Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) PhD scholarship in Long-Term Workforce Plan: Developing strategies to support and retain healthcare students

Applications are invited for a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) PhD scholarship in the School of Health and Social Care: Long-Term Workforce Plan: Developing strategies to support and retain healthcare students, Sheffield Hallam University, commencing 1 October 2025

The scholarship is for 3.5 years full-time study and covers home PhD fees, currently £4,786, pays an annual stipend at the standard Sheffield Hallam PhD stipend rate (this is aligned with the net Real Living Wage and the current rate for academic year 2024/25 is £20,974 per annum). This stipend payment will increase annually based on the living wage rate for the duration of the scholarship.

GTA scholarships are designed to develop the next generation of academics, providing structured opportunities for training, development and practical experience in learning, teaching and assessment or other areas of academic practice. As part of this academic development, GTA scholarship holders will receive training and undertake up to 180 hours' teaching-related activity, or other academic practice, per academic year. This activity forms part of the scholarship holder's training. There is no additional payment for it. See the Overview of the Graduate Teaching Assistant scheme for applicants for more information.

Project title: Long-Term Workforce Plan: Developing strategies to support and retain healthcare students

Published in 2023, the Long-Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) outlined the challenges facing the NHS workforce, where the number of staff trained has not kept pace with rising demand for services. To counter the predicted shortfalls, HEIs and their clinical partners must support large increases in traditional healthcare student places. With clinical placements in short supply, it is essential that student healthcare learners complete their programmes so that they can enter the workforce and contribute to the LTWP mission.

Retention is a key element of the plan; this project will explore factors influencing retention of healthcare students, and develop a retention strategy to maximise entry of qualified professionals into nursing, midwifery and allied health professions. The study will include a diverse cross section of healthcare students representing various professions, ethnicities, genders, ages, entry educational qualifications, and students who are commuting and local to their University.

The GTA will complete a PhD project will include several phases:

1a. Quantitative analysis of routinely collected programme level retention and interruption data.

1b. Implementation of structured exit interviews and subsequent review. Qualitative methods will be used to investigate factors influencing healthcare student attrition rates, and identify factors which contribute to students leaving their programmes prior to completion. Findings will inform implementation of a more robust and standardised process to capture the reasons for students leaving.

1c. A further phase of data collection will use qualitative methods to investigate the experiences of students who have returned after a break in study, and identify the enablers and barriers which influenced their return.

The data from these three elements will be triangulated and shared for discussion in focus groups with students, academic programme and professional leads, recruitment staff, academic advisors (personal tutors) and clinical practice partners.

Overall findings will enable development of recommendations on strategies and support interventions that may be valuable in supporting students.

The GTA could be drawn from backgrounds in the health professions, psychology, sociology or education. They may have additional master’s level qualifications. All of these backgrounds would offer the School of Health and Social Care opportunities for teaching input, for example to research methods teaching. If they had a specific health profession registration, they may be well suited to contribute to clinical skills or subject-specific teaching on the relevant programme.  

We strongly advise all applicants to contact the Director of Studies: rachael.spencer@shu.ac.uk prior to application.

Applicants should hold: a BSc (2:1 or above, or equivalent) degree qualification in Health and Social Care, or other relevant areas. An MSc degree qualification in a relevant area is desirable. Professional qualifications and background in Health and Social Care is desirable, but not essential. Applicants without a professional qualification should have a strong academic background in Health and Social Care related discipline.

We welcome applications from all members of the community and are particularly encouraging those from diverse groups, such as members of the LGBTQIA+, ethnic minoritised and disabled communities.

GTA scholarships involve full-time PhD study. This means that successful applicants must have completed all study and any employment by the start date of the scholarship, which is 1 October 2025.

International / EU applicants - Please read the following information carefully and see the funding notes section of this advert for important fee information. 

Sheffield Hallam University has a mandatory English language requirement of IELTS 7, or equivalent language qualification, for all applicants from countries not included in the UKVI exemption list: https://www.gov.uk/english-language/exemptions. This qualification must have been taken within the last two years, with a score of at least 6.5 in all test areas. The qualification may be required even if you have previous qualifications from UK institutions. Please check with Health-PGR-admissions@shu.ac.uk prior to application, as we cannot consider applications if this essential qualification is not submitted.

To apply for the scholarship

Please complete the formal application form, which can be accessed via the following link: https://www.shu.ac.uk/courses/health-and-social-care-management/phd-health-and-social-care/full-time/2025 and choose the October 2025 start date option. Please add the project title of the scholarship you are applying for clearly in the Personal Statement field of application form.

Applicants should also ensure that they upload a detailed 1,500-word research proposal addressing the project title and all essential certificates and reference information with their application form. We cannot consider applications where a research proposal and any other essential attachments have not been uploaded to the application system before submission.

If you experience issues submitting your online application, or for general enquiries, please contact: Health-PGR-admissions@shu.ac.uk.

This application form must be submitted by the deadline of 14 May 2025 (12 noon). Late applications will not be accepted.

Interviews

Applicants that are successful following our shortlisting process will be invited to interview in the weeks commencing 9 & 16 June 2025. Please note, we are unable to offer alternative interview slots once allocated to shortlisted candidates.