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Program Overview
PhD Gender Studies
The PhD Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary research area within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, supported by staff from a range of subject areas, including journalism, media and communication, English, French, Italian, history, education, social policy, criminology, and politics.
Research Opportunities
PhD students in Gender Studies are expected to undertake research that results in a thesis which contributes to the wider literature in the field, thereby making an original contribution to current knowledge. Students are also expected to contribute to the Strathclyde Feminist Research Network, which offers a research seminar series, work-in-progress workshops, reading group, and opportunities to share research findings through our blog.
Areas of Research
A PhD in Gender Studies at Strathclyde may incorporate more than one of the following areas:
- Using theoretical perspectives from feminist, queer, disability, and/or critical race perspectives to advance knowledge in associated areas
- Studying intersecting in/equalities in history, culture, and/or society
- Assessing and evaluating approaches developed in and across different disciplinary traditions
Our Expertise
At Strathclyde, we can offer supervisory expertise in a variety of areas within Gender Studies, including:
- Feminist media, literary, and cultural studies
- Contemporary social movements
- Feminist histories
- Gender-based violence
- Educational inequality
- Sociology of religion
- Eco-feminism
- Reproductive rights
Supervisors
All PhD students have two supervisors, and the supervisory team may be comprised of colleagues from different subject areas or schools within the faculty. Interdisciplinary applications are strongly encouraged.
Supervisory Areas of Expertise
The following supervisors are interested in supervising postgraduate research in gender studies within the specialist areas listed:
- Karen Boyle, Professor of Feminist Media Studies:
- Feminist film, television, and media studies
- Gendered violence and representation
- Audience research and genre studies
- UK women's liberation movement
- Petya Eckler, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Media, and Communication:
- Body image
- Eating disorders
- Social media
- Catherine Eschle, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations:
- Feminist political theory and feminist IR
- Feminist peace studies
- Debates in and about contemporary feminist organizing, including transnationally and in global institutions
- The gender politics and role of feminism in other social movements
- Michael Higgins, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Media, and Communication:
- Gender and political communication
- Gendered representations in political news
- Sophie Jones, Lecturer in Contemporary Literature and Gender Studies:
- Gender and post-1945 literature and film, especially American
- The politics of reproduction
- Critical medical humanities
- Critical disability studies
- Theories and representations of the body
- Writing and/in feminist activism
- Laura Kelly, Professor of Modern Irish History:
- Social history of gender and medicine
- History of sexuality and reproductive health
- History of activism
- Women in the professions
- Redi Koobak, Chancellor's Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Gender Studies:
- Intersectional approaches to gender, race, and sexuality
- Postcolonialism and postsocialism, particularly in relation to Eastern Europe
- Contemporary art and visual culture studies
- Gender, war, and nationalism
- Feminist media studies
- Decolonial and transnational feminisms
- Arts-based methods and creative methodologies
- Churnjeet Mahn, Professor of English Literature:
- Travel, especially in the context of decolonialization
- Creative non-fiction (especially travel, memoir, and essays)
- Postcolonial/decolonial approaches to sexuality
- Transnational approaches to literature which critique gender and sexuality
- Grassroots heritage movements, especially in the wake of religious and national conflict
- Inclusion and diversity in the English Literature curriculum
- Melanie McCarry, Lecturer, Social Policy:
- Men's violence against women and girls
- Domestic abuse (including in relation to young people's relationships and same-sex relationships)
- Forced marriage
- Sexual violence and campus-based sexual misconduct and abuse
- Donna McCormack, Chancellor's Fellow and Senior Lecturer:
- Post- and anti-colonial theories
- Critical race theory
- Queer and queercrip theories
- Contemporary literature, including contemporary science and speculative fiction
- Critical disability studies and critical medical humanities
- Organ transplantation, and more broadly biotechnologies and biopolitics
- Monster studies and theory, specifically evolutionary theory
- Arts-based methods and creative methodologies
- Rhiannon McGlade, Lecturer in Hispanic Studies:
- Spanish feminist politics
- Sexual dissidence in Spain and Catalonia
- Visual cultures and feminist dissent in Spain
- Fiona McKay, Lecturer in Journalism, Media, and Communication:
- Gender and political communication
- Gendered representations in media
- Women and journalism
- Journalism ethics
- Katharine Mitchell, Senior Lecturer in Italian Culture, Media, and Gender:
- Italian literature and culture, particularly domestic fiction
- Early twentieth-century print media
- Female (silent) screenwriters
- Literature and the figure of the diva
- Women spectators of opera, theatre, and silent film
- Women writers
- Celebrity cultures
- Esperanza Miyake, Chancellor's Fellow and Lecturer in Journalism, Media, and Communication:
- Technology and gender
- Race and gender
- Gender and media/popular/consumer culture
- Critical feminist theory
- Digital identities and gender
- Emma Newlands, Strathclyde Chancellor's Fellow and Senior Lecturer in History:
- Health, medicine, and masculinities in the 20th Century
- History of the modern body
- Laura Piacentini, Professor of Criminology:
- Cultures of punishment in the former USSR
- Gender, carcerality, and geography
- Elsa Richardson, Strathclyde Chancellor's Fellow and Lecturer in History:
- Feminism and vegetarianism
- Early 20th Century life reform movements
- Psychoanalysis
- Occultism; the history of emotions
- Yvette Taylor, Professor of Education:
- Class
- Educational inequality
- Gender
- Religion
- Sexuality
- Caroline Verdier, Senior Lecturer in French studies:
- Critical medical humanities
- French and Francophone women's writing and feminism
- Representations of the body
- Writing illness and the body
- Gender and cultural identity
Support and Development
As a postgraduate researcher in Gender Studies, you'll also be a member of our Faculty Graduate School. We're members of the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities and the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science. All registered PhD students are members of one or both of these Schools (depending on your subject discipline), which provide training, events, and funding opportunities.
Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development (PgCert RPD)
While pursuing your PhD or MPhil in Gender Studies, you'll also undertake the University’s Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development (PG Cert RPD), which provides comprehensive professional and personal development training for all postgraduate research students.
Careers
The University Careers Service can help you with everything from writing your CV to interview preparation.
Student Support
From financial advice to our IT facilities, we have a wide range of support for all students here at Strathclyde.
International Students
We've a thriving international community with students coming here to study from over 140 countries across the world.
Fees and Funding
All fees quoted are per academic year unless otherwise stated.
Annual Revision of Fees
Students on programmes of study of more than one year (or studying standalone modules) should be aware that the majority of fees will increase annually. The University will take a range of factors into account, including, but not limited to, UK inflation, changes in delivery costs, and changes in Scottish and/or UK Government funding. Changes in fees will be published on the University website in October each year for the following year of study, and any annual increase will be capped at a maximum of 10% per year.
Fees
- Scotland: £4,786
- England, Wales, and Northern Ireland: £4,786
- Republic of Ireland: If you are an Irish citizen and have been ordinary resident in the Republic of Ireland for the three years prior to the relevant date, and will be coming to Scotland for Educational purposes only, you will meet the criteria of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland fee status.
- International: £18,050
- Additional costs: International students may have associated visa and immigration costs.
Funding
Take a look at our funding your postgraduate research web page for funding information. You can also view our scholarships search for further funding opportunities.
Apply
Entry Requirements
For PhD, normally, a first-class or upper second-class Honours degree, or overseas equivalent, plus a Masters degree in a relevant area.
How to Apply
If you're interested in studying for a PhD in Gender Studies, the first thing you need to do is to find out if there’s a supervisor available to oversee your studies.
Research Proposal
Read our guidelines on writing proposals.
Application Process
Applications are via our Pegasus online portal. When applying, you'll be asked to upload:
- Your research proposal
- Scans of degree certificates/transcripts
- Two academic reference letters
- Confirmation of funding
Start Date
Most PhD students start in October, so they move forward as one cohort, but you can start at any time of year. Keep an eye on our funding databases (postgraduate research opportunities and University scholarships) for any forthcoming Strathclyde research studentship opportunities.
