Sociology PhD

You'll be a social scientist committed to multidisciplinary research that builds knowledge and capacities in the communities around us, and that has a positive impact on wellbeing. You'll work in academia and/or social research, the public or third sector, and have an interest in areas such as youth and community work, conflict resolution, health, education, environment and sustainable development. Staff in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work publish world-class research which has local and global impact.

Our funders and partners include research councils, government departments, the EU, the Council of Europe and large foundations. Our research informs the development of policies in many areas, including education, criminal justice, teaching and learning, the well-being of children, social cohesion and justice, mental health and trauma informed practice. Students are encouraged to join one or more of seven research centres in the School.

The Center for Children’s Rights (CRC) is internationally renowned for its research on children’s rights aimed at improving their lives. The CRC focuses on substantive children’s rights issues, children’s participation in decision making and children’s rights-based research methods. The CRC has a reputation for its consultations with children and is known for its work with various UN organisations such as UNICEF.

The Center for Shared Education (CSE) is committed to promoting sharing in education as a mechanism for delivering economic, social and educational benefits to children, schools and society, particularly in post conflict societies. The CSE has three core aims: to increase understanding of school-based sharing; to develop and share the model of shared education; to foster expertise and support practitioners. The Centre of Language Education Research (CLER) conducts research in language and education to make difference across local, national and international contexts.

The expertise of spans language assessment, literacy studies and multimodality, academic discourse, language materials development, and heritage and minoritized language communities, among other topics. The Centre for Applied Behaviour Analysis (CABA) focuses on the discovery of natural laws of behaviour, the study of how behaviour is shaped by environmental contingencies and how changes affect behaviour. ABA is based on a philosophy of inclusion, evidence-based effective education, and person-centred research and practice, and covers three distinct fields: radical behaviourism; experimental analysis of behaviour and applied behaviour analysis.

The Centre for Technological Innovations in Mental Health and Education (TIME) develops technology based, inter-disciplinary research in the areas of mental health and professional education and training. Key strategic drivers relate to the new Northern Ireland. Mental Health Strategy.

The Centre has a particular focus on developing partnerships with industry, service providers and policy makers. The Centre for Inclusion, Transformation and Equality (CITE) focuses on inclusion, transformation and equality, addressing core themes of disability; gender & LGBTQ+; equality in education; and ethnicity, race and decoloniality. The four key drivers of CITE are Inter-disciplinarity and intersectionality; building a collaborative and inclusive research culture; impactful research; and participation and co-production.

The Centre for Child, Youth and Family Welfare (CCYFW) provides insights into the lives of children, young people, and families and to achieve better welfare outcomes and improve wellbeing. The centre undertakes high quality research impacting children, young people, and families across regional, national, and international contexts. Staff work collaboratively with policy makers, agencies, practitioners, children and young people, families to review existing evidence, knowledge, and interventions, identify gaps, and develop new theoretical insights…