PhD Social Statistics: The University of Manchester

Course description

PhD students are highly valued members of Social Statistics and they strive to provide a supportive and stimulating environment for study. They welcome applications to study both methodological and substantive contemporary social, economic and political questions using up-to-date and imaginative quantitative approaches. It is possible for potential students to receive joint supervision from specialists in other disciplines in the School of Social Sciences or from elsewhere in the University. Research may be UK focused or have an international comparative dimension.

The PhD programme is based in either the Social Statistics discipline area or in the Centre for Census and Survey Research (CCSR): an inter-disciplinary research centre with a thriving research preogramme in Social Research Methods and Statistics. Research themes include; census and survey methodology, statistical methods in the analysis of social data, social network analysis, population studies, ethnic and gender differences and employment and the labour market. Some recent PhD title include; 'The Role of Privacy and Confidentiality in the Collection and Dissemination of Census and Survey Data' and 'Race and Population - a Statistical Demographic Approach'.

PhD students are supervised by a member of staff who is an expert in their area of research or co-supervised with another supervisor if other areas of expertise are required.

Career opportunities

Typical first destinations at the end of the programme include lectureships, research posts, senior administrative positions in local government, NHS and educational institutions, homeworking and trade union and union linked positions. There is increasing need for well trained social scientists who are able to apply advanced methods of analysis to complex data. These skills are in short supply and graduates of the Social Research Methods and Statistics programme, in particular, leave in a good position to obtain jobs in the academic sector, in central government, including the Office for National Statistics, in local government and within the commercial research sector.

Entry requirements

Academic entry qualification overview:

Applicants for the PhD are expected to have a UK Masters degree (or overseas equivalent) in a relevant Social Science subject with a minimum overall average of 60%.

English language:

Applicants whose first language is not English must attain one of the following:

• IELTS - Overall 7, writing score  7
• TOEFL - Overall 623, TWE 5 (PBT)
• TOEFL - Overall 263, TWE 5 (CBT).  This test is no longer available but results less than 2 years old can be submitted.
• TOEFL  - Overall 100, with 25 in each of the 4 sections (IBT)

Applicants with scores below their requirements may be eligible to attend one of their pre-sessional English courses.  Duration will be confirmed when an official result has been received.

Exemption to the requirements is at the discretion of the School.  Applicants who have been taught and assessed in English on previous degrees may still be required to show proof of English proficiency via TOEFL/IELTS.

TOEFL Certificates - please designate the University of Manchester as a recipient of your result.  The code is 0757.  Results must come directly from ETS (TOEFL).