Sociotechnical Futures and Digital Methods

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Overview

The PhD Sociotechnical Futures and Digital Methods is linked to the interdisciplinary South West doctoral pathway of the same name. Offer holders will need to apply to and be awarded an SWDTP studentship for this pathway to meet the conditions for registration on this programme.

This degree provides an opportunity to conduct advanced research on digital methods and sociotechnical futures in an interdisciplinary school. You will develop a comprehensive understanding of the social and political dimensions of technological transformation as occasioned by, for instance, the digital revolution, green energy or artificial intelligence. It will also equip you with interdisciplinary methods to study the nature of technological change: the ways it shapes society, and the ways it is shaped by society. You will study with internationally renowned scholars of science and technology, politics and international relations in a dynamic and supportive research environment.

You will join an international community of students working on a range of political, social and international relations issues. Our staff also have particular expertise across a range of political, cultural and social theory and champion diverse research methodologies. You will be assigned two PhD supervisors whose current research interests and expertise are relevant to your chosen research area.

We are committed to rigorous conceptual and empirical research that is politically and socially relevant and problem-orientated. We aim to advance theory, knowledge and methods to better equip researchers to understand and address technological transformations and their social and political implications. We produce leading research with an international focus that is relevant to the changing circumstances of an increasingly interconnected world. Our aim is not just to monitor the world but to contribute to a better understanding and to ways that might improve it.

Key Information

• Programme duration: Up to four years full-time; up to eight years part-time.
• Start date: Most students will start in September 2025.
• Application deadline: Programme application deadline - 2 December 2024; SWDTP funding application deadline - 12 noon on 14 January 2025.
• Delivery method: On-Campus
• Location: Clifton
• Awards available: PhD

Programme Structure

The PhD in Sociotechnical Futures and Digital Methods will combine both taught and research components.

The taught component provides you with the necessary research methods skills to become an independent researcher, including a better understanding of the research process, ethics, and methodologies so that you are fully equipped to work on your PhD project. You are required to complete this taught component, unless you can provide evidence that you have undertaken this training before joining the programme.

You are required to take the following units:

• Introduction to Research Methods in the Social Sciences
• Digital Methods and Data Skills
• Advanced Quantitative Research Methods
• Advanced Qualitative Research Methods

Through the research component, you will undertake and write up your doctoral research with the support of two supervisors.

World-Leading Research

• The University of Bristol is ranked fifth for research in the UK (Times Higher Education).
• 94% of our research assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent.

Entry Requirements

• An upper second-class undergraduate honours degree (or equivalent) and normally a merit at MSc/MA level (or equivalent).
• See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website.

Fees and Funding

• Home: full-time - £4,850 per year; part-time - £2,425 per year
• Overseas: full-time - £21,300 per year
• Fees are subject to an annual review. For programmes that last longer than one year, please budget for up to an 8% increase in fees each year.

Career Prospects

Bristol graduates are in high demand and have an excellent record of employment following graduation.

Meet Our Supervisors

The following list shows potential supervisors for this programme. Visit their profiles for details of their research and expertise.

• Professor Bridget Anderson
• Dr Samuel Appleton
• Professor Will Atkinson
• Professor Roddy Brett
• Professor Terrell Carver
• Dr Egle Cesnulyte
• Professor Katharine Charsley
• Dr Ryerson Christie
• Professor Michelle Cini
• Dr Lucas de Abreu Maia
• Dr Alix Dietzel
• Dr Filippo Dionigi
• Dr Ashley Dodsworth
• Dr John Downer
• Professor Timothy Edmunds
• Dr Magnus Feldmann
• Dr Adrian Flint
• Professor Jonathan Floyd
• Dr Gaston Fornes
• Dr Timothy Fowler
• Professor Jon Fox
• Professor Roberta Guerrina
• Professor Susan Halford
• Professor Jo Haynes
• Professor Eric Herring
• Professor Jonathan Joseph
• Professor Ana E Juncos Garcia
• Dr Winnie King
• Dr Raphael Lefevre
• Dr Neil Matthews
• Dr Peace Medie
• Dr Torsten Michel
• Dr Aslak-Antti Oksanen
• Dr Hannah Parrott
• Dr Columba Peoples
• Dr Nieves Perez-Solorzano Borragan
• Dr Mircea Popa
• Dr Katharina Richter
• Dr Chris Rossdale
• Dr Elena Stavrevska
• Dr Karen Tucker
• Dr Elspeth Van Veeren
• Professor Jutta Weldes
• Professor Mark Wickham-Jones
• Dr Andrew Wyatt
• Dr Rob Yates
• Professor Yongjin Zhang

Research Groups

Our research activity in the school is guided by focusing on key themes:

• digital society
• science and technology
• critical (in)securities
• cultural work
• climate emergency
• decoloniality and race
• ethnicity, migration and citizenship
• European politics and societies
• food security
• gender and sexuality
• peace, conflict and violence
• political and social inequalities
• social, cultural and political theory
• South and East Asia.

All researchers across the school identify with one or more of the themes. This enables collective identification over themes within the school and aims to generate further collaboration and interdisciplinarity in our research activities. In addition, the themes provide a basis for internal and external recognition of the main questions and topics that our research addresses.