizations to foster wellbeing, inclusivity and opportunity for all. Engagement and impact are at the heart of all our research activities. Our strengths in public history and heritage shape much of this work and form a common thread running through the work of our research. Swansea provides a stimulating research environment for scholars who can work within the varied landscapes, archives and museums on our doorstep. Swansea University is home to both the Richard Burton Archives, home to the internationally significant South Wales Coalfield Collection, and the South Wales Miners’ Library. We have a memorandum of agreement with Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum of Wales (ACNMW) and we are in close proximity to the National Waterfront Museum which deals with the impact of industrialization on Wales.

• Table of Content
• About Swansea University
• Swansea University PhD Scholarship
• Aim and Benefits of Swansea University PhD Scholarship
• Swansea University PhD Scholarship Courses
• Requirements for Swansea University PhD Scholarship Qualification
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About Swansea University

Swansea University has been at the cutting edge of research and innovation since 1920. We have a long history of working with business and industry but today our world-class research has a much wider impact across the health, wealth, culture, and well-being of our society. We have achieved an extraordinary level of success in recent years and our research activity exceeds that of many larger universities yet this has not compromised the friendly and relaxed atmosphere that has always characterised the �Swansea experience�. In our Centenary year, we look forward to continuing to work ... continue reading

Swansea University PhD Scholarship

Aim and Benefits of Swansea University PhD Scholarship

The scholarship covers the full cost of UK tuition fees and an annual stipend of £15,609 for 3 years.

Swansea University PhD Scholarship Courses

• History

Requirements for Swansea University PhD Scholarship Qualification

Candidates must normally hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level and a master’s degree with a minimum overall grade at ‘Merit’. Alternatively, applicants with a UK first class honours degree (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University) not holding a master’s degree, will be considered on an individual basis. See - Country-specific Information for European Applicants 2019 and Country-specific Information for International Applicants 2019.

We would normally expect candidates to have met the University’s English Language requirements (e.g. IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.5 in each component) by point of application. 

Due to funding restrictions, this scholarship is open to applicants eligible to pay tuition fees at the UK rate only, as defined by UKCISA regulations.

NB: If you are holding a non-UK degree, please see Swansea University degree comparisons to find out if you meet the eligibility. 

Application Deadline

How to Apply

To apply, please complete your application online with the following information:

1. Course choice – please select History / Ph.D. / Full-time / 3 Year / October
2. Start year – please select 2022
3. Funding (page 8) –

• ‘Are you funding your studies yourself?’ – please select No
• ‘Name of Individual or organisation providing funds for study’ – please enter ‘RS33-DePOT’

*Please note that applications received without the above information may not be considered.

As part of your online application, you MUST upload the following documents (please do not send these via email):

• CV
• Degree certificates and transcripts (if you are currently studying for a degree, screenshots of your grades to date are sufficient)
• A cover letter explaining how the award matches your skills and experience. Familiarity with the DePOT project is an asset.
• A research proposal - Please attach a research proposal (1,000-1,500 words) that should indicate the initiative to which your proposed research relates and include an indicative bibliography. Find further guidance on preparing research proposals on our website.
• Two references (academic or previous employer) on headed paper or using the Swansea University reference form. Please note that we are not able to accept references received citing private email accounts, e.g. Hotmail. Referees should cite their employment email address for verification of reference.
• Evidence of meeting English Language requirement (if applicable).