Program Overview

Overview

The PhD Health and Wellbeing programme is linked to the interdisciplinary South West doctoral pathway of the same name.

The South West Doctoral Training Partnership Health and Wellbeing pathway enables students to cultivate the skills needed to develop and evaluate interventions and strategies to improve health behaviour. Your work will make a major impact on the social science underpinnings of avoidable health problems and will build research capacity at the interface of biomedical and social sciences, both within and beyond academia.

All students will have two supervisors from different disciplinary perspectives on health and wellbeing. Your supervisors will convene joint meetings on a regular basis and will attend the annual one-day workshop for all pathway students.

Students will normally be registered in the school of their first supervisor. This may not be the school that processes your application.

Key Information

Programme Duration

• Up to four years full-time; up to eight years part-time.

Start Date

• We welcome new PhD students all year round. However, the largest intake is in September each year with a second intake in January. We strongly recommend applicants consider a September or January start.

Application Deadline

• We welcome applications at any time of year; early application is advised.
• Programme application deadlines apply where applicants intend to apply for scholarship funding.
• For China Scholarship Commission funding and South-West Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP) funding, the programme application deadline is 2 December 2024.
• For University of Bristol scholarship funding, the programme application deadline is 6 January 2025.

Delivery Method

• On-Campus

Location

• Clifton

Awards Available

• PhD

World-Leading Research

• 5th: The University of Bristol is ranked fifth for research in the UK (Times Higher Education).
• 94%: 94% of our research assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent.

Entry Requirements

• A master's qualification (or equivalent) with appropriate research training.
• See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website.

Admissions Statement

• Read the programme admissions statement for important information on entry requirements, the application process and supporting documents required.

English Language Requirements

• If English is not your first language, you will need to reach the requirements outlined in our profile level B.
• Further information about English language requirements and profile levels.

Fees and Funding

Home: Full-Time

• £4,850 per year

Home: 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.

Alumni Discount

• University of Bristol students and graduates can benefit from a 25% reduction in tuition fees for postgraduate study. Check your eligibility for an alumni discount.

Funding and Scholarships

• Applicants may apply for an SWDTP studentship and/or a University of Bristol scholarship. Eligible applicants can also apply for a China Scholarship Council scholarship. Please note that programme application deadlines apply where applicants intend to apply for scholarship funding.
• Further information on funding for prospective UK and international postgraduate students.

Career Prospects

• The PhD in Health and Wellbeing offers useful preparation for a number of careers. Our students often go on to employment in areas of government policy and health promotion at local, national and international levels. Others have continued to academic careers, taking up post-doctoral positions and lecturing in UK and international universities.
• The programme establishes both a sound research training base and an understanding of practical applications, which prepare our students for different types of employment, including research, policy and intervention.

Meet Our Supervisors

• The following list shows potential supervisors for this programme. Visit their profiles for details of their research and expertise.
  • Professor David Abbott
  • Dr Nadia Aghtaie
  • Dr Miranda Armstrong
  • Professor Sarah Ayres
  • Professor Ailsa Cameron
  • Dr Natasha Carver
  • Dr Rachelle Chadwick
  • Dr Lydia Collison
  • Dr Sebnem Eroglu-Hawksworth
  • Dr Eldin Fahmy
  • Professor David Gordon
  • Dr Nasrul Ismail
  • Professor Misa Izuhara
  • Professor Patricia Kennett
  • Professor Gernot Klantschnig
  • Dr Noemi Lendvai-Bainton
  • Dr Bai Li
  • Professor Alex Marsh
  • Dr Joey Murphy
  • Professor Christina Pantazis
  • Dr Angeliki Papadaki
  • Dr Marii Paskov
  • Dr Demi Patsios
  • Dr Roxana Pessoa Cavalcanti
  • Professor Gabriel Siles-Brugge
  • Ann Singleton
  • Professor Jo Staines
  • Dr David Sweeting
  • Dr Zoi Toumpakari
  • Professor Nick Townsend
  • Dr William Turner
  • Professor Debbie Watson
  • Mrs Dinithi Wijedasa

Research Groups

• The pathway integrates the study of the interaction between three important lifestyle behaviours (nutrition, physical activity and substance use, including smoking and alcohol consumption), their impact on public health and risks for chronic diseases.
• For further information on our associated research groups and staff, please visit the School for Policy Studies webpage.