CIRCY Scholarship

Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth studentship 2024 (2024)

What you get

The scholarship covers 3 years of:

• a living allowance at UK Research Council rates (currently £18,622 per year in 2023-4) 
• UK PhD fees
• A research training support grant of £750 per year
• A fieldwork budget of £450 per year

Type of award

Postgraduate research

PhD project

PhD project and background:

CIRCY was established in 2012 as a new interdisciplinary childhood and youth research centre at Sussex, and in 2023 was named as one of the university’s twelve centres of excellence. CIRCY has a decade long history of creative and participatory research with children and young people, and of developing research that amplifies children’s voices in social issues and policies impacting their lives. As a centre of excellence, CIRCY was awarded funding for a full-time (3-years) studentship to develop a new stream of research, that will explore how children and young people can be creatively involved in shaping and advising on research projects.

In the past, children’s participation in research has often focused on methodological innovation for their involvement in data collection. In this project, we are interested in exploring how children can become involved as advisors on research projects, across all stages of a study: from design and conception to data collection, implementation, dissemination and impact work.

This studentship will be a unique opportunity to develop a child and youth research advisory group, and to explore creative ways that they can advise on several emerging or ongoing research projects at Sussex (you can find out more about our current projects here.) The project will involve: (a) researching different ways in which children can become research advisors, and (b) developing models of practice for children’s involvement in research that involve creative and inclusive forms of collaboration.

As part of the studentship, the doctoral researcher will be located in the Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth (CIRCY) and will commit four-hours per week to supporting the Centre’s activities under the supervision of the Centre Directors. This will enable them to become well-acquainted with the researchers and projects connected with the Centre, which will play an important role in the identification of research projects that can be included in the doctoral research.

The overarching aim of the project is to examine how children and young can be creatively engaged in shaping, and advising on, research projects led by academics within the University of Sussex. The final research design will be negotiated between the doctoral researcher and their supervisors, but will involve the following key objectives:

• To develop a child and youth research advisory group which is either socially diverse or centred around a marginalised population.
• To develop creative approaches for the group to become involved in advising on several emerging or ongoing research projects at Sussex, and to undertake collaborative research with the children and/or young people about what makes a ‘good’ advisory group.
• To explore the use of different models for engaging children and young people as expert advisors on a variety of research projects, and at different stages in a project’s lifecycle.
• To critically reflect on the politics, pedagogy, ethics and positionality of the advisory group, as well as the potential benefits and challenges, and identify key practice issues to be considered for future child and youth advisory groups on research projects. 

The supervisors will be Dr Liam Berriman, a childhood and youth sociologist, who leads the Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth at Sussex, and Dr Perpetua Kirby, a lecturer in childhood and youth, and one of the Centre’s Deputy Directors.

In addition to the general guidance (found here) for what makes a good PhD research proposal, your application’s research proposal should include:

(a)    A set of clear research questions that closely align with the objectives of the scholarship.

(b)   A short literature review that demonstrates understanding of relevant existing approaches to involving children as advisors or participants on research projects.

(c)    An outline of who you imagine could be involved as participants in the study, and how you would go about recruiting them.

(d)   A summary of your plans for creatively involving children/young people as advisors on current or future CIRCY projects (Note: you do not need to name any specific projects at this stage), and how you would research the effectiveness of your approach.

(e)    A short account of the research ethics challenges of a project like this.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply you must:

• Qualify for Home student fees;
• Be able to commit to a full time doctoral degree;
• Have completed a Masters degree before September 2024.

Essential skills and experience:

• An undergraduate degree in a relevant subject;
• A masters’ degree which included a substantial component of research methods training;
• Experience of qualitative research;
• To have an understanding of the ethical complexities of research with children and young people;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Desirable skills and experience:

• To have a completed an Undergraduate or Masters degree that included modules related to childhood and youth studies.
• Experience in a work or volunteer role with children and/or young people.

Number of scholarships available

1

Deadline

How to apply

Please submit a formal application for the PhD in Childhood & Youth Studies using our online application system which you can find here: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/pg/applying and state CIRCY Studentship in the award details section.

Candidates will need to upload all of the following documents:

• A research proposal addressing the research brief and objectives outlined in this advert (https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/phd/apply/tips-research-degrees/research-proposal)
• MA/ degree certificate
• MA/ degree transcript
• BA degree certificate
• BA degree transcript
• A current CV
• A personal statement that clearly addresses each of the eligibility criteria (essential and, where applicable, desirable).

Contact us

For queries about the PhD scholarship brief or the CIRCY centre, please contact:

Dr Liam Berriman l.j.berriman@sussex.ac.uk

Dr Perpetua Kirby p.kirby@sussex.ac.uk

For general queries about the scholarship and PhD application process, please contact:

eswpgradmin@sussex.ac.uk

Timetable

• The deadline for applications: Monday 15^th April 2024
• Early May 2024: interviews
• Mid-May 2024: successful candidate notified.