South West Doctoral Training Centre
Together with the Universities of Bristol and Exeter, we have formed one of the UK’s largest Centres of postgraduate research training for social scientists: the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) accredited South West Doctoral Training Centre (SWDTC).
The Centre draws together the established research excellence of more than 770 academic and research staff at the three institutions.
Research training pathways
The SWDTC delivers a number of research training pathways. Each pathway comprises two parts: a one-year MRes programme, followed by the three-year MPhil/PhD research programme (known as the ‘1’ and the ‘+3’ stages respectively).
Discipline-specific pathways (as part of the SWDTC)
Area and Development Studies
Education
- MRes Education followed by Education MPhil/PhD
Management & Business Studies
- MRes Management followed by Management MPhil/PhD
Political Science & International Studies
- MRes Politics & International Studies followed by Politics, Languages & International Studies MPhil/PhD
Social Policy
- MRes Social Policy followed by Social & Policy Sciences MPhil/PhD
Social Work
- MRes Social Work followed by Social & Policy Sciences MPhil/PhD
Interdisciplinary (SWDTC collaborative) pathways
Health & Wellbeing
MRes Health & Wellbeing followed by MPhil/PhD in (typically) one of the following:
Security, Conflict & Justice
MRes Security, Conflict & Justice followed by MPhil/PhD in (typically) one of the following:
Global Political Economy: Transformations & Policy Analysis
MRes Global Political Economy: Transformations & Policy Analysis followed by MPhil/PhD in (typically) one of the following:
Environment, Energy & Resilience
MRes Environment, Energy & Resilience followed by MPhil/PhD in (typically) one of the following:
Applying for a SWDTC Pathway
Applicants for any of the Discipline or Interdisciplinary Pathways (either 1 + 3 or +3) should apply for the appropriate MPhil/PhD programme following instruction on how to apply for a research degree.
Information on available studentships can be found in the funding section. If you have any further queries then please contact us.
Placement Programme
The SWDTC will offer many doctoral students the opportunity to undertake a placement programme with an external organisation.
The placement programme enables students to develop further their research skills and transferrable skills while based with government, business or third sector employers in the region, elsewhere in the UK or overseas. The placement programme aims to improve both the quality of PhD students and their employment prospects.
