Applications are invited for the prestigious Samuel Chan Scholarship in the Institute for Social Change (ISC).

The Samuel Chan studentship will be used towards the cost of supporting one student for the duration of four-year postgraduate studies (one year MSc and 3 years’ PhD). The PhD will be under the supervision of Professor Yaojun Li. The research will concentrate on patterns, trends, causes, manifestations and consequences of happiness in China in the past few decades. It will focus on looking for factors that enhance or reduce happiness and identifying the mechanisms that lead to a meaningful and happy life for people and, where possible, the policy implications of the findings. We especially welcome proposals adopting quantitative empirical methods. In your proposal, you should present the key theoretical perspectives, data sources and methods that you will bring to bear in your thesis and the timeline for the doctoral work. One example of a data source that could be used would be the Chinese General Social Survey available at http://www.cssod.org/search.php?key=CGSS although use of other publicly available national representative sample surveys is also welcome.  

The Institute for Social Change

The studentships are based in the ISC, an interdisciplinary research centre based in the school of Social Sciences. ISC offers an outstanding environment in which to study for a research degree. ISC research was part of the Sociology submission ranked joint 1^st in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, producing the highest proportion of research rated ‘world leading’ of any UK  institution.

The ISC conducts world leading research into how and why socio-demographic shifts are producing a realignment of the national, political, ethnic and religious cleavages that have structured modern western democracies (particularly in Europe and North America) since the early twentieth century.

Studentship details

The studentships comprise an annual amount of £18,000 for a duration of four years (4x£18,000=£72,000 for four years in total). This includes the tuition fees and the stipend.  Fees are as follows;

• MSc Home/EU 2013 – £6,300
• MSc overseas 2013 – £13,000
• PhD Home/EU 2013 – £3,900
• PhD overseas 2013 – £13,000
• PhD Home/EU 2014 – to be confirmed
• PhD Overseas 2014 – £14,000
• 2015 and 2016 fees are under review.

If the successful candidate is a non UK/EU citizen (overseas candidate), the ISC/School will cover the difference in fees for both the MSc and PhD element. The programme will commence in October 2013.

The successful candidate will be required to submit an annual lay report on their research progress and experiences, and will be invited to meet with the scholarship donors at various points throughout the duration of the programme. The scholarship holder may also be required to participate in other promotional activities to recognise the donor support.

How to Apply

Applicants should email the following to socialchange@manchester.ac.uk, via the ‘Apply’ button below; Research proposal (max 3,000 words including references), CV, official academic transcripts, TOFEL/IELTS scores (as appropriate), three academic references, applicants must have obtained (or expect to obtain) a minimum 2:1 honours degree (or equivalent). The successful candidate will be required to submit a full University postgraduate application to satisfy the normal admissions requirements.

For further information or to discuss your proposal, please contact Professor Yaojun Li: Tel.: +44 (0) 161 2750275 Yaojun.Li@manchester.ac.uk

The deadline for applications is 30^th June, 2013.