Skip to main content

Lemn Sissay PhD scholarship for care leavers

Poet of international acclaim and children’s rights activist, Lemn Sissay, holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Huddersfield. Having spent his childhood in care, Lemn’s achievements are an inspiration to other looked after young people across the country and it is fitting that this scholarship should be offered in his name.

The University of Huddersfield recognises the particular challenges young care leavers face in accessing higher education.

The Lemn Sissay PhD Scholarship for Care Leavers is a full scholarship which covers fees and provides a bursary of £13,700 per year for 3 years full-time study at doctoral level. The focus of the study can be in any subject area as long as it fits within one of our seven Academic Schools.

This scholarship is only open to care leavers. Applicants must have been in Local Authority care up to or at age 16, and still in care, or have left within the last ten years.

To apply for this PhD Scholarship, please apply using our online application form. You should clearly indicate on the form (section 4) that you are applying for the ‘Lemn Sissay PhD Scholarship for Care Leavers’, and within the application identify which School/Department your study would sit within.

The selection process will be in two stages.

  1. The first stage will be to determine if the applicant meets the criteria and whether the research focus aligns with one of our Academic Schools.
  2. Secondly, selected applicants only will be invited to submit a 500-800 word statement - “How I would make use of this scholarship”.

You will need to complete the online application form.

Criteria:

  1. You must be a UK citizen
  2. You should:
    • have a first degree at upper second class honours (2:1) or above or be on schedule to achieve a 2:1 in this academic year or;
    • have a relevant Master's degree (subject to the requirement above) or be on target to successfully complete your Master's degree in this academic year.
  3. Live within a daily commutable distance of Huddersfield

The successful candidate will be expected to undertake up to a maximum of 6 hours teaching/ other duties per week as appropriate to their experience, disciplinary background, allocated research centre and broader needs of the institute.

Applications for 2018 have now closed. If you would like further information,  please contact Rebecca Hayes, Care Leavers Coordinator, at R.Hayes@hud.ac.uk