The Department of Linguistics and English Language at The University of Manchester invites excellent applications for PhD studentships through its involvement in the North West Doctoral Training Centre funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
We welcome applications from outstanding students for the 2015-16 entry (start September 2015) for the following degree programmes:
- PhD in English Language
- PhD in Linguistics
- 1+3 (MA + PhD) programme in Linguistics or English Language
Topics should be in areas of linguistics that can be construed as Social Research, including, but not restricted to, subfields of sociolinguistics, first language acquisition, multilingualism, pragmatics, and language documentation and description. A special additional stipend is available for projects employing advanced quantitative methods. Please note that we cannot normally supervise projects with a primary focus on second language teaching and learning. For informal inquiries about the suitability of your project, including submission of a draft research proposal, please contact eva.schultze-berndt AT manchester.ac.uk.
The highest-ranked applications will be eligible for competitive scholarships within the the North West Doctoral Training Centre. The award covers tuition fees and an annual maintenance stipend for UK residents and EU nationals who have lived in the UK for three or more years, and tuition fees for EU residents.
You will need to apply for a place on your chosen MA or PhD programme in advance of the ESRC deadline to ensure receipt of an offer of a place. You are advised to submit your complete online application to the School by Friday, 16 January 2015 following instructions at http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/apply/postgraduateresearch/ for PhD programmes, and http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/apply/postgraduatetaught/ for MA programmes.
The deadline for submitting ESRC funding applications is 5pm GMT on Monday 2 February 2015. Please visit the North West Doctoral Training web pages http://www.nwdtc.ac.uk/how-to-apply/ for the application form and guidance. The completed application form should be submitted to phdsalc AT manchester.ac.uk.
The Department of Linguistics and English Language is an international centre for Linguistics and English Language, with 20 full-time members of staff and approximately 30 Postgraduate Research students. It is unique in the UK and beyond in the breadth of subject areas and theoretical approaches represented by its members, many of whom are internationally renowned scholars in their areas of specialisation. In their research, members of the department combine the advancement of theoretical approaches with a strong concern for their empirical and methodological foundations. Areas of expertise include phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax (lexical-functional grammar, role and reference grammar, construction grammar, and minimalism), (formal) semantics, pragmatics, historical linguistics, dialectology, language contact, variational sociolinguistics, first language acquisition, field linguistics and language documentation, typology, and quantitative corpus-based approaches. For more information about the research interests of individual members of staff and current postgraduate students, please visit http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/subjects/lel/.
PhD students in Linguistics and English Language are part of the diverse and dynamic postgraduate community in the new Graduate School of the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures (http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/graduateschool/). Students in the NWDTC will enjoy access to outstanding library and IT resources and training provision within a collegial environment, which also includes the possibility of accessing training and facilities at the partner institution, Lancaster University. For more information on the North West Doctoral Training Centre please visit http://www.nwdtc.ac.uk/prospective.html.
