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Study Politics, International Studies and Philosophy at Queen’s University Belfast

Deadline: 17 February 2014
Open to: predominantly to EU citizens, but also to international students
Scholarship: varying, according to the different fundings available

Description
The School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy has more postgraduate research students than any other Humanities or Social Sciences subject at Queen’s. In recent years many new members of staff have been appointed, substantially increasing the range of research supervision available within the School. All members of staff are qualified to supervise research students. Currently, there are research students dealing with topics on Irish and British history and politics, international relations, European integration, gender, political theory and popular culture, electoral systems and parties, comparative ethnic conflict, the Middle East, and many other areas.

Each student is given a primary and a secondary supervisor and is encouraged to consult the members of staff working in his/her area of research.

Eligibility
The normal entry requirement consists of the following:

• The school normally requires applicants for research degrees to have successfully completed a taught postgraduate degree (MA) in Politics, International Studies, European Studies, Philosophy or a cognate subject area, before proceeding to either MPhil or PhD, although candidates having demonstrated exceptional achievement at undergraduate level may be considered.
• Good references indicating that the candidate has the academic ability to undertake doctoral research.
• A viable proposal as determined by the advice of independent assessors in the School. (Viable here pertains to the scope of the project, its originality, and its potential to be completed within the relevant time limit for full-time or part-time students respectively.)
• Above all, prospective applicants’ ability to conduct postgraduate research successfully will be evaluated on the basis of the detailed research proposal submitted with the application form. The School requires a detailed research proposal (1500 – 2000 words) which will outline the research topic, the methodology, the theoretical context within which the research will be carried out (if appropriate), and an indicative bibliography. Please note that this is a particularly important part of your application, and will decisively influence the decision about your admission. If you have consulted with any members of staff within the School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy, please mention this in your proposal outline as well.
• Where appropriate, an application needs an IELTS score of 6.5 (candidates must be fully proficient in written and spoken English) and a CGPA of 3.3 or above to be considered.
• Availability and suitably qualified staff to supervise the research project (i.e. at least one specialist in the chosen field). In the absence of such staff the application will be rejected.

Scholarships
The School has a number of opportunities for PhD funding for the upcoming academic year:

DEL FUNDING: The School will be offering three DEL awards for PhD study. Students who are UK residents will be eligible for the full award, whereas EU students will be eligible for fees only. These studentships will be awarded to the best candidates in any area of research in Politics, International Studies or Philosophy, broadly defined.

STRATEGIC DEL AWARDS: The School will be offering three strategic DEL awards for PhD study on specific projects. The supervisory team of these projects is already in place, and students will be supervised by experts in more than one School. As with the general DEL awards, students who are UK residents will be eligible for the full award, whereas EU students will be eligible for fees only. The three PhD projects available for funding in the upcoming year are:

1. Anglo American Libertarianism: A Response to the Challenges of the Twenty First Century?;

2. Governing Dissent: Protest and Politics at the Olympic Games, Rio 2016;

3. Science, Safety and Sufficiency in the Global Politics of Food Security.

In addition, the School will offer the opportunity for one International or EU student to work on the following project: Debating the “Northern Ireland Model”: Lessons from and for other Conflict Regions. Students wishing to apply for any of the Strategic DEL awards must state this under the funding section of your application (You do not need to submit an additional application form). Applications for these strategic DEL awards MUST be submitted by Monday 17th February 2014.

AHRC NORTHERN BRIDGE DOCTORAL AWARDS: The School is part of the AHRC Funded Northern Bridge Doctoral Training Programme that will fund a number of PhD studentships across various topics in the Arts and Humanities. Many areas of expertise in the School such as Philosophy, Political History and Cultural Studies are closely related to the Arts and Humanities, and are therefore eligible to be considered for this funding. The logistics of supervisory arrangements and how to apply for these studentships can be found on the NBDTP web-page HERE. The deadline for AHRC Doctoral Awards is 5 pm, Monday 17th February 2014.

CHINA SCHOLARSHIPS: The University will be offering ten fully funded China Scholarship Council awards. These are for students who are citizens of the People’s Republic of China and is an open competition. The deadline for applications to Queen’s is Friday, 31st January 2014. Further information on these scholarships can be found HERE.

Application
For questions regarding the application procedure, please contact the Postgraduate Secretary Caroline McNeill (c.mcneill@qub.ac.uk) who will be pleased to advise you on the procedure for submitting applications. For further information, see the University admissions information web-site.

The school has expertise in a number of areas including Governance and Public Policy, International Relations, Ethnic Conflict, Contemporary Irish History, Political Theory and Philosophy. You are strongly encouraged to familiarize yourself with staff members working in your area of interest in advance of submitting a proposal.

Access to the research interests and supervisory areas of the School’s members of staff can be accessed HERE.

More information could be obtained from the official web-site.