Applications are invited for a full-time studentship at the University of Bath (preferred start date is July 2013).

The Rugby Football Union is supporting a programme of work to:

• monitor injury patterns in School and Academy youth rugby union players;
• investigate the association between functional movement control and injury risk;
• evaluate whether exercise interventions to improve functional movement control are successful in reducing injury occurrence in youth rugby players;
• establish a cohort for longitudinal study of maturation, injury risk, and performance in youth rugby union.

The project will suit an individual looking to undertake a multidisciplinary research degree which has a goal of sport injury prevention. 

The research will be hosted within the vibrant RS@Bath research group in the Department for Health and will be conducted alongside a number of other on-going research projects relating to injury prevention in rugby union. The project will be based in Bath but will involve short periods of time doing field testing in various UK locations.

The successful candidate should:

1) Have at least an Upper Second Class Honours degree, or an equivalent qualification, in a relevant discipline at the start date, such as sport & exercise science, medicine, physiotherapy or epidemiology;

2) Be willing to develop new skills in injury epidemiology and injury prevention (including management of large databases, statistical analysis, performing physical screening tests, developing information/educational resources, and disseminating information to a lay audience);

3) Be adept at forming effective working partnerships and communicating with colleagues, rugby coaches, and youth rugby players.

4) Fulfil the entrance requirements for a Department for Health PhD.

The successful candidate will be supported for 3 years (£14,000 per annum stipend plus Home/EU tuition fees).

How to Apply

Applicants should apply online to study for the PhD in Health. Please note that the application form will refer to a formal proposal. As this studentship is to work on a specific project, there is no need to write this formal proposal in this case. The application will also ask you to complete a funding request form. Use this outline your motivation for wanting to undertake research and a brief outline of your initial thoughts on the area of research (maximum 500 words).

The closing date for the receipt of applications is 12pm GMT, Thursday 13 June 2013 and interviews for short-listed candidates will be held on Thursday 20 June 2013.

Informal enquiries should be addressed to Dr Grant Trewartha (g.trewartha@bath.ac.uk) or Dr Keith Stokes (k.stokes@bath.ac.uk). For enquiries regarding the application process please contact the Postgraduate Admissions Office on +44 (0)1225 38 3037 or email health-pgr-admissions@bath.ac.uk