PhD Studentship: Developmental Psychology

Invitation to apply for a PhD Studentship Bursary (3 years)

Project area: Developmental Psychology. A study of the impact of transition from primary to secondary school on the academic and psycho-social development of children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI).

The Bursary: Funding is available for UK/EU and International* students at Home/EU rates for three years full-time study or part-time equivalent for five years. The Bursary includes tuition fee waiver at £4,052 and stipend at £16,057 for 2015/16).*

The study will be supervised by Dr Rebecca Lucas http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/staff/Rebecca-Lucas and Dr Olympia Palikara http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/staff/Olympia-Palikara. Informal enquiries can be made to Dr. Lucas at Rebecca.Lucas@roehampton.ac.uk

The research study:

Over 2 million individuals in the UK have a speech and/or language disorder, with around 7% of children meeting diagnostic criteria for specific language impairment (SLI). By definition, SLI is predominantly a language disorder, and therefore it impacts academic development, including the development of literacy skills. However, individuals with SLI may also have impaired emotional and social competency. All these factors can impact upon well-being, and this may be especially evident during the transition from primary to secondary school.

This study aims to determine whether:

1. Academic skills, emotion processing, social competency and well-being at age 10/11 predict the perception of and the success of the transition from primary to secondary school.


2. Measures of emotion processing at age 10/11 predict concurrent and future academic skills, social competency and well-being.

Responsibilities for the successful candidate will include:

• To manage and complete the research project.


• To participate in research and training activities.


• To write their PhD thesis including papers for publication in peer reviewed journals.


• To participate in relevant meetings/ seminars. 


• To disseminate their research in the scientific community (international conferences) and non-scientific community, by outreach and public engagement.

Additional responsibilities will include:

Teaching Assistant duties on the research methods programme across the curriculum, providing up to 6 hours per week and for up to 20 weeks of the year. Research students are not permitted to carry out more than 6 hours work outside their studies (including the 6 hours assistance with teaching) for 45 weeks per year.

Eligibility, Qualifications and how to apply:

In order to be eligible, applicants should hold a first class or upper second class honours undergraduate degree (or equivalent international qualification) and a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a related subject (psychology/cognitive neuroscience).

Applicants should also have experience of working with children, ideally in school settings. They should also have excellent interpersonal skills, particularly with children and caregivers. Experience of recruiting schools to support research and experience of administering psychometric assessments is desirable. Applicants must be willing to travel to schools for data collection.

The successful candidate should be available to start on 1 October 2016.

To apply, please email the following to pgresearch@roehampton.ac.uk :

1. A copy of your CV including copies of your academic qualifications.


2. Contact details of two academic referees.


3. A cover letter stating the reasons you are applying for this studentship and outlining your expertise and relevant skills.


4. Completed Application Form for PhD Study (RDB1b) downloadable at http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/Courses/Graduate-School/Funding/

The closing date for completed applications is: 14 April 2016

Interviews will be held on: 5 May 2016

http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/Working-at-Roehampton

*International recipients of this studentship will only be covered to Home/EU rates, and be expected to make up the difference between Home/EU and International tuition fee rates.