Scottish Graduate School of Social Science

Sgoil Cheumnaichean Saidheans Sòisealta na h-Alba
Read all about what SGSSS has been up to in our 2024/25 Year in Review!
Click here

Scottish Graduate School of Social Science

Sgoil Cheumnaichean Saidheans Sòisealta na h-Alba

Studentship opportunity

All Studentship Opportunities

Immune memory: How can Black Caribbean historical narratives inform understandings of low vaccine uptake across the lifecourse?

This studentship is funded by the ESRC through the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS)

Institution
University of Edinburgh
Pathway
Health, Wellbeing and Communities
Studentship
Steers – Interdisciplinary
Mode of study

Full-time / Part-time

Application deadline
4pm, 14 April 2022
Applications are due 24 March 2026, 5 pm GMT and
References are due 26 March 2026, 5 pm GMT

Project details

Routine childhood vaccination coverage in England has been declining since 2013, but the burden of disease risk is not evenly distributed across the population and is particularly acute among undervaccinated children from minoritised backgrounds. People of Black Caribbean heritage in England and Scotland are consistently less likely to receive routine child and adult vaccinations, leading to a chain of persistent inequality across the life course. Lower COVID-19 vaccine uptake among adults of Black ethnicities, despite higher morbidity and mortality, has been linked to the enduring legacy of racialised medical exploitation and the impact of broader structural violence. Against this backdrop, the proposed PhD study will integrate approaches from the social sciences and history to examine the extent to which influences on vaccine decision-making are intergenerational among Black Caribbean families.

Methods will be triangulated through a three-phased approach: (i) archival research into public health and NHS practices relating to Black Caribbean-born and descended people in Britain from 1948-71; (ii) semi-structured interviews with Black Caribbean-born people who arrived in Britain between 1948-1971 and (adult) children of those who arrived in this period, to explore experiences and the legacies of healthcare and public health programmes both in the Caribbean and the UK; (iii) and using select extracts identified above in novel ‘reading group methodologies’ with Black Caribbean parents of children (0-5 years) to explore the extent to which the past informs parental decision-making in the present. This approach will excavate perceptions and experiences of vaccination and public health racism across first, second and third generation Black Caribbean migrants.

Supervisory Team:

About the University

The student will be based in the Social Policy subject area (Global Health Policy Unit), and in the History subject area.

Social Policy Subject Area (School of Social & Political Science)

Social Policy at Edinburgh University is renowned for its policy expertise and rigorous approach to research. As a subject area, we undertake a diverse body of teaching and research concerned with structures and processes of inequality and social injustice. Given our commitment to addressing the social and public policy challenges confronting society, effective knowledge exchange and research impact are central to our work.
The Global Health Policy Unit (GHPU), a sub-area of Social Policy, brings together a unique team of multi-disciplinary social scientists to address the major national and international health policy challenges of our times. The studentship cuts across several key GHPU research themes including, Equity and Health Inequalities; Knowledges and Epistemologies of Health; and Care in Formal and Informal Settings.

For more information: http://www.socialpolicy.ed.ac.uk/; https://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/centres/global-health-policy-unit

History Subject Area (School of History, Classics & Archaeology)

Edinburgh’s History Subject Area is one of the largest groups of historians in the UK, with expertise in geographic areas across the globe and time periods from the early medieval to the present. The subject area is home to the Edinburgh Centre for Global History, which has a research hub on Slavery, Migration and Diaspora, as well as the Centre for Modern and Contemporary History. Relevant research groups include those in the History of Science, Medicine and Technology and History of Gender and Sexuality.

For more information: https://hca.ed.ac.uk/history

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

  • Applicants must hold or be predicted a First or a good 2:1 undergraduate degree in the social sciences, or have relevant comparable experience.
  • Applicants can have a Masters degree, however this is not a requirement.
  • The applicant must also show demonstrable interest in the topic area under investigation.
  • Applicants can study part-time or full-time

Additional requirements:

  • Candidates should demonstrate an interest in interdisciplinary research, with a focus on qualitative methods
  • Candidates should demonstrate an understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion and how these principles apply to research practice
  • Candidates should demonstrate an understanding of UK Black Caribbean heritage and an interest in engaging with UK Black Caribbean communities
  • Applicants should demonstrate the relevance of their degree/s (i.e. in a social science discipline, history, or other relevant degree background) to the project

Funding

As per guidance published by UKRI in October 2020, a maximum of 30% of all studentships awarded can be made to international students, with the remaining 70% going to home students. 

Residential Criteria

To be classed as a home student, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Be a UK national (meeting residency requirements), or
  • Have settled status, or
  • Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
  • Have indefinite leave to remain or enter.

For more on the UKRI eligibility guidance, click here

As per guidance published by UKRI in October 2020, a maximum of 30% of all studentships awarded can be made to international students, of which SGSSS has now awarded for the 2021/22 round of studentship awards. As such, this opportunity is only open to home students.

Residential Criteria

To be classed as a home student, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Be a UK national (meeting residency requirements), or
  • Have settled status, or
  • Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
  • Have indefinite leave to remain or enter.

If you do not meet the criteria above, you will be classed as an international student and will not be eligible to apply. To establish if you would be classed as a home student, please see pages 4 and 5 of the UKRI eligibility guidance here.

Award details

The scholarship is available as a +3.5 (3 year PhD and placement) or a 1+3.5 (Masters year, 3 year PhD, and a placement) studentship depending on prior research training. This will be assessed as part of the recruitment process, however you can access guidance here to help you decide on which to apply for. The programme will commence in October 2026. The full ESRC studentship package includes, as advised by ESRC:

  • An annual maintenance grant (stipend)
  • Fees at the standard institutional home rate
  • Students can also draw on a pooled Research Training Support Grant (RTSG)

Other information

Shortlisted applicants will be asked to prepare a short (5 mins) presentation for the interview, focusing on what drew them to the project and the skills and experience they bring to the research.

How to apply

  1. Applicants must register on SGSSS Apply, completing their Equal Opportunities data.
  2. Applicants must apply via SGSSS Apply, uploading the following documentation:

    • Application Questions (answered within SGSSS Apply, no upload needed)
    • Academic transcripts
    • Academic prizes
    • Referee information
    • CV
    • Other information (if required by the advert)
We strongly encourage applicants review the applicant guidance document for more on the process. 

Please Note:

  • This is not an application to the relevant University, this is an application for SGSSS (ESRC) funding.
  • Students do not need a Masters/PhD offer from the relevant University before they can apply for funding, i.e. this studentship.
  • If successful in obtaining the SGSSS (ESRC) studentship, students can only start the funded studentship once they have an unconditional Masters/PhD degree offer from the relevant University. It is your responsibility to find out the University’s application process, including when you need to secure your offer, as SGSSS plays no role in this process.

This studentship opportunity will open for applications on 9th June.

Apply now via SGSSS Apply

Selection process

Applications will be ranked by an internal institutional selection panel, and you will be notified if you have been shortlisted for interview on or around 1st April. Interviews will take place on or around 13th April.

This studentship award is subject to the successful candidate securing admission to a PhD programme within the University of Edinburgh. The successful candidate will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programme.

Contact details

Name
Team SGSSS
Email
SGSSS Team (for questions on the application portal, only), for any questions on the project, email the supervisory team (see details in abstract above)

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Privacy Policy

© 2026 All rights reserved​

Scottish Graduate School of Social Science, proudly funded by