UK : PhD Studentship A study of the lives of Paralympic athletes

University of East London - School of Health & Bioscience

Available for February 2010

Applications are invited for a PhD research studentship funded by the School of Health and Bioscience, University of East London. Our vision is to deliver excellent research and research training that makes a difference to health and wellbeing in the local, national and international context and successful applicants will become members of an active and dynamic academic community. Successful applicants will work on a research project of strategic importance and associated with established research groups within the School.

Project Title: A study of the lives of Paralympic athletes.

Director of Studies: Professor Keith Gilbert (k.gilbert@uel.ac.uk)

The project will investigate how Paralympic athletes lead their lives in the constant shadow of their disability and the pathways and the processes of athlete’s involvement from initial involvement in grass roots disability sport through to elite disability sport. The lives of Paralympians will be explored along with the demands on their families, partners, hurdles, medical problems, training regimes, support mechanisms, marginalising effects, traumas, mentors, personal triumphs, and difficulties that confronted the athletes along the life’s pathway to the top of their chosen sport. This project will map and highlight significant milestones of the lives of a cross section of Paralympic athletes.

The Award

The studentship is for a period of three years, subject to satisfactory progress and provides an annual stipend of £13,000, payment of tuition fees at the UK/EU rate and research costs. Applicants from outside the UK/EU are eligible to apply for the studentship on the understanding that the difference in the cost of tuition fee is payable by the candidate. Current full time UK/EU and International fees are £3,390 and £9,380 respectively.

Requirements

Applicants must have a good honours degree (minimum 2.1 or equivalent) or hold an MSc in an appropriate discipline relevant to the research project outlined above. Applicants should have good communication skills and a high level of written and spoken English (where English is not the applicant’s first language, a minimum IELTS Academic English score of 7.0 overall with a minimum of 6.5 in all components is required)

The holder of the studentship will be expected to:

• Complete their doctoral studies and submit their dissertation in a timely fashion
• Prepare papers for submission to peer-reviewed journals
• Participate in and contribute to research activities of the School
• Undertake up to 6 hours of academic support activity per week.

Application Procedure

Informal enquiries about the studentships should be addressed to the Director of Studies, Professor Keith Gilbert (k.gilbert@uel.ac.uk). To apply, applicants should contact Ms. Krys Gunton (k.m.gunton@uel.ac.uk or 020 8223 4015) or Dr. Mary Cramp (m.c.cramp@uel.ac.uk) to obtain an application form.

The closing date for completed applications is 4th January 2010. Interviews will be held in the week of 18th January.