Doing a PhD or MPhil in the Department of Sociological Studies - why Sheffield?

So, you want to do a research degree in Sociology, Social Policy or Social Work… but why choose Sheffield? We can offer you lots of reasons.

Research training

The White Rose Doctoral Training Centre in Social Sciences was established in January 2011 with an investment from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to provide a national training centre for postgraduate researchers in social sciences.

Through the WR SS DTC we aim to provide social scientists with a wide range of training opportunities and experiences. All our doctoral students have access to training and development opportunities regardless of their funding source.

Social Sciences Doctoral Training Centre

All postgraduate research students in the Department have the opportunity to develop a Doctoral Development Programme - a personalised programme of activities and training, designed by you and your supervisors to build your skills and increase your employability.

Doctoral Development Programme Portal

Supervision

No less important is the quality of the supervision. Each research student has an experienced primary supervisor, with a secondary supervisor giving extra input. Dedicated, supportive supervision is vital to the successful completion of your degree, and that is what we offer.

See details of our current research students and their topics

The Department

The research environment of the Department was assessed as `internationally excellent´ to `world leading´ in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. This includes a large and welcoming postgraduate cohort, academic and administrative staff with responsibility for postgraduate matters, research seminars, opportunities for publication and editorial work, and teaching opportunities.

The Department has a specialised postgraduate suite; facilities include desk space for each research student and PCs reserved for research student use, providing word-processing facilities, access to library catalogues, CD-ROM, the Internet and a wide range of packages for handling databases, spreadsheets and statistical analysis.