Graduate Teaching Assistant – School of Social Sciences Doctoral Centre

PhD Scholarship with Graduate Teaching Assistantship 

School of Social Sciences Doctoral Centre 

The School seeks to award a number of PhD scholarships with associated Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) positions to outstanding doctoral candidates with clear potential to excel as academic teachers and researchers. The GTA PhD scholarship is a four-year fixed term position: Students undertake a PhD on a 0.75 FTE basis alongside a 0.25 FTE teaching contract. Remuneration consists of a PhD stipend of £14,427 per annum (0.75 of the standard UKRI rate), plus a salary of £7,401. In addition, PhD tuition fees will be covered. 

About Our Team 

This post sits within the School’s Doctoral Centre, a dedicated academic unit for the oversight and support of postgraduate research students, as well as the delivery of a range of research methods teaching across the School. Members of the Doctoral Centre have research interests that cover the full range of disciplines within the School, with a particular focus on research methodology. 

Detailed Description 

Under the leadership of the Director of Doctoral Programmes, the role-holder will provide teaching support for core research methods teaching on Edinburgh Business School programmes, including medium and small group teaching, tutorials and assessment activities. Alongside their teaching, candidates will pursue a PhD in Management that aligns with the following topic area: 

We invite applications from candidates who can address one of the following topic areas in their PhD: 

MPs and their corporate networks: An examination of MPs outside interests and Parliamentary activity. This projects seeks to understand the interplay and impact of UK MPs’ embeddedness in corporate and business networks and their activity in Parliament. It seeks to examine how a politician’s embeddedness in corporate networks (such as a network arising from their membership on a corporate board of directors) co-evolves with their behaviour (voting patterns, speeches, attendance) and appointments. The study will draw on a range of quantitative techniques and research methods, including Natural Language Programming (NLP) and Social Network Analysis (SNA). SNA will be used to map the network of MPs and links to firms. SNA techniques will then be used to capture how embedded MPs are in the corporate world (something that is not fully captured in the current register of interests). NLP techniques will be used to fully examine and understand how these network ties may influence an MP’s activity in Parliament (such as speeches and questions). 

The supervisory team for this project area will consist of Dr Matthew Smith and Dr Yasaman Sarabi. Candidates interested in this project area are encouraged to contact Dr Smith ([email protected]) for an informal discussion about their research proposal prior to submitting their application. 

Key Duties and Responsibilities 

Reporting to the Director of Doctoral Programmes, the post-holder will: 

• Undertake a PhD on the topic specified above, maintaining an appropriate rate of progress and engaging in relevant training and other events as required. 
• Develop and deliver core research methods teaching on Edinburgh Business School programmes, including delivery to a range of group sizes in both in-person and online environments. 
• Provide flexible, appropriate, and timely support to students using a variety of media. 
• Prepare and mark assessments and provide student feedback as required, and in line with School policies and standards. 
• Contribute to the administrative work of the Doctoral Centre as required. 
• Undertake other duties as required by the Director of Doctoral Programmes. 

Relevant training will be provided alongside the role. In particular, during the first two years of the contract, the post-holder will be expected to undertake training in teaching and learning as required by the University, as well as the School’s PGCert in Research Methods (unless equivalent qualifications are already held). 

Education, Qualifications and Experience 

The person requirements to successfully perform the role. 

Essential criteria: 

• An undergraduate degree in a relevant area with a minimum 2:1 classification (or equivalent). 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Candidates for whom English is a second language should meet the University’s minimum English-language requirements for entry onto the PhD programme. If you have not already studied a degree programme that was taught and examined in the medium of English, the minimum overall IELTS score is 6.5 with no score lower than 6.0 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. 
• A viable research proposal for PhD study on the topic listed above. 
• Good general IT skills. 
• Ability to manage own time in order to balance the requirements of teaching and PhD study. 
• Ability to work as part of a teaching team to deliver a high quality student experience. 

Desirable criteria: 

A postgraduate Master’s degree in a relevant field, or equivalent research experience. 

Relevant teaching and/or professional experience. 

About Heriot Watt University 

Heriot-Watt University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and leading-edge, relevant research, which has made it one of the top UK universities for innovation, business and industry. 

Heriot-Watt University has five campuses: three in the UK (Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Orkney), one in Dubai and one in Malaysia. The University offers a highly distinctive range of degree programmes in the specialist areas of science, engineering, design, business, psychology and languages. Heriot-Watt is also Scotland’s most international university, boasting the largest international student cohort. 

About Our School 

Social Sciences is the largest of five academic schools at Heriot-Watt University and we provide teaching and research across our core disciplines: 

The Edinburgh Business School: 

• Accountancy, Economics, and Finance 
• Management 
• Marketing and Operations 

Languages and Intercultural Studies 

Psychology 

We specialise in industry-focused degree programmes which embrace a truly international outlook. Our degrees are taught by experienced professionals and highly regarded academics, and we are proud to produce high-calibre, career-ready graduates and offer a full range of degree choices at undergraduate and postgraduate level. 

Further details can be found at: https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/schools/social-sciences.htm 

How to Apply 

Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on Wednesday the 10th of July 2024.

When applying for this role, please submit a single pdf that includes a cover letter that identifies how your skills and experience are a good match for this position, a copy of your PhD research proposal (max. 1500 words), a copy of your CV, and the names and contact details for two referees. 

Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all. 

Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality-diversity.htm and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/ . 

Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University. 

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