Swansea University part of new Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences

Swansea University is part of a new partnership which has just secured £18.5 million of funding to train social scientists across Wales on a range of issues affecting society today.

The Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences (WGSSS) is one of 15 new doctoral training partnerships announced by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) following a successful award bid.

The doctoral training partnerships (DTPs) will provide a breadth of professional development training opportunities to enhance the capabilities of doctoral candidates and further develop a world-class, highly skilled workforce for the UK.

WGSSS is a collaboration between Swansea University, Cardiff University, Aberystwyth University, Bangor University, Cardiff Metropolitan University, the University of South Wales and the  University of Gloucestershire. The University of Wales, Trinity St David is an associate member and contributes to shared training and researcher development.

A total of £40 million investment in postgraduate social science research and training, WGSSS will deliver up to 360 studentships across five annual cohorts from 2024. It will create an integrated cross-Wales community of researchers through a common Training Platform supported by ESRC, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) and partner universities.

Working closely with the Learned Society of Wales, it will deliver support for social sciences students and supervisors on career development, wellbeing, and inclusion.

Academic Lead for Swansea Lucy Griffiths said: “We are delighted to be part the ESRC Welsh Graduate School for Social Sciences. Our role in the partnership will create opportunities to further strengthen and develop Swansea’s leading social science research.

“We welcome applications for fully funded studentships from those who wish to pursue a PhD at Swansea in one of the 15 pathways offered here, and look forward to working with the next generation of researchers.”

WGSSS is supported by an £18.5 million award from ESRC, which is matched by contributions from partner universities and by £1.5 million-plus investment from strategic partners including Welsh Government, Office for National Statistics, Natural Resources Wales, Welsh Council for Voluntary Action, Cardiff Capital Region City Deal and the Office of the Commissioner for the Well-Being of Future Generations.

Information on how to apply for studentships via the WGSSS Competition for entry in 2024/2025 is available on the Studentships page.