First, may we take this opportunity to welcome you to the Department of Politics and International Relations. We take pride in the quality of our postgraduate students and hope that you will find your time here both stimulating and intellectually rewarding. We believe that one of the most important features of a first class department is the strength of its postgraduate community. We therefore hope to offer you the highest quality learning environment in order to continue what we believe is a proud record when it comes to postgraduate studies in Politics and International Relations at Sheffield.
The Department of Politics and International Relations is above all a community of researchers. It is research that motivates our work, informs our thoughts, and stimulates our teaching. We believe that the Department has a deserved reputation as a friendly and stimulating environment in which to conduct postgraduate research. We see research students as early-stage fellow researchers and hope to mentor research students from a stage of initial interest to expertise. In order to do this, the Department offers excellent supervision, participation on specialist modules, involvement with workshops and seminars, and support for networking and fieldwork – all designed in a bespoke fashion to fit the disposition of each researcher through a Training Needs Analysis and other aspects of supervision. We also work closely with the Faculty of Social Sciences and White Rose Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership (WRDTP) to provide research and work experience opportunities that will equip you for a range of careers within and beyond academia. We encourage you to engage with the WRDTP and to join one of the interdisciplinary pathways to avail of further networking, research and development opportunities.
This Handbook should provide you with all the background information you need concerning postgraduate research in the Department of Politics and International Relations. We recommend that you read this Handbook carefully and hold on to it for reference during your time in the Department. If you misplace it, you can find an up-to-date version on the PhD page of the Department’s website. You should be aware that this Handbook may be revised during the period of your studies here, and you should always have a copy of the most current version. It should be read in conjunction with the Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes.
We look forward to seeing your development and success over the course of your PhD studies.
Professor Charlotte Burns Head of Department
Dr Lisa Stampnitzky PGR Director