ESRC North West Doctoral Training Centre (DTC)

Fully Funded PhD CASE +3 Studentship

Youth justice and penal custody: Developing and sustaining community-based 'alternatives' - theory, policy and practice

Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology
School of Law and Social Justice
The University of Liverpool

and

The Howard League for Penal Reform

Suitably qualified candidates are invited to apply for this fully-funded three-year PhD CASE studentship; a collaboration between the Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology at the University of Liverpool and the Howard League for Penal Reform.   

Eligible candidates will be expected to hold both a Bachelors degree (2: 1 or above) and a Masters degree (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline (for example criminology, law, social policy, sociology) and will be required to demonstrate successful completion of sufficient research methods training to commence a PhD. Students who are currently undertaking a Masters degree (or equivalent) and are expecting to graduate during the 2011-12 academic session are also eligible to apply.

The studentship/project

The studentship will extend over three years. The research design will primarily comprise qualitative methods and the project will have three principal objectives:

•	To advance theoretical understandings of differential justice by focusing upon localised patterns of penal expansion (incarceration) and/or penal reduction (decarceration) in the youth justice field. 

•	To examine the political contexts, cultural conditions, policies and practices that give rise to high/low usages of penal custody for children and young people. 

•	To identify policy and practice approaches that might serve to develop and sustain 'alternatives' to custody at a local level (even in conditions where a punitive climate might prevail at a national and/or international level).

Professor Barry Goldson will supervise the research student with supporting supervision provided by Professor Sandra Walklate (The University of Liverpool) and Ms Anita Dockley (The Howard League for Penal Reform).

Tuition fees and stipend

The total stipend available to the successful candidate will amount to £17,840 plus benefits per year for each of the three years as follows.

A stipend (currently valued at £13,590 per annum) and a Research Training Support Grant (currently valued at £750 per annum) will be funded by the ESRC/DTC. In addition, the successful candidate will also receive an annual contribution from the project partner (currently valued at £3,500 per annum) and will be entitled to attend relevant seminars, conferences and similar events at the Howard League for Penal Reform at no charge.

All of the University tuition fees will be funded by the ESRC/DTC. 

Application process

To apply please submit:

•	An up-to-date CV inclusive of two named referees (one of whom should be your most recent academic tutor/supervisor)

•	A letter of application (not exceeding 2 pages) outlining your suitability for the Studentship and how you would anticipate approaching the research.

Applications - with ‘PhD CASE Award’ in the subject line of the email - should be submitted electronically to Mrs Clare Horton: [log in to unmask] 

The deadline for receipt of applications is Friday 2nd March 2012 and interviews are likely to take place sometime during week commencing March 19th.

Shortlisted candidates will be provided with additional information prior to interview.

If you have not received any contact from the University by March 23rd 2012, you can assume that you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.

General information

General information about the Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology at the University of Liverpool can be found at: http://www.liv.ac.uk/ssp/

General information regarding academic and residential eligibility can be found at: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/looking-for-funding/eligibility.aspx