PhD Social Policy

The School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences has a vibrant and multi-disciplinary research environment, which is home to a wide range of research projects that tackle important questions in the social sciences. We have an excellent international reputation for producing high quality research which has global impact. Our work is centred around three key themes: persistent and emerging socio-economic challenges, policy and practice in divided societies, and national global social justice.

If you are interested in joining our School as a PhD candidate, you can be confident that you’ll be joining a community of committed researchers, who offer dedicated and tailored supervision. You will be fully integrated into the research environment within the school and join a lively research student community.

Within this research cluster there is a focus on documenting, illuminating and theorising some of the most difficult social problems we face. Our research contributes to new knowledge in a range of policy areas and highlights the relationship between structures of government, policy making approaches and their impact on public services and users.

The causes and policy response to social welfare issues is often contested and work in the cluster has often emerged in response to politically charged debates, for example in the area of reproductive rights, migration and discrimination. Our research is also influential in bringing about change, and our extensive collaborations with NGOs, policy stakeholders, public sector bodies and users are critical to our research and impact.

PhD graduates are recognised by employers to hold valuable transferrable skills, as the nature of the degree trains candidates in creativity, critical inquiry, problem solving, negotiation skills, professionalism and confidence. The most recent Ulster survey of PhD graduates found that 92% had secured employment within the first year since graduation (HESA Destination of Leavers Survey 2015), and while two thirds end up in the Higher Education or Research sectors, the range of skills acquired equips the remainder for employment in a wide range of contexts.