Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness

Introduction
This award scheme was established to provide financial incentives to encourage Departments offering funding for research degrees from their own internal resources to consider creating studentships on medical sociology topics.

The SHI Foundation Collaborative Studentships will operate in a similar way to the ESRC Case Studentships: the Foundation award will provide £3,000 per annum to the Department and £8,000 to the student but the award is conditional on the Department itself providing funding for student fees and maintenance allowance. The Department is free to use the £3,000 awarded as it chooses – as a contribution to fees, to the student stipend, to fieldwork expenses or to some combination of these – but is expected to provide sufficient funds overall to ensure the student’s fees are paid and the stipend is at the level of the ESRC awards.

The Trustees aim to fund up to three new 1 + 3 year or 3 year PhD studentships per annum. Although the intention in creating these studentships is to encourage Departments to create full-time studentships, application for part-time studentships will also be considered. Awards will be made on a pro-rata basis.

Eligibility
Applications will be considered from supervisors in Departments in UK Universities which can provide appropriate support for students conducting research on a topic in medical sociology or sociology of heath and illness, including social science, health care and medical Departments. Only PhD research topics in medical sociology or sociology of health and illness will be considered.

Supervisors applying for a 1 + 3 studentship will be required to demonstrate that they provide appropriate two-semester post-graduate research methods courses but these need not be ESRC-recognised. Where a Department proposes to award a studentship to a student who already has an MSc in research methods, the studentship will be for 3 years only (pro-rata for part-time students).

SHI Foundation Collaborative PhD Studentships can only be held by students registered for a PhD in a UK University but awards will not be restricted to UK or EU citizens. Students who hold an ESRC, MRC or Wellcome Trust studentship will not be eligible for a Foundation studentship.

Trustees and other members of the Award Panel will not be eligible for awards but other members of their Department will not be excluded from applying.

Application procedure
An application should be made by the proposed supervisors using the Application Form below. Successful applicants should then select a suitable student following their institutions normal equal opportunities procedures.

Applications should be submitted by 15 February 2010. Applications will be reviewed and a decision made by the end of February with the expectation that the student will take up the studentship at the beginning of the next academic year.

Where the supervisor is also applying for an ESRC Case Award, this should be indicated on the application form and the Trustees notified of the outcome of the application as soon as it is announced. If the ESRC Case Award is successful, the applicant will be expected to withdraw from the Foundation awards.

Applications will be considered by a Panel of three academics active in the field of medical sociology appointed by the Trustees of the Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness. At least one member of the Panel will be a current Trustee. The Trustees regret that they cannot give feedback on applications or the reasons for unsuccessful applications.

Application form
Download the application form here. Send the completed form electronically to FSHIadmin@googlemail.com and send one signed hard copy by 15 February 2010 to:

Professor Mary Boulton
Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness
School of Health & Social Care
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford OX3 0FL

Post-award processes
Successful applicants will be subject to the Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness Terms and Conditions of Grant for Higher Education Funding which can be found here.

Terms & Conditions
At the time of making the award, the Trustees will make every effort to ensure that the Foundation is in a financial position to make all future instalments of the award and the Trustees manage its reserves with this purpose in mind. However, the Trustees give notice that the continuance of the awards over future years will nevertheless be subject to the continuing financial health of the Foundation.

The Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness should be named in all advertising by the Department and Institution relating to the Studentships.

Students supported by an SHI Foundation Collaborative PhD Studentship should acknowledge this in their thesis and in any conference presentations or publications arising from it. The phrase to use is: This work is/was supported by a Collaborative PhD Studentship from the Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness.

Students should also present at least one paper on their research at the annual BSA Medical Sociology Conference.

In the interests of transparency and to encourage further applications, successful applications will be listed on the Foundation website.

Previous Awards
A list of previous awards is available here.

Further information
Please address any queries about the SHI Foundation Collaborative PhD Studentships to FSHIadmin@googlemail.com