We offer MPhil and PhD research degrees in a range of topics linked to staff expertise in the fields of Social Sciences, including Sociology and Criminology. We actively engage in research across the theoretical and applied areas of social science. We have produced a number of influential books, journal articles and edited collections, and won funding for a number of prestigious research projects. We are proud of our vibrant research culture, which creates a rich and stimulating environment for staff and students.

We also have a series of links to a number of other centres in our University and the wider community. We contribute to many of our Faculty's research groups, including the Cultures of the Digital Economy research institute (CoDE), and we run our own research unit, the Justice and Communities Research Unit. Our programme also hosts and participates in a variety of research oriented events, including Faculty and Departmental research seminar series.

We have close links with many organisations in the local area and the wider region, including the Citizen's Advice Bureau, the National Probation Service, the Crown Court and Crown Prosecution Service, Cambridgeshire Police, and the University of Cambridge's Centre for Research into Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (CRASSH).

Supervision and support

You will be allocated two supervisors, with additional members added if necessary. Academic supervision is available in many areas of social science. We have a particularly strong concentration of expertise in the areas of social theory, gender studies, critical realism, social studies of science and technology, youth justice, comparative criminology, crime mapping and the politics of surveillance and privacy, diaspora and migration, gender and psychoanalysis; organised crime networks, criminal and geographical profiling, violence and exploitation.

Facilities

Our research students have access to a carefully co-ordinated system of cross-faculty research training in all aspects of research. They also have access to our outstanding library resources, as well as to the Cambridge University Library and other local archives. The Department has a range of excellent facilities, including a state-of-the-art courtroom for staging debates and elements of the criminal justice process.

Funding

There are a number of ways in which you can obtain external funding for doctoral research, from the full-time awards granted by the AHRC (Arts & Humanities Research Council) to smaller grants available from a range of grant-awarding bodies. From 2012 we are able to offer a limited number of fully-funded PhD studentships. Our programme periodically offers fully-funded and fees-only fellowships, and from time to time, Departmental bursaries are awarded to candidates showing exceptional potential. In addition to these, our programme has a Postgraduate Fund to which students can apply for help with travelling expenses, conference fees, and other research needs. We offer advice on external and internal funding to any interested prospective candidates for our PhD degree.

Career development and training

We are committed to offering training and career development opportunities for all research students. Our PhD students may be offered teaching opportunities in our programme, and are encouraged to give papers at graduate conferences within both our University and at other universities. Within our Department, we can also offer advice and support on a range of subjects, including: writing up a paper for publication; placing an academic article; giving a conference paper; style in PhD writing; updates on research methods and literature searches; internet training; editing skills for doctoral research; subsequent monograph publication; and working with agents and publishers.

We welcome proposals from students wishing to work in the fields of Social Science. Below is a list of current staff and their research specialisms:

Dr Liz Bradbury
Classical and contemporary social theory, gender studies, psychoanalytic and psychosocial studies.

Dr Shaun Le Boutillier
Social theory and the structure versus agency debate, social emergence theory and the relationship between social wholes and individuals; social causation and the philosophy of the social sciences; agency and moral theory; the sociology of work and organisational life.

Dr David Skinner
Race and racism, the social and political aspects of scientific and technological innovation; the relationship between the natural and social sciences; forensics, databases and surveillance; the changing management of public services.

Dr James Rosbrook-Thompson
Race and race-thinking; urban sociology; delinquency and disorder; the sociology of sport; cosmopolitanism and notions of belonging.

Dr Sam Lundrigan
Criminological geographic profiling systems; spatial behaviour of serial rapists; behaviour consistency of of serial offenders.

Dr Anna Markovska
Transitional countries; serious crime; corruption; drug abuse.

Colleen Moore
The treatment of victims in the Criminal Justice System; violence, sexual violence and exploitation; "Justice"; identities and judgement; conflict resolution.

Emma Brett
Public service; learning and education; equality and cultural diversity; barriers to learning.

Julian Constable
Learning and teaching in post-compulsory education sector; police training methods.

Vicky Gadd
Prisons and imprisonment; Prison Management; Prisoners and the experience of imprisonment; Prison staff and the role of the prison officer; Justice theory; Research methods

Natalie Mann
Imprisonment; ageing and crime; child sex offenders

Additional Research Expertise:

Bill Tupman
Research Fellow available to supervise PhD students on research topics related to policing, organized crime and terrorism.

Bronwen Walter
Emeritus Professor of Irish Diaspora Studies.

• MPhil: Candidates must hold a BA or equivalent in a related subject area.
• PhD: Candidates should normally hold an MA or equivalent in a related area subject area.
• For candidates whose first language is not English, a minimum IELTS score of 7 or equivalent is required with a minimum score of 6.5 achieved in each of the four language skills. We welcome applications from EU and international students.