NIHR Applied Mental Health PhD Studentships

Research priorities for our programme of research have been identified by our existing mental health research stakeholder group; by Essex County Council Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy; and findings from our preliminary research within the NIHR East of England Applied Research Collaboration programme on mental health inequalities using Understanding Society data. In addition, the high level of mental health burden across Essex, Southend and Thurrock falls predominantly in coastal areas making these populations high priority for research.

Based on these priorities, the overall focus for our programme of research is tackling loneliness and social isolation among young adults in coastal communities, ensuring young LGBT and ethnic minority needs are addressed equally.

The 3 PhD studentships will be based within our programme research team and will undertake projects associated with this wider programme of research.

The specific focus of each PhD will be shaped by the student, their supervisors and in collaboration with our stakeholders who include representatives from local providers of health and social care support including voluntary and third sector providers. Projects will also be informed through working with our Patient and Public Involvement representatives. Projects may be qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. Projects may involve use of population datasets (such as Understanding Society) for longitudinal secondary data analysis or they may involve primary data collection.

Potential project topics may be proposed which link in some way to the overall focus of the programme above including loneliness, social isolation, young adult mental health, mental health inequalities and coastal communities. In particular we would like one of the PhDs to address either loneliness and associations with suicidality and/or drug and alcohol use.

Supervisors will be allocated from among the project team (including staff from Essex, Kings and Cambridge) based on topic and method. The project team members are below and additional team members will join over the coming months:

Prof Susan McPherson, Prof Meena Kumari, Dr Emily Murray, Dr Cara Booker, Prof Roisin Ryan-Flood, Dr Antonella Trotta, Prof Craig Morgan, Prof Tamsin Ford.

PhD students will be based with the team at the Institute for Public Health and Wellbeing but may also have the opportunity to make visits to our partners at Kings and Cambridge.

How to apply

You should apply separately for the Studentship and the PhD Course.

To apply for the studentship, please email the following to Dr Victoria Nolan at vlnolan@essex.ac.uk by the application deadline of 4pm GMT on Friday 27 June 2025  and include the following documents: 

• Covering letter
• Research Proposal (Maximum 1000 words)
• CV
• Academic transcript 
• A note of your PG / applicant number (this will be provided to you when you apply for your course)

We expect to invite shortlisted candidates for an interview during the week commencing 14 July 2025.

To apply for the PhD course, please apply through our standard online application process, which is quick and straightforward.

You should note in your application that you are also applying for this studentship, and that a supervisor will be allocated to successful awardees.

Learn more about postgraduate research at the University of Essex.

You should apply for a place to study as soon as possible, and at the latest by 4pm GMT on Friday 27 June 2025.

Full details

Please read the full terms and conditions before applying for or accepting a scholarship or bursary. They contain important information about eligibility, if you need to complete an application form and how you'll receive your funding.

Terms and conditions for 2025-2026 entry (.pdf)

If you're a current student looking for information about an award you received, see our terms and conditions for previous years.