School of Psychology PhD Studentship: Sex, Voice, and Stereotypes

PhD studentship available for September 2018

Supervisors: Prof Alan Garnham (University of Sussex), Prof Jane Oakhill (University of Sussex), Prof Robin Banerjee (University of Sussex) and Prof David Reby (University of Sussex)

The successful candidate will be associated with the research team running an externally funded research project with the same name, on which the four named supervisors, together with a senior postdoctoral researcher, are the lead investigators. The project investigates voice in childhood and has three strands: production and perception of masculinity and femininity in the voice; children’s deployment of sex-related voice cues in the context of peer relations; the development and impact of occupational sex-stereotypes. Data will have been collected in all three strands before the commencement of the PhD project, and the successful candidate will have some freedom in choosing, with the guidance of the supervisors, a suitable programme of research to follow up some of the initial findings. This PhD programme will complement the studies that will be carried out in the remaining part of the grant project. The original grant proposal points to a number of additional lines of research that might prove promising (e.g. looking at judgement of trust as a function of voice characteristics; or examining in more detail the content of children’s productions when adopting the voices of specified characters), depending on the results of the initial experiments.

Applications should be made by Sunday 21st January 2018

To discuss the details of this PhD project further, please contact Prof Alan Garnham via email: [Email Address Removed]

Eligibility requirements for potential candidates:
Studentship awards will be based on a competitive process, including interview. There are two types of awards available: +3 studentships, which fund a three-year full-time PhD, and 1+3 studentships, which fund a one-year Master’s degree followed by a three-year full-time PhD. Full-time studentship covering tuition fee, and a maintenance allowance (currently £14,553 per annum).

The competitive awards are funded by the School of Psychology (+3, eligibility: Home or EU residency); the ESRC (1+3 or +3, eligibility at South-East Network for Social Sciences (SeNSS): http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/phd/doctoral/funding-support/south-east-network-social-sciences, or the Chancellor’s International Research Scholarship (+3, eligibility at Chancellor’s International Research Scholarship (2018): http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/phd/fees-and-scholarships/scholarships/view/795

Candidates must have, or expect to obtain, a First or a high Upper Second Class Honours undergraduate degree, or equivalent qualification, and/or a Master’s degree in Psychology or a related discipline.


Guidance for applicants:
Application procedures can be found here: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/psychology/pgstudy/psychologyphdstudentships2018
Please submit your application online for the ’PhD in Psychology’ programme for September 2018 through this link: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/phd/apply
In the ’Supervisor suggested by applicant’ section of your application form, please put name of supervisor
In the ’Proposed source of funding’ as School of Psychology and/or SeNSS, or CIRS).


Candidates should provide:
A research proposal that outlines your knowledge of the research area, hypotheses that could be addressed in your PhD, and an outline of potential methods. Your answer should not exceed 2 pages including references, be set at minimum 10-font type with margins a minimum of 1cm.
Current degree transcript(s) with full details of performance on all completed courses.
Two academic references.
An up-to-date CV.