Scholarships for postgraduate research students

There is much research linking school toilets to anxiety for a range of reasons, including unsanitary conditions, lack of access to toilets due to rigid school rules, and bullying. They are generally less policed than many school spaces due to being a semi-private space. However, the ways in which toilets are managed can impact students' mental health and attendance (Eric.org.uk). The school environment has been noted as a key component for exacerbating or helping EBSA in pupils ( McDonald and Pervez, 2025) and we would like to provide a research opportunity to explore this further. This would directly align with current government policy developments around supporting children in school and improving attendance.

This is a joint Education and Sociology project, building on the Toilet Talk research project that has been ongoing for over three years. There will be some field work involved as the appropriate candidate would be expected to carry out field work in schools. A mixed and flexible approach to methodology is desired, as the candidate would be expected to be able to carry out participatory work with children and adults, as well as surveys. The candidate will be expected to travel to local schools (York and Selby area) during fieldwork.

For further information, please see:

Haines Lyon, C., Little, A., Dobson, E., Glover, O., Patterson, J., Telford, J., & Noret, N. (2024). Toilet talk: using a students as researchers approach to problematize and co-construct school toilet policy and practice. Gender and Education, 36(7), 801–816. https://doi-org.yorksj.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/09540253.2024.2389108

Green, M. J., Haines Lyon, C., Little, A. & Telford, J. (2025). Teachers', parents', and pupils' perceptions and described experiences of toilet provisions and practices within English schools. British Educational Research Journal, 51, 2683–2699. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.4198

Successful applicants must have a postgraduate master's degree from a UK HEI, an internationally recognised equivalent, or be able to demonstrate alternative professional equivalence.

The degree must be in a discipline that is relevant to the research.

We are looking for a candidate who brings some or all of the following attributes to the research:

• An academic background in Education, Sociology, or a related discipline.
• Familiarity with participatory research methodologies.
• Ability to work with statistics at a beginner level. Further training will be given.
• Ability to work with children and young people. Prior to engaging in fieldwork, the successful candidate will be expected to complete an Enhanced DBS check.

We welcome applications from candidates with lived experience reflective of the research context of this project and encourage candidates from backgrounds that are currently underrepresented in postgraduate study.

The project will be supervised by Dr Charlotte Haines-Lyon from Education and Dr Amy Holmes from Social Sciences. The successful candidate will be joining an ongoing collaboration between Charlotte and Amy, that has centred intersectional, feminist participatory research with young people and has demonstrated the value of positioning them as experts in their own lives.

The fee bursary consists of a full remission subject to satisfactory progression. This is available on a part time (maximum 6 years) or full time (maximum 3 years) research degree basis. This funding UK fee rates. Please note this opportunity is for UK Home candidates only.

Application should be made by following the YSJU admission process. To submit an application, please use this link:

Apply for scholarship

Applicants are required to provide a research proposal that addresses the themes described above. This is an opportunity to demonstrate understanding of the topic and research design, as well as provide us with an opportunity to assess alignment between the proposed work and the overall aims for the scholarship. The research proposal should include an overview of the area of research, rationale for the research, specific research question/s, research methods to be employed, and proposed timelines (1500 words). Please reference ISJ-TT in your application.

Your proposal will be evaluated in regard to its originality, impact, rigour, feasibility, and benefits to the sponsor. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview.

We are looking for a PhD candidate who is passionate about social justice and secondary education to undertake research with our partner Enactus UK & Ireland and their NextGenLeaders (NGL) Programme. NGL uses youth participatory action research (YPAR) to facilitate secondary school students to undertake impactful research that matters to them and that impacts positively on their local communities. Our own research into YPAR and the NGL Programme (Dobson, 2023; Green et al., 2025) demonstrates how YPAR in schools develops skills and competencies required for the workplace, whilst also fostering personal development and belonging at school. Despite these benefits, YPAR can be difficult to implement and maintain in mainstream school settings.

For this project, our successful candidate will work directly with the NGL Programme Delivery Team and NGL’s schools in Yorkshire and beyond to design and implement a multi-phase research project, the aim of which is optimise the effectiveness of the NGL Programme. This project is likely to include the following phases:

• a secondary research phase, where outcomes for YPAR in schools are articulated and where pedagogies for the successful implementation of YPAR are identified;
• an evaluation phase, where mixed methods are used to engage a range of stakeholders to understand work works and what could be changed within the current NGL Programme;
• a co-production phase, where aspects of the NGL Programme are redesigned;
• a subsequent evaluation and refinement phase.

Successful applicants must have a postgraduate master's degree from a UK HEI, or an internationally recognised equivalent, or be able to demonstrate alternative professional equivalence. The degree must be in a discipline that is relevant to the research.

We are looking for a candidate who brings the following attributes to the research:

• An academic background in education or a related discipline;
• Experience of working in/with UK secondary schools;
• Experience of undertaking primary and secondary research;
• The ability to work both independently and collaboratively to meet deadlines.

We welcome applications from candidates with lived experience reflective of the research context of this project and encourage candidates from backgrounds that are currently underrepresented in postgraduate study.

The project will be supervised by Professor Tom Dobson, Dr Emma Walker, and members of the team at Enactus UK & Ireland.

The fee bursary consists of a full remission subject to satisfactory progression. This is available on a part time (maximum 6 years) or full time (maximum 3 years) research degree basis. This funding covers UK fee rates. Please note this opportunity is for UK Home candidates only.

Application should be made by following the YSJU admission process. To submit an application, please use this link:

Apply for scholarship

Applicants are required to provide a research proposal that addresses the themes described above. This is an opportunity to demonstrate understanding of the topic and research design, as well as provide us with an opportunity to assess alignment between the proposed work and the overall aims for the scholarship. The research proposal should include an overview of the area of research, rationale for the research, specific research question/s, research methods to be employed, and proposed timelines (1500 words). Please reference ISJ-NGL in your application.

Your proposal will be evaluated regarding its originality, impact, rigour, feasibility, and benefits to the sponsor. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview.

It is thought that as many as 15-20% of young people in the UK are neurodivergent. Being neurodivergent means that a young person may understand the world around them differently from others, as well as experiencing and communicating about it differently. Due to the demands of fitting into a neurotypical world, one that is not built to support them, many neurodivergent young people struggle with their mental health and wellbeing. An increase in poor mental health experiences has been found in children and young people in general, something that is likely even more elevated for neurodivergent young people. Many charities and researchers highlight the importance of integrating young peoples’ understandings of mental health within the field, often through coproduced research. However, genuinely coproduced research tends to be time consuming and complicated, something that is less tangibly supported by wider research structures (Knight et al., 2025). Research highlights that there are large gaps in our understanding of how to effectively and compassionately involve children and young people in mental health research. To generate a truly collaborative, coproduced idea of neurodivergent young peoples mental health, we first need to build a foundation of understanding around what good coproduction feels like for this community.

Successful applicants must have a postgraduate master's degree from a UK HEI, an internationally recognised equivalent, or be able to demonstrate alternative professional equivalence.

The degree must be in a discipline that is relevant to the research.

We are looking for a candidate who brings some or all of the following attributes to the research:

• An academic background in Psychology or a related discipline.
• Experience working with children and young people, particularly those who are neurodivergent.
• A background in mental health, either academic or practice-based.

We welcome applications from candidates with lived experience reflective of the research context of this project and encourage candidates from backgrounds that are currently underrepresented in postgraduate study.

The project will be supervised by Dr Ruth Knight and Dr Amy Skinner.

The fee bursary consists of a full remission subject to satisfactory progression. This is available on a part time (maximum 6 years) or full time (maximum 3 years) research degree basis. This funding covers UK fee rates. Please note this opportunity is for UK Home candidates only.

Application should be made by following the YSJU admission process. To submit an application, please use this link:

Apply for scholarship

Applicants are required to provide a research proposal that addresses the themes described above. This is an opportunity to demonstrate understanding of the topic and research design, as well as provide us with an opportunity to assess alignment between the proposed work and the overall aims for the scholarship. The research proposal should include an overview of the area of research, rationale for the research, specific research question/s, research methods to be employed, and proposed timelines (1500 words). Please reference ISJ-NGL in your application.

Your proposal will be evaluated regarding its originality, impact, rigour, feasibility, and benefits to the sponsor. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview.