ESRC Wales DTP

Group of postgraduate researchers drinking coffee and sitting outside in Bay Campus

Do you have an idea that could change the way society works?

Training the next generation of leading social scientists

The ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) trains top-level social scientists across Wales and England on a range of issues affecting society today. It is a collaboration between Swansea University, Aberystwyth University, Bangor University, Cardiff Metropolitan University, the University of Gloucestershire and Cardiff University (the lead institution).

It is building on and strengthening a track record of successful social science doctoral training collaboration across Wales and England – the DTP and its predecessor, the ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Centre (DTC), have offered around 50 new postgraduate studentships every year since 2011.

The DTP prepares doctoral students for their future careers through a rewarding programme of skills training, immersive opportunities and access to leading researchers across universities. This enables its doctoral students to address vital challenges and change the way that society, the environment and the economy work.

At Swansea University, DTP students also benefit from regular networking events, a local newsletter, student representatives on two campuses and a dedicated delivery team based in Swansea University's Postgraduate Research Office. This delivery team provides support and guidance for a range of queries, including recruitment, admissions, finance, progression, skills development and more.

The ESRC Wales DTP recruits students in two ways: the Collaborative Call, in which you can apply for predetermined projects that include non-academic partners and the General Call, in which you can develop your PhD studentship proposal.

Through its collaborative studentships, public, private or third sector organisations can have a genuine stake in a social science research project and a role in producing the next generation of leading social scientists. Collaborative studentships hosted by Swansea University include partners such as the NSPCC, the NHS, Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), Welsh Government, Brecon Beacons National Park, Welsh Water, Oxford University Press and the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Swansea University hosts the following pathways: