The Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS), the UK's largest social science Doctoral Training Partnership, has been awarded significant funding to provide PhD training across the social sciences in Scotland.
Building on the strong foundation of the previous Doctoral Training Centre and first Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has awarded SGSSS funding for a further five cohorts of PhD studentships, with the first group starting their research in October 2024.
SGSSS has been awarded a core allocation of 40 studentships per year by the ESRC. The successful SGSSS co-funding model with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), Skills Development Scotland and other collaborative partners means that approximately 54 studentships will be available to be awarded each year, ensuring ongoing significant and impactful contribution to social science research in Scotland.
SGSSS is the UK’s largest facilitator of funding, training and support for doctoral students in social science. A partnership of 16 higher education institutions (HEIs) across Scotland, the core of which is a Doctoral Training Partnership of 14 HEIs.
Its director is Professor Graeme Nixon, Personal Chair at the University of Aberdeen’s School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition who said: “SGSSS is delighted to receive ongoing funding and accreditation from ESRC.
“We have worked hard with all our HEI partners and other key collaborators such as the Scottish Government, Scottish Funding Council and Skills Development Scotland to ensure we have an ambitious, dynamic and effective training programme.
“We are very proud to support PhD researchers across Scotland, enabling them to contribute to research in all sectors, tackling global challenges and contributing positively to societal development.”
Through DTP funding provided by the ESRC, SGSSS provides studentship funding for PhD research, which includes training, cohort development and student support. Over the lifetime of SGSSS, over 500 studentships have been awarded and over 700 days of training have been provided.
Further to this, SGSSS also has a long standing partnership with the Scottish Funding Council. SGSSS uses its scale and cross-Scotland network to widen its training opportunities and support infrastructure to all social science PhD researchers in Scotland, regardless of funding status.
SGSSS has an ambitious vision to equip PhD graduates to be independent thinkers that contribute to addressing global and systematic problems. Working at the national scale allows it to draw upon a wide pool of training expertise - including around 2250 social scientists across Scotland - to deliver its vision for excellence in the social sciences.
The scale of its DTP enables its graduates to apply their skills across sectors and to develop into future research leaders on the national and global stage.