The overarching aim of this Sports Psychology PhD Scholarship project is to develop, implement, and evaluate a psychological skills program for student-athletes, with the aim of creating facilitative psychosocial characteristics and behaviors. This project will utilize an action research methodology to first identify the specific psychological needs of the student-athletes at Millfield School and subsequently implement a series of interventions to address these needs. The initial identification of the need will occur through a series of interviews and focus groups with students, teachers, and coaches and supported by observational data obtained on the student-athletes. Subsequently, a psychological skills program (the intervention) will be developed and implemented before being evaluated through a series of qualitative, quantitative, and reflective methods. Based on the outcome of this evaluation, a revised program (intervention two) will be developed and implemented. This program will again be evaluated using a number of different methods to identify what impact the program had, who it influenced, and how it worked. Based on this data, recommendations for future psychological skills programs for adolescent student-athletes will be produced.
Eligibility for the Sports Psychology Ph.D. Scholarship
Candidates must normally hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University) in Sports Science or similar relevant science discipline.
Additional requirements for the Sports Psychology PhD Scholarship:
- The requirement to have applied sports psychology experience working with adolescent student-athletes
- Completed/completing appropriate accreditation in Sport and Exercise Science/Sport and Exercise Psychology
- Confidence in working with qualitative methods
- Familiarity with the private school sector
English Language Requirements: If applicable – IELTS 6.5 overall (with at least 5.5 in each individual component) or Swansea recognized equivalent.
Due to funding restrictions, this scholarship is open to the UK and EU-based students only. EU Students must be eligible to receive the EU Transitional Bursary Scheme.
Benefits of the Scholarship Program
This scholarship covers the full cost of UK tuition fees and an annual stipend of £15,609.
Additional research expenses will also be available.
Sport Psychology / Sport Science: Fully Funded Ph.D. Scholarship: Enhancing the development of facilitative psychological characteristics and behaviors in adolescent student-athletes
Funding providers: Swansea University and Millfield School
Subject areas: Sports Psychology / Sport Science
Project start date:
- 1 April 2022 (Enrolment open from mid-March)
Supervisors:
- Professor Camilla Knight
- Dr. Denise Hill
- Dr. Victoria Lovett
External advisors:
- Professor Chris Harwood (Loughborough University)
- Professor Kris Henriksen (University of Southern Denmark)
Aligned program of study: Ph.D. in Sport and Exercise Science
Mode of study: Full-time
Application
You can click here to Apply for the Sports Psychology Ph.D. Scholarship.