PhD Study : Northern Bridge Consortium Collaborative Doctoral Awards - Voices of Ulster's Poor: Charitable Requests, 1850s-1920s

Summary

The Northern Bridge Consortium is a Doctoral Training Partnership (NBCDTP) funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The NBCDTP runs an annual competition to select the best doctoral candidates and provide a comprehensive and attractive package of financial support over the duration of study, which includes payment of tuition fees and a maintenance award (currently £15,009 per annum). This Collaborative Doctoral Award project is supervisor-led in partnership with the Public Record Office Northern Ireland.

Project Summary

The ‘voices’ of the nineteenth and early-twentieth-century poor are not often visible in historical documents, rather we hear from the officials and authority figures who penned surviving records. This original and exciting project draws on new and underused archival material housed at PRONI, letters and petitions requesting assistance submitted to charities and politicians and brings to light for the first time the voices of those experiencing hardship in nineteenth and early twentieth-century Ulster. The project will allow a unique understanding of living conditions, family relationships and issues facing many families across Ulster as they tried to access help.

Further information can be found northerbridge.ac.uk

Applicants are invited to submit an expression of interest to the Supervisor lv.mccormick@ulster.ac.uk and the Local NBCDTP Administrator p.brown@ulster.ac.uk by the deadline stated in the full project details.

How to Apply to the Competition

Full details about the competition, eligibility, application process and timeline are available on the NBCDTP website from the link below under the heading Funding. There are two stages to this process:

Stage 1 – Postgraduate Application (Online) by 4pm on Monday 13 January 2020. Applicants should make an online application to Ulster University. Applicants should insert NBC20 in response to the question relating to how you plan to fund your studies on the Funding Details section of the online application.

Stage 2 - Student Nomination by 4pm on Monday 17 February 2020. Following an internal assessment School/Department-based selection panels then select their strongest nominees on the basis of the applicant’s qualifications, research proposal, relevant experience and references. Those applicants will be asked to complete a Nomination Form, which must be submitted to Northern Bridge by the applicant’s School/Department. Nominations made after this date will not be considered.

Results will be announced to successful candidates on Wednesday 8 April 2020.

Northern Bridge Eligibility Criteria

Prospective applicants to the Collaborative Doctoral Awards are required to meet the AHRC's eligibility criteria which can be found at this link:  http://www.northernbridge.ac.uk/competition/eligibility

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

Funding and eligibility

The University offers the following levels of support:

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living

The Northern Bridge Consortium scholarship at Ulster will cover tuition fees at the ‘Home rate’ and a maintenance allowance of £18,622 (2023/2024 rate) per annum for 42 months full-time (3.5 years) or 84 months part-time (7 years).

• Candidates with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, who also satisfy a three year residency requirement in the UK prior to the start of the course for which a Studentship is held MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance.
• ROI nationals who satisfy three years’ residency in the UK prior to the start of the course MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance (ROI nationals don’t need to have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to qualify).
• Other non-Republic of Ireland EU applicants are ‘International’ for the purposes of fees. There are a very limited number of fully funded international awards available at Ulster University.