Guidance Forsupervisorsregardingtheesrc Studentship Process 2017

Guidance forSupervisorsregardingtheESRC Studentship Process 2017

1.INTRODUCTION

Thepurposeofthisguidancedocumentistoexplain,asclearlyaspossible,theprocessthroughwhichESRCstudentshipswillbeawardedin2017.Thisguidancedocumentpertainstothreestudentshipcompetitions:

1.TheOpenCompetition

2.TheAdvancedQuantitativeMethods(AQM)Competition

3.The ESRC Data-Set (ESRC-DS) Competition

PleasenotethattheCollaborativeCompetitionhasseparateguidance,containedinaseparatedocument.Supervisorsarewelcometoapplyforacollaborativestudentshipwithorwithoutanattachedstudent,underthisseparateprocess.Thedeadlineforreceivingcompletedapplicationsforcollaborativestudentshipsis26January2017.

PleasealsonotethattheprocessdetailedbelowisentirelyseparatefromtheadmissionsprocessatyourUniversity.TheSGSSS-DTPhasnoroleinthatprocess.ApplicantsdonotneedtohavebeenformallyadmittedinordertobeconsideredforanESRCstudentship.However,shouldanapplicantbesuccessfulinsecuringanESRCstudentship,thefundingissubjecttotheapplicantobtaininganunconditional offerforentrytothe university.

ThisguidancenoteshouldbereadalongsidetheSGSSS-DTPguidanceforstudentsapplyingforanESRC studentshipincluding guidance on whether applications meet the criteria for ESRC steers (Guidance on Steers and Targets).

2.THEPROCESS

This section details the process forPathways. The GuidanceforStudents detailsspecificallywhatmaterialsanddocumentsarerequiredtoapplyforastudentship.

1.SGSSS-DTPrecognisesthattheinternalprocessofselectingapplicantstoputforwardforESRCstudentshipswillvaryacrossUniversities.Allapplicantsarerequiredto

submitaletterofsupportfromtheirprospectivesupervisor;youmaybeoneofthefirstpeoplethestudentcontactsandweencourageyoutohavethemcontactthe pathwayrepresentativein yourinstitutionassoon aspossible.

2.OncetheinstitutionhasdecidedwhichapplicantstoputforwardforESRCawards,the PathwayRepresentativewillprovidestudentswithalinktotheSGSSS-DTPPortalanddirectthemtoregister.PleasenotethateachHEIcanputinnomorethan6candidates perpathway.ThefinaldatebywhichapplicantsmusthavecompletedtheirregistrationisMonday6February.

3.RegisteredapplicantswilluploadtheirapplicationdocumentstotheSGSSS-DTPStudentshipApplicationPortal.Thesedocumentsare:CurriculumVitae,ResearchProposal,Degreetranscripts,andSupervisor’sSupportingStatementwhichshouldbecompletedbyyourself.Weencouragesupervisorstobefullyawareoftheprojectsbeingproposedandvettheapplicationsforappropriateness,scope,accuracyandfeasibility.Thestudentproposalsoftenbenefitfromsupervisorinputinalltheseaspectsnevertheless,theproposalsmustbeoriginatedfrom thestudentandnotthesupervisor.Weshouldhighlightthatthesupervisorstatementisworth5pointsinanoverall25(seeAnnexB)soclearlycanbethedifferencebetweenasuccessfulawardornot.Pleaseensurethatyouaddressthecontentrequirementsin"GuidanceNoteforSupervisor'sStatementofSupport"toavoiddisadvantagingyourstudent.ThesupervisorstatementisnotareferenceforthestudentbutasksyoutoprovidedetailsonproposedsupervisionarrangementsandtrainingintheHEItomeettheneedsofthestudent andtheparticularproject.

4.Anapplicantmayalsoaskforareference.Thisisaseparatedocumentfromthesupervisor'sstatementofsupport,butmaybewrittenbythesameperson.Specificguidelinesonboth are availableonthe website.

5.Completeapplications andalsoreferences mustbesubmitted by17 February2017.

Thepathwayselectionprocesswillthenbegin.

6.Onorbefore25th April2017theSGSSS-DTPwillgivetheSupervisoryBoarddetailsofallproposedstudentshipstobeawardedthroughtheESRC-DS,AQMandOpenCompetitions.

7.TheSupervisoryBoardwillmeetandratifythesestudentshipsinlate April.TheSGSSS-DTPwillinformallsuccessfulapplicantsthattheyarebeingofferedESRCstudentshipsby12May2016.1

1Theentireprocessislaidout inAnnexCintableform.

3.ELIGIBILITYANDENHANCEDSTIPENDS

SGSSSremindssupervisorsthattheresidencycriteriamustbemetinorder for astudenttoreceivethefullstudentshipincludingstipend.

EnhancedstipendswillbepaidtostudentssuccessfulintheAQMCompetitionand up to 3EconomicsstudentssuccessfulintheOpenCompetitionwillreceivethisadditionalstipend.Duetotheadditionalfinancialcommitment,Economicsstudentsfundedthroughother competitions(i.e., Collaborative,SDS,ESRC - DS) willnotreceiveadditionalfunding.

Studentsapplyingfora+3studentshipmustmeettheminimumESRCtrainingrequirements.If a studentdoesnotmeetthese requirementsbutthe pathwaystillwishestoconsiderhim/hertheymaychoosetoappointona1+3basis.

Studentseligible for a1+3award,wishing tostudy ininstitutionswithoutanESRCaccreditedMastersprogram,maychoosetocompletetheirMastersinanotheraccreditedinstitution(withinSGSSS-DTP)beforecompletingtheirPhDprogram attheirchosenuniversity.

4.CROSS-INSTITUTIONALSUPERVISION

TheSGSSS-DTPwishestoencouragepathways,supervisorsandapplicantstoconsidersupervisoryarrangementsacrossthe16institutionsoftheSGSSS,ifappropriatetotheparticularstudentprojectandwiththesupportofbothproposedsupervisors.Thiswillusuallybewithinpathwaysbutacrossinstitutionsbutwedonotwishtoruleoutcross-pathway supervisionifthisisclearly intheinterestsofthestudentproject. WethereforeaskPathwayRepresentativesandSupervisorstoletstudentsknowthatwhiletheirmainsupervisormustbeatarecognisedSGSSS-DTPpathwayinstitutionasecondsupervisormaybeattachedtotheprojectfromasecondinstitutioneitherwithorwithoutpathwayrecognition.InsuchcasesweaskthePathwayRepresentativetoinformtheSGSSSAdminTeambefore17February2017sothattheDirectoratecanfollowupwiththeapplicant,proposedsupervisorsandHEIinstitutionalrepresentativesontheSupervisoryBoardtoensurethatacross-institutionalarrangementissupportedandabletobewell-managedbyallinvolved.Theseapplicantsmustgainasupervisorletterofstatementfrombothsupervisorswhoshouldrefertotheexplicitbenefitoftheproposedcross-institutionalarrangements.

Weareawarethatsomeresearchproposalswillbesituatedontheedgeof socialscienceand other disciplinesandarethus planningtoliaisewithother Doctoral Training Units.While wewelcomesuch applicationstheyshouldbeappropriatelytailoredforeachGraduateSchool withthelinkagesbetweendisciplinesmadeclear.Studentsshouldindicate iftheyareapplyingtoother Doctoral Training Unitswhenregisteringtheirapplication.

Annex A:

BestPracticefor AssessmentandSelectionandMarkingScheme

Applicants for ESRC studentships with the SGSSS-DTP are required to submit astandard setofapplicationmaterialsasfollows:

• Abstractofproposedresearchproject;
• CurriculumVitae;
• ResearchProposal(applicantsmustdownloadthetemplatefromtheSGSSS-DTP website, completetheirproposal andsave/uploaditasPDF);
• Degreetranscripts(andtranslation,ifnotoriginallyinEnglish)–provisionaltranscriptsaresufficientif theapplicanthasyetto completehis/herdegree;
• Supportingstatementfromtheprospectivesupervisor–pleasenotethatitispossiblefortheproposedsupervisortoalsobeoneofthereferees.Howeverthesupervisorstatementmustbeaseparatedocumentfromthereferenceletter.Ifacross-institutionalsupervisionarrangementisbeingproposedthenaletterfromEACHproposed supervisorisrequired.
• TworeferenceswhichwillberequestedbySGSSS-DTPdirectlyfromthereferees;
• Detailsofanyoverseasfieldworktheapplicantproposestoundertakeduringhis/herresearch;
• Detailsofanydifficultlanguagetrainingtheapplicantproposestoundertakeduringhis/herresearch;and
• Detailsofanycollaborationtheapplicantproposestoundertakeduringhis/herresearch.

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Annex B:

SGSSS-DTPOpenAwardMarkingFramework(2016-17)

Assessmentfor+3Awards(note:pathwaysmustbeconvincedthatthecandidatehasmetthetrainingrequirementsfortheir pathway)

CandidateRecord(OUTOF10) / Research Proposal(OUTOF 10) / SupervisionTraining(OUTOF5)
10 / TheequivalentofafirstclassdegreeAND/ORanalreadyachieveddistinctionatMasters levelORstrongandrelevantprofessionalexperience.
(Alloftheabovemustmeet theESRCtrainingrequirements.) / Twoexceptionalreferencesinwhichstudentisidentifiedasamongstverybestevertaught. / Anexcellentproposalscoringwellintermsofbothcogencyandoriginality.Allcomponents–overview,context,methodology,andimpact–willbewellthoughtout andclearlyexpressed. / As(9) butproposalisexceptionallygoodinallof itscomponents.
9 / As(8),butwithoneclearlyexceptionalreferenceinwhichstudentisidentifiedasamongstbestevertaught. / As(8) andproposalishighly original andinnovative,atthecuttingedgeofdevelopmentssubstantivelyandmethodologically.
8 / Twoverystrongreferencesinwhichstudentissingledoutasamongstthe bestofapeergrouporequivalent. / As(7) andproposalcontainsclearawarenessofthepotentialimpactoftheresearch.
7 / Twostrongreferences inwhichstudentpotentialiscommunicatedwithclearexamples. / Awell-definedproposalwithresearchablequestions,appropriatelyidentifiedsources,anawarenessofthetheoreticalandempiricalbackgroundtotheresearchandanappropriatemethodology.
6 / Theequivalentofa2:1degreeAND/ORanalreadyachieved60+averageatMasterslevelORrelevantprofessionalexperience.
(Alloftheabovemustmeet theESRCtrainingrequirements.) / Bothreferencesofferglimpsesofstrongpotentialbutwith littlesubstanceandfew examples. / Agoodandpromisingproposalbutwithidentifiableweaknesses.Some,butnotall,componentsof theproposalwillbeproblematic,ill-expressed,orshow alackofknowledge. / Agoodproposalwithonly minorbutstillidentifiableweaknesses.Theresearchquestionwillbeclear,themethodologyappropriateandclearlypresented,andmostoftheappropriateliteratureidentified.
5 / Twominimallysatisfactoryreferenceswhichmakeitclearstudentiscapableofconductingresearchbutlittlemore. / Apromisingproposalthatsuffers fromseveralweaknesses.Themethodologyisappropriatebutill-expressed. Theproposalisonlyweaklygroundedinrelevantliterature. / Supervisionarrangementsrepresentanear-perfectfitwiththeproposedresearch.Thesupervisoryteamincludesanexperiencedsupervisorwithinternationally-recognisedexpertiseinthefield.
Thesupervisioncombinationmeetsdirectlythestudent’strainingneeds.ThedestinationHEIoffershigh-qualityspecialisttraining.Theresearchfitswellwiththewiderdepartment/school/faculty.
4 / Amixtureofweakand / Aproposalwithone seriousweaknessor / Supervisionarrangementsrepresentaverygoodfit
satisfactoryreferenceswhichleavequestionsto student’ssuitabilityto conductresearch. / severalminorones,whichsuggestsgaps inknowledgeandaweakgraspof theproposedmethodologyanditssuitability. / withthe proposedresearch.The leadsupervisorisanexperiencedsupervisorwitha strongreputationforresearchinthisfield, andthe combinationofsupervisorsoffersthestudentgoodtraininginthefield.Thereis provisionofadvancedand specialisttraininganda broadlysupportiveresearchenvironmentatthedestinationHEI.
3 / Twoweakreferencesinwhichstudentpotentialisnotcommunicated. / Aproposalwith significantweaknessesinmultiplecomponents,littleappreciationofpossiblemethodologies,and/orawarenessofrelevantliterature. / Supervisionarrangementsrepresentagoodfitwiththeproposedresearch.Thelead supervisorwillbeanexpertinthefieldandthecombinationofsupervisorswilloffergoodsupportto thestudent.TheHEIoffersgoodgeneralsupportandadvancedtrainingforthestudent.
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1 / TheequivalentofEITHERa2:2degreeANDanalreadyachievedpassatMasterslevel(averagemarkof50)whichdoesnotnecessarilymeettheESRCtrainingrequirementsANDclear evidenceofadditional experienceortrainingthatwouldbringthecandidate upto therequiredlevelDTPwould beunlikelytoconsiderapplicantswithacademicscoresbelow theselevels. / Aproblematicproposalthatwouldneedconsiderableadditionalworkbeforebeingfundable.Allcomponentsoftheproposalwillrequirefurtherworkand/ordemonstratelittleorno backgroundorinterestintheirsubject. / Supervisionarrangementsareappropriateandthesupervisorhasexperienceinthe preciseareaoftheproposedresearch.ThesupervisoryteamoffersgoodgeneralsupportandtheHEI offerssomeadvancedtrainingforthestudent.
1 / Supervisionarrangementsand supportofferedbytheHEImeetthethresholdforESRCrecognisedtrainingonthispathway.Note:supervisionarrangementsbelowthisthresholddonotmeettheESRCtrainingrequirementsandstudentsshouldnotbeofferedDTPfundingonthisbasis.

SGSSS-DTPOpenAwardMarkingFramework(2016-17)Assessmentfor 1+3Awards

CandidateRecord(OUTOF10) / Research Proposal(OUTOF 10) / SupervisionTraining(OUTOF5)
10 / TheachievementorexpectationofafirstclassdegreeorequivalentAND/ORamaster’sdegreewhichdoesnotmeettheESRCtrainingrequirements / Twoexceptionalreferencesinwhichstudentisidentifiedasamongstverybestevertaught. / Anexcellentproposalscoringwellintermsofbothcogencyandoriginality.Allcomponents–overview,context,methodology,andimpact–willbewellthoughtout andclearlyexpressed. / As(9) butproposalisexceptionallygoodinallof itscomponents.
9 / As(8),butwithoneclearlyexceptionalreferenceinwhichstudentisidentifiedasamongstbestevertaught. / As(8) andproposalishighly original andinnovative,atthecuttingedgeofdevelopmentssubstantivelyandmethodologically.
8 / Twoverystrongreferencesinwhichstudentissingledoutasamongstthe bestofapeergrouporequivalent. / As(7) andproposalcontainsclearawarenessofthepotentialimpactoftheresearch.
7 / Twostrongreferences inwhichstudentpotentialiscommunicatedwithclearexamples. / Takinginto accountthe stageof careeroftheapplicant,awell-definedproposalwithresearchablequestions,appropriatelyidentifiedsources,awarenessof thetheoreticalandempiricalbackgroundtotheresearchandanappropriatemethodology.ThepotentialfortheMastersyeartoimprovetheresearchproposalshouldbetakenintoaccount.
6 / Theequivalentofa2:1degreeAND/ORanalreadyachievedMasterswhichdoesnotmeettheESRCtrainingrequirements / Bothreferencesofferglimpsesofstrongpotentialbutwith littlesubstanceandfew examples. / Agoodandpromisingproposalbutwithidentifiableweaknesses.Some,butnotall,componentsof theproposalwillbeproblematic,ill-expressed,orshow alackofknowledge. / Takinginto accountthecareerstageof theapplicant,agoodproposalwithonly minorbutstillidentifiableweaknesses.Theresearchquestionwill beclear,themethodologyappropriateandclearlypresented,andmostoftheappropriateliteratureidentified.
5 / Twominimallysatisfactoryreferenceswhichmakeitclearstudentiscapableofconductingresearchbutlittlemore. / Takinginto accountthecareerstageof theapplicant,a promisingproposalthatsuffersfromseveralweaknesses.Themethodologyisappropriatebutill- expressed.The proposalisonlyweaklygroundedinrelevantliterature,orshowslittleornoawarenessofthe empiricalandtheoreticalbackgroundtotheproject. / Supervisionarrangementsrepresentanear-perfectfitwiththeproposed research.Thesupervisoryteamincludesanexperiencedsupervisorwithinternationally-recognisedexpertiseinthefield.
Thesupervisioncombinationmeetsdirectlythestudent’strainingneeds.ThedestinationHEIoffershigh-qualityspecialisttraining.Theresearchfitswellwiththewiderdepartment/school/faculty.
4 / Amixtureofweakandsatisfactoryreferenceswhichleavequestionstostudent’ssuitabilitytoconductresearch. / Takinginto accountthecareerstageof theapplicant,a proposalwithoneseriousweaknessorseveralminorones,whichsuggestsgapsinknowledge(includingknowledgeofrelevantprevious work)andaweakgraspofthe proposedmethodologyanditssuitability. / Supervisionarrangementsrepresentaverygoodfitwiththe proposedresearch.The leadsupervisorisanexperiencedsupervisorwitha strongreputationforresearchinthisfield, andthe combinationofsupervisorsoffersthestudentgoodtraininginthefield.Thereisprovisionof advancedand specialisttraininganda broadlysupportiveresearchenvironmentatthedestinationHEI.
3 / Twoweakreferencesinwhichstudentpotentialisnotcommunicated. / Aproposalwith significantweaknessesinmultiplecomponents,littleappreciationofpossiblemethodologies,and/orawarenessofrelevantliterature. / Supervisionarrangementsrepresentagoodfitwiththeproposedresearch.The leadsupervisorwillbeanexpertinthefieldandthecombinationofsupervisorswilloffergoodsupportto thestudent.TheHEIoffersgoodgeneralsupportandadvancedtrainingforthestudent.
2 / TheequivalentofEITHERa2:2degreeANDanalready / Aproblematicproposalthatwouldneedconsiderableadditional / Supervisionarrangementsareappropriateandthe
achievedpassatMasterslevel(averagemarkof50)which / workbeforebeingfundable.Allcomponentsoftheproposalwill / supervisorhasexperienceinthe preciseareaofthe
doesnotnecessarilymeettheESRCtrainingrequirements / requirefurtherworkand/ordemonstratelittleorno backgroundor / proposedresearch.Thesupervisoryteamoffers
1 / ANDclearevidenceofadditionalexperienceortraining / interestintheirsubject. / goodgeneralsupportandtheHEI offerssome
thatwouldbringthecandidate upto therequiredlevel / advancedtrainingforthestudent.
DTPwould beunlikelytoconsiderapplicantswith
academicscoresbelow theselevels.
1 / Supervisionarrangementsand supportofferedbytheHEImeetthethresholdforESRCrecognisedtrainingonthispathway.Note:supervisionarrangementsbelow thisthresholddo notmeettheESRCtrainingrequirementsandstudentsshould notbeofferedDTP fundingonthisbasis.

Timeline for the 2017 Studentship Competitions

DATE / OPEN COMPETITION
/ AQM AND ESRC-DS COMPETITIONS
/ COLLABORATIVE & SDS COMPETITIONS
Dec 2016
/ Announce competitions / Announce competitions
Mon 6 Feb
/ Completed applications from academics submitted to SGSSS-DTP by email.
Mon 13 Feb
/ All students to be considered by Pathways must have registered for the Online Portal by this date. Pathway representatives must have sent nominations to SGSSS byThursday 9th Feb and have informed successful nominees by 10th Feb.
/ All students to be considered by Pathways must have registered for the Online Portal by this date. Pathway representatives must have sent nominations to SGSSS by Thursday 9th Feb and have informed successful nominees by 10th Feb.
Friday 17 Feb
/ All students being considered must have uploaded their documents to the online portal by this date.
/ All students being considered must have uploaded their documents to the online portal by this date. Students wishing to be considered for AQM or ESRC-DC should complete the requisite form for submission along with their application.
Mon 20 Feb
/ SGSSS Admin ‘clean up portal’; IT give access to pathways by 24 Feb
/ SGSSS Admin ‘clean up portal’; IT give access to pathways by 24 Feb
/ SGSSS-DTP announces results of competition.
Fri 24 Feb – Thurs 9 Mar
/ Pathways meet to assess and rank applications for Pathway Awards (those with steer allocation only) and nomination to Open Competition, keeping a record of procedures followed.
/ Pathways meet to assess and rank applications for nomination to Open Competition, keeping a record of procedures followed.
/ SGSSS-DTP will place advertisement for Collaborative Competition awards. SDS to liaise
with academics on recruitment
Thu 9 Mar
/ Pathway decisions on ranking to be uploaded to SGSSS-DTP Portal by Pathway Convenor by this date together with the record of procedures followed.

SGSSS-DTP Portal will communicate to students that did not meet the quality threshold that they have been unsuccessful.
/ Successful AQM/ESRC-DS-focused students in the Pathway Competition are entered into AQM and ESRC-DS Competitions.
The top ranked candidates as per pathway allocation together with their scores and ranking are entered into Open Competition.
Mon 13 Mar
/ Open Competition cross-pathway reviewers
receive applications. Reviewing of AQM/ESRC-DS also considered this time.
Friday 24 Mar
/ Open Competition cross-pathway assessors upload all graded applications to SGSSS-DTP Portal by this date together with AQM/ESRC-DS allocations.
Tues 11 April
/ AQM and ESRC-DS Panels meet
Wed 12 Apr
/ Papers for Open Panel meetings out to Panel members
20 April and 21 April
/ Pathway Panel meetings to rank applications Open Studentships Allocation Board
Week of 24 April
/ Communication to students in Open, and AQM and ESRC-DS Competitions.
Supervisory Board receives for their formal approval details of all proposed studentships to be awarded across all competitions.
Week of 8 May
/ SGSSS-DTP will communicate with all candidates on the outcome of the competitions by Friday 12 May

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