PhD Gender Studies

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Research opportunities

The Gender Studies PhD is an interdisciplinary research area within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, supported by staff from a range of subject areas, including journalism, media and communication, English, French, Italian, history, education, social policy, criminology and politics.

PhD students in Gender Studies are expected to undertake research that results in a thesis which contributes to the wider literature in the field, thereby making an original contribution to current knowledge. Students are also expected to contribute to the Strathclyde Feminist Research Network, which offers a research seminar series, work-in-progress workshops, reading group and opportunities to share research findings through our blog.

A PhD in Gender Studies at Strathclyde may incorporate more than one of the following areas:

using theoretical perspectives from feminist, queer, disability and/or critical race perspectives to advance knowledge in associated areas
studying intersecting in/equalities in history, culture and/or society
assessing and evaluating approaches developed in and across different disciplinary traditions

Our expertise

At Strathclyde, we can offer supervisory expertise in a variety of areas within Gender Studies, including:

feminist media, literary and cultural studies
contemporary social movements
feminist histories
gender-based violence
educational inequality
sociology of religion
eco-feminism
reproductive rights

View our current research opportunities

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Fees & funding

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Fees & funding

All fees quoted are per academic year unless otherwise stated.

Entrants may be subject to a small fee during the writing up period.

2022/23

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Scotland	£4,596
England, Wales & Northern Ireland	£4,596
International	£15,150
Additional costs	International students may have associated visa and immigration costs. Please see student visa guidance for more information.
Funding	Take a look at our funding your postgraduate research web page for funding information. You can also view our scholarships search for further funding opportunities.
Postgraduate research opportunities	Search for all funded and non-funded postgraduate research opportunities.

Please note: the fees shown are annual and may be subject to an increase each year.

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Our research

The Gender Studies PhD is an interdisciplinary research area within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, supported by staff from a range of subject areas, including:

Journalism, Media & Communication
English
French
Italian
History
Education
Social Policy
Criminology and Politics

Postgraduate research at the Strathclyde Doctoral School

The Strathclyde Doctoral School provides a vibrant and comprehensive student-centred research and training environment in order to grow and support current and future research talent.

The School encompasses our four faculties and is committed to enriching the student experience, intensifying research outputs and opportunities, and ensuring training is at the highest level. As a postgraduate researcher, you'll automatically become a member of the Strathclyde Doctoral School.

Find out more about the Doctoral School

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Supervisors

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Supervisors

All PhD students have two supervisors, and the supervisory team may be comprised of colleagues from different subject areas or schools within the faculty. Interdisciplinary applications are strongly encouraged.

Gender studies is a growing area at Strathclyde within and across traditional disciplinary areas. The staff listed below are interested in supervising postgraduate research in gender studies within the specialist areas listed.

Supervisor	Areas of Expertise
Karen Boyle, Professor of Feminist Media Studies	feminist film, television & media studies gendered violence & representation audience research & genre studies UK women's liberation movement
Petya Eckler, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Media & Communication	body image eating disorders social media
Catherine Eschle, Senior Lecturer in Politics & International Relations	feminist political theory & feminist IR feminist peace studies debates in & about contemporary feminist organising, including transnationally & in global institutions the gender politics & role of feminism in other social movements
Michael Higgins, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Media & Communication	gender & political communication gendered representations in political news
Sophie Jones, Lecturer in Contemporary Literature & Gender Studies	gender & post-1945 literature & film, especially American the politics of reproduction critical medical humanities critical disability studies theories & representations of the body writing and/in feminist activism
Laura Kelly, Senior Lecturer in the History of Health & Medicine	social history of gender & medicine history of sexuality & reproductive health history of activism women in the professions
Churnjeet Mahn, Reader in English	travel, especially in the context of decolonialisation creative non-fiction (especially travel, memoir & essays) postcolonial/decolonial approaches to sexuality transnational approaches to literature which critique gender & sexuality grassroots heritage movements, especially in the wake of religious & national conflict inclusion & diversity in the English Literature curriculum
Melanie McCarry, Lecturer, Social Policy	men's violence against women & girls domestic abuse (including in relation to young people's relationships & same-sex relationships) forced marriage sexual violence & campus-based sexual misconduct & abuse
Donna McCormack, Chancellor's Fellow	post- and anti-colonial theories critical race theory queer and queercrip theories contemporary literature, including contemporary science and speculative fiction critical disability studies and critical medical humanities organ transplantation, and more broadly biotechnologies and biopolitics monster studies and theory, specifically evolutionary theory arts-based methods and creative methodologies
Katharine Mitchell, Senior Lecturer, Italian	Italian literature & culture, particularly domestic fiction literature & the figure of the diva women spectators of opera, theatre & silent film women writers celebrity cultures
Esperanza Miyake, Chancellor's Fellow in Journalism, Media & Communication	technology & gender race & gender gender & media/popular/consumer culture critical feminist theory digital identities & gender
Emma Newlands, Strathclyde Chancellor's Fellow	health, medicine & masculinities in the 20th Century history of the modern body
Jesse Olszynko-Gryn, Strathclyde Chancellor's Fellow	gender & science, technology, medicine, reproduction & science fiction
Laura Piacentini, Professor of Criminology	cultures of punishment in the former USSR gender, carcerality & geography
Elsa Richardson, Strathclyde Chancellor's Fellow	feminism & vegetarianism early 20th Century life reform movements psychoanalysis occultism; the history of emotions
Yvette Taylor, Professor of Education	class educational inequality gender religion sexuality
Caroline Verdier, Lecturer in French	French & Francophone women's writing & feminism representations of the body writing illness & the body gender & trauma gender & cultural identity

Support & development

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Support & development

The Graduate School

As a postgraduate research in Gender Studies, you'll also be a member of our Faculty Graduate School. We're members of the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities and the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science. All registered PhD students are members of one or both of these Schools (depending on your subject discipline), which provide training, event and funding opportunities. They also encompass the AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership (SGSAH) and the ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership (SGSSS), which offer fully-funded studentships. The university-wide lead for AHRC PGR/SGSAH and ESRC PGR/SGSSS is Dr Mark Ellis.

The Graduate School is also a well-equipped physical space, which further facilitates our strong emphasis on interdisciplinary working.

Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development (PgCert RPD)

While pursuing your PhD or MPhil in Gender Studies, you'll also undertake the University’s Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development (PG Cert RPD), which provides comprehensive professional and personal development training for all postgraduate research students.

The programme offers a tailored suite of workshops, courses, events, online provision and resources designed to meet the development needs of postgraduate research students. PhD students will graduate with the University’s Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development. This is a unique qualification, where students can gain credits for academic-related activities, such as conference presentations and organisation. The aim is to develop skilled, confident researchers and effective and valuable potential employees.

Careers

The University Careers Service can help you with everything from writing your CV to interview preparation. Take a look at our Careers Service pages to get more information.

Student support

From financial advice to our IT facilities, we have a wide range of support for all students here at at Strathclyde. Get all the information you need at Strathlife.

International students

We've a thriving international community with students coming here to study from over 100 countries across the world. Find out all you need to know about studying in Glasgow at Strathclyde and hear from students about their experiences.

Visit our international students' section

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Interested in undertaking a postgraduate research degree at Strathclyde?

Download our step-by-step guide on how to submit your application.

How to apply

Apply

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Apply

Entry requirements

For PhD, normally, a first-class or upper second-class Honours degree, or overseas equivalent, plus a Masters degree in a relevant area.

How to apply

If you're interested in studying for a PhD in Gender Studies, the first thing you need to do is to find out if there’s a supervisor available to oversee your studies. You can find that information in the supervisors tab.

The other key element is your research proposal. Read our guidelines on writing proposals.

Applications are via our Pegasus online portal.

When applying, you'll be asked to upload:

your research proposal
scans of degree certificates/transcripts
two academic reference letters (if it would be easier for you, you can ask your referees to send their letters direct to hass-postgrad@strath.ac.uk placing your name and the word "reference" in the subject line)
confirmation of funding

Start date: Oct 2021 - Sep 2022

Apply now

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Contact us

Research enquiries

Enquires for the PhD Gender Studies can be directed to potential supervisors.

General enquiries

Email: hass-hum-genderstudiespd@strath.ac.uk