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Writtle University College and ARU have merged. Writtle’s full range of college, degree, postgraduate and short courses will still be delivered on the Writtle campus. See our guide to finding Writtle information on this site.
Explore current PhD projects in our faculty and find out how to apply.
Veterans & Families Institute for Military Social Research
School of Allied Health and Social Care
1st: Dr Nick Caddick
2nd: Dr Lauren Godier-McBard
The UK military is a predominantly a white, masculine institution. The number of BAME and female employees is not representative and by its own admission there are ongoing issues with oppressive and discriminatory practices within the UK military (see the Wigston Review). There is very little research that considers the individual narratives of Black Service Personnel and even less that considers the narratives of their families.
We encourage students with an interest in narrative research methods and the experiences of British BAME communities to submit research proposals that aim to explore the contemporary experiences of BAME families where a family member is currently serving in the British Military.
This project is self-funded.
Details of studentships for which funding is available are selected by a competitive process and are advertised on our jobs website as they become available.
If you wish to be considered for this project, you’ll need to apply for our School of Education and Social Care PhD. In the section of the application form entitled 'Outline research proposal', please quote the above title and include a research proposal.
You can contact the 1st supervisor by emailing [email protected]
For more information on PhDs and how to apply visit our research pages.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Social Care
School of Nursing and Midwifery
1st: Dr David Smith
2nd: Dr Nicola Gillin
Over 15% of the UK’s nurses acquired their initial nursing registration outside the UK , and a ‘rapid increase’ of overseas nurses is intended to address nursing shortages within the NHS. ‘Deskilling’, i.e. the underutilisation of an existing skillset, has consistently been reported by overseas nurses in the UK.
Questions surrounding the impact of skills underutilisation on nurses’ productivity have not been considered. This is despite the OECD considering the better use of skills a priority, given the organisational benefits, personal benefits and productivity gains that can be achieved.
The PhD will explore deskilling of overseas nurses by using a mixed methods approach (focus groups and an online survey) guided by the following questions:
Findings will expand the focus on nurse productivity beyond numbers-based staffing allocation towards skills-based discussions and will contribute to the limited productivity research which explores the issue from the workers perspective and contribute to better identification of skills-related underemployment indicators.
Potential solutions based on the insights of those with direct experience of the issue, recognises the innovative capacity that workers themselves hold in suggesting solutions to improve productivity.
Cambridge, Chelmsford, or by distance learning.
Details of studentships for which funding is available are selected by a competitive process and are advertised on our jobs website as they become available.
If you wish to be considered for this project, you’ll need to apply for our School of Nursing and Midwifery PhD. In the section of the application form entitled 'Outline research proposal', please quote the above title and include a research proposal.
For more information on PhDs and how to apply visit our research pages.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Social Care
School of Nursing and Midwifery
1st: Dr Naim Abdulmohdi
2nd: Mary Edmonds
3rd: Julie Teatheredge
The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of nursing staff and the impact of COVID-19 on nursing staff working in hospitals during and after the pandemic.
During the COVID-19 pandemic many nursing staff had to significantly change their work routine and were redeployed to work in unfamiliar settings. Critical care staff, in particular, had to work in high-risk environments that, at certain times, lacked the appropriate personal protective equipment and they had to work with many deployed staff who were new to critical care. These factors, in addition to a heavy workload, staff shortage and long working hours, can have an adverse effect on both physical and mental well-being (Maben and Bridges, 2020).
There is increasing recognition that a modern healthcare workforce needs to be resilient to cope with difficult situations. Previous research has framed health professional resilience in relation to avoiding burnout, which is linked to workplace stress.
However, from the wider literature on personal resilience, professional resilience appears to be more than ‘burning out’; it involves positive adaptation and developing personal resources. Adverse workplace challenges can influence professional resilience (Talee et al, 2020). Concerns about the mental health, psychological adjustment, and recovery of healthcare workers treating and caring for patients with COVID-19 are now arising and require further research.
This study will utilise a pluralistic approach to increase our understanding of this phenomena. This will include the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate staff experience and the impact of this pandemic staff resilience.
Cambridge, Chelmsford, or by distance learning.
Details of studentships for which funding is available are selected by a competitive process and are advertised on our jobs website as they become available.
If you wish to be considered for this project, you’ll need to apply for our School of Nursing and Midwifery PhD. In the section of the application form entitled 'Outline research proposal', please quote the above title and include a research proposal.
You can contact the 1st supervisor by emailing [email protected]
For more information on PhDs and how to apply visit our research pages.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Social Care
Faculty of Science and Engineering
School of Allied Health and Social Care
School of Engineering and the Built Environment
1st: Dr Dan Robbins
2nd: Dr Jen Martay
Historically, motor control, blood flow and tissue oxygenation were studied in pairs rather than holistically. Recent technological and signal processing advances have produced new techniques to investigate muscle function via the non-invasive assessment of the peripheral nervous and vascular systems.
However, the progressions have continued to take place independently and the relationship between blood flow, tissue oxygenation and motor control has not yet been revisited. Combining measurements from dual physiological systems synchronously therefore provides an opportunity to maximise the impact of information acquired.
The proposed project would use state-of-the-art equipment and analyses to investigate dynamic fatiguing and non-fatiguing muscle contractions, producing new insights into the underlying biomechanics and physiology of muscle function.
The Biomechanics Laboratory based at our Chelmsford campus is equipped with advanced electromyography, near-infrared spectroscopy, Dopplex Digital Doppler and photoplethysmography (PPG) equipment which can be integrated with 3D motion analysis cameras and integrated force plates for assessment of movements such as walking, stair ascent and descent and cycling (using either legs or arms).
Research Objectives:
The results from research addressing the above objectives have widespread applications including orthotics, prosthetics, clinical diagnostics, rehabilitation, and physiotherapy.
This project is self-funded.
Details of studentships for which funding is available are selected by a competitive process and are advertised on our jobs website as they become available.
If you wish to be considered for this project, you’ll need to apply for our School of Allied Health PhD. In the section of the application form entitled 'Outline research proposal', please quote the above title and include a research proposal.
You can contact the 1st supervisor by emailing [email protected]
For more information on PhDs and how to apply visit our research pages.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Social Care
Veterans & Families Institute for Military Social Research
School of Allied Health and Social Care
1st: Dr Lauren Godier-McBard
2nd: Prof Catherine Lee
Service children face significant challenges during their education, including high levels of mobility and separation from their serving parent. No peer-reviewed published research has been conducted in the UK relating specifically to the experiences of LGBTQ+ service children.
US literature research has focused on comparisons with military connected non-LGBTQ+ youth and has shown that military LGBTQ+ youth were more likely to participate in range of risky behaviours (smoke, use alcohol, use drugs), and transgender military youth were more likely than non-transgender youth to weapon carry in schools (De Pedro & Shim-Pelayob, 2018; De Pedro & Esqueda, 2020).
In the UK, research has focused on the experiences of non-military LGBTQ+ pupils and this has shown that there are considerable issues relating to self-harm and depression amongst this group (McDermott et al., 2008; Skagerberg et al., 2013; Marchant et al., 2017) and researchers have called for more peer mentorship and role models (Irish et al., 2019).
What are the experiences of LGBTQ+ service children in education?
Qualitative investigation of the experience and issues faced by LGBTQ+ service children during their education. To include interviews/focus groups with LGBTQ+ service children/young people and educational professionals/staff.
This project is self-funded.
Details of studentships for which funding is available are selected by a competitive process and are advertised on our jobs website as they become available.
If you wish to be considered for this project, you’ll need to apply for our School of Education and Social Care PhD. In the section of the application form entitled 'Outline research proposal', please quote the above title and include a research proposal.
You can contact the 1st supervisor by emailing [email protected]
For more information on PhDs and how to apply visit our research pages.