Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) PhD scholarship in the School of Health and Social Care: Understanding economic abuse and social relationships among women with disability in the UK, at Sheffield Hallam University, commencing 1 October 2025.

The scholarship is for 3.5 years full-time study and covers home PhD fees, currently £4,786, pays an annual stipend at the standard Sheffield Hallam PhD stipend rate (this is aligned with the net Real Living Wage and the current rate for academic year 2024/25 is £20,974 per annum). This stipend payment will increase annually based on the living wage rate for the duration of the scholarship.

GTA scholarships are designed to develop the next generation of academics, providing structured opportunities for training, development and practical experience in learning, teaching and assessment or other areas of academic practice. As part of this academic development, GTA scholarship holders will receive training and undertake up to 180 hours’ teaching-related activity, or other academic practice, per academic year. This activity forms part of the scholarship holder’s training. There is no additional payment for it. See the Overview of the Graduate Teaching Assistant scheme for applicants for more information.

Project Title: Understanding economic abuse and social relationships among women with disability in the UK

This project provides an opportunity for the successful candidate to understand the experiences of British women with disability facing economic abuse and the impact on their ability to form and maintain meaningful social connections, through an intersectionality lens.

The research aims to:

•    examine ’s lived experiences of economic abuse, focusing on physical health, wellbeing and social connections of women with disability.

·        explore barriers faced by women with disability in navigating support and being financially independent.

·        understand issues of intersectionality such as race, migration and class impacting women’s everyday lived experiences

·        disseminate the findings and influence policy and practice grounded in women’s lived experiences through creative methods.

The key stages of research will include:

1.  An interdisciplinary literature review bringing together health, sociological, and psychological theoretical perspectives on disability, social relationships and abuse to provide a theoretical framework for the empirical study and subsequent data analysis.

2.  Recruitment of women with disabilities who have experienced economic abuse.

3.  Participants will be required to engage in four specific qualitative and illustrative methodologies:

A) Story circles: drawing on story telling techniques, participants will be encouraged to take turn and share their experiences one by one first and then come together to discuss their individual and collective experiences. If participants wish they can express themselves using just body languages and postures.

B. Body mapping: participants will be invited to draw their bodies on a big piece of paper and will be asked to identify areas where abuse has impacted them, physically and emotionally. This embodied approach will enable participants to show how they carry their experiences in their bodies, leading to rich qualitative insights.

C. Sociograms: participants will be invited to plot their social contacts on concentric socio-grams to demonstrate the quantity and quality of social connections

D. In-depth interviews: an area of investigation will be prepared which will have common questions but also a specific section based on each participant based on the above four activities. These interviews will be designed to explore the everyday lived experience of economic abuse, the implications for health, well-being and meaningful relationships

The successful applicant will be aligned with The Centre for Loneliness Studies, The Campaign to End Loneliness.

We strongly advise all applicants to contact the Director of Studies: p.chowbey@shu.ac.uk prior to application.

Applicants should hold: a BSc (2:1 or above, or equivalent) degree qualification in Health and Social Care, or other relevant areas. An MSc degree qualification in a relevant area is desirable. Professional qualifications and background in Health and Social Care is desirable, but not essential. Applicants without a professional qualification should have a strong academic background in Health and Social Care related discipline.

We welcome applications from all members of the community and are particularly encouraging those from diverse groups, such as members of the LGBTQIA+, ethnic minoritised and disabled communities.

GTA scholarships involve full-time PhD study and a requirement to teach or complete project related work at the University. This means that successful applicants must have completed all study and any employment by the start date of the scholarship, which is 1 October 2025.

International / EU applicants – Please read the following information carefully and see the funding notes section of this advert for important fee information. 

Sheffield Hallam University has a mandatory English language requirement of IELTS 7, or equivalent language qualification, for all applicants from countries not included in the UKVI exemption list: https://www.gov.uk/english-language/exemptions. This qualification must have been taken within the last two years, with a score of at least 6.5 in all test areas. The qualification may be required even if you have previous qualifications from UK institutions. Please check with Health-PGR-admissions@shu.ac.uk prior to application, as we cannot consider applications if this essential qualification is not submitted.

To apply for the scholarship

Please complete the formal application form, which can be accessed via the following link:  https://www.shu.ac.uk/courses/health-and-social-care-management/phd-health-and-social-care/full-time/2025 and choose the October 2025 start date option. Please add the project title of the scholarship you are applying for clearly in the Personal Statement field of application form.

Applicants should also ensure that they upload a detailed 1,500-word research proposal addressing the project title and all essential certificates and reference information with their application form. We cannot consider applications where a research proposal and any other essential attachments have not been uploaded to the application system before submission. If you experience issues submitting your online application, or for general enquiries, please contact: Health-PGR-admissions@shu.ac.uk.

This application form must be submitted by the deadline of 14 May 2025 (12 noon). Late applications will not be accepted.

Interviews

Applicants that are successful following our shortlisting process, will be invited to interview in the weeks commencing 9 & 16 June 2025. Please note, we are unable to offer alternative interview slots once allocated to shortlisted candidates.

For an informal discussion about this opportunity, please contact the Director of Studies: Dr Punita Chowbey p.chowbey@shu.ac.uk or Professor Andrea Wigfield andrea.wigfield@shu.ac.uk