Loughborough University is a top-ten rated university in England for research intensity (REF2014) and an outstanding 66% of the work of Loughborough’s academic staff who were eligible to be submitted to the REF was judged as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, compared to a national average figure of 43%. In choosing Loughborough for your research, you’ll work alongside academics who are leaders in their field. You will benefit from comprehensive support and guidance from our Doctoral College, including tailored careers advice, to help you succeed in your research and future career. Internationally renowned for its research excellence, the University has a vibrant research student community of around 1200 students supported by a £6 million annual investment. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, every department was found to be undertaking research that is internationally recognised, with many regarded as ‘world leading’. The University is comfortably ranked in the top 20 of all major UK university league tables and was voted The Times Higher Education ‘Best Student Experience’ in England for the past six years. Social Science is listed in the top 100 THES 2018 world university rankings. The School comprises the Departments of Geography (physical and human), Politics, History and International Relations and Social Sciences (Communication and Media Studies; Criminology and Social Policy; Social Psychology; Sociology). It is a partner in the Central England NERC Training Alliance (CENTA) for doctoral training and the Midlands Graduate School ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership. The studentships are central to developing and sustaining the School’s research strengths in Communication and cultures; Migration, identities and governance; Environmental processes and management; Families, young people and children; and Democracy, crisis and security. We are keen to recruit students to areas recognised as world-leading in REF 2014, including political communication; conversation analysis; social theory; nationalism and migration; climate change, sedimentology; the geography of globalisation; crime and victimisation; social exclusion and poverty; European comparative politics; and children and families.