School of Social and Political Sciences

Research in Sociology

Research for a Doctorate (PhD)

There are currently over 40 postgraduate research students undertaking sociological research at Glasgow, dealing with subjects across the discipline.

Our postgraduate community is particularly cosmopolitan, bringing together students from various international contexts with others who have progressed through our own undergraduate programmes, and funded in a wide range of ways, including by ESRC and ASRF scholarships, by international organizations and through doctoral awards tied to dedicated research projects. We support students studying both full-time and part-time. We have developed a number of effective ways of providing support to our PhD students, including:

  • The yearly Sociology seminar series, which offers a diverse programme, bringing internationally recognised speakers to Glasgow, but also providing a supportive yet critical context in which postgraduate students can present their first papers and findings;
  • The annual 24-hours away day, held outside of Glasgow, and allowing students and staff to present and discuss their work in a congenial atmosphere;
  • Individual postgraduate review panels at which the Head of Department, Postgraduate Coordinator and individual supervisors can meet to discuss progress with each student.

Each full time student is entitled to:

  • Dedicated office space
  • A computer and full IT support
  • Telephone and photocopying facilities
  • Access to unrivalled library facilities.

Supervision for PhDs

We provide supervision in all of the areas in which we work, including proposals to work on all aspects of: crime, justice and security; racism and anti-racism; disabilities; health and illness; drug use; gender and sexualities; consumption and ‘risk’; gambling; media research; social theory; cultural studies.

Further details about staff expertise can be found at individual staff webpages, and from the pages providing more detail about the profile of sociological research at Glasgow.  We are active supporters of interdisciplinary research and most staff are involved in providing supervision to students alongside colleagues from other disciplines.

Funding opportunities

Research Groups

Sociology at Glasgow is defined by our shared commitment to research which is rigorous, innovative and useful. We believe that the best social research should make a difference, but that it earns the right to do so only by being methodologically and theoretically excellent.

In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, 75% of our research output was rated as being of international quality, and 10% world-leading.

We have particular strengths in the following areas, although most members of staff work between and across these areas, and in conjunction with colleagues across the discipline and beyond:

  • Crime, Justice and Security: work on national and global aspects of crime, criminal justice and punishment
  • Inequalities: work on racism and anti-racism, disabilities, health and illness, gender and sexualities, work and the interrelationships between these issues
  • Consumption and Risk: work on various kinds of ‘risky’ behaviour, including gambling and drug use
  • Theoretical and Cultural Research: work aimed at the development of new theoretical insight, as well as historical and comparative cultural research, around questions of kinships, families and intimacy, and critical media research

Research Centres, Clusters and Networks

A number of research centres are hosted by Sociology at Glasgow, and our staff are active members and organisers of a number of research centres, networks and clusters: