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Welcome to the SWDTP
This online handbook aims to provide a general introduction to the South West Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP).
It should be used in conjunction with your own institutional programme handbook and the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide available at: ESRC postgraduate funding guide – UKRI. Click here to read more about support for students on the UKRI website.
Click here to read more about what to expect from your provider on the UKRI website.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The ESRC postgraduate funding guide contains a lot of important and useful information and should be used as a first point of reference, including on maternity/paternity leave, sickness policy, suspensions, employment, teaching whilst studying and holidays.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: The conditions of your visa override ESRC terms and conditions, please ensure that you are familiar with visa expectations.
For detailed information on your specific course, please also refer to your department handbook and/or websites.
Introduction
The SWDTP, which is primarily funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), was developed to improve postgraduate training, through sharing innovation and best practice across disciplinary and interdisciplinary fields. It is also committed to building on the collaborative potential that is central to social sciences research and practice. The SWDTP is allocated 34 studentships annually. SWDTP policy and procedures are governed and stipulated by ESRC guidelines. You can read more about these at: Developing people and skills – ESRC – UKRI
The eight partner institutions have a strong track record in advancing knowledge through high-quality research and teaching, and in working in partnership with business, public sector, and civic society organisations.
To find out more, please visit our About the SWDTP page.
SWDTP Governance Structure
The SWDTP has a Management Board, which has overall strategic responsibility for the DTP and meets quarterly. Full membership of the Board can be found at: SWDTP Management Board | SWDTP
The SWDTP also has an Academic Advisory Board (AAB), which manages the partnership between the five institutions, as well as the development and implementation of academic programmes. Student representatives attend the AAB, which meets five times per year. Membership of the AAB can be found at: Academic Advisory Board | SWDTP
Key Contacts
The SWDTP hub team will be happy to help you and answer any questions you might have regarding funding and allowances, placements, collaboration opportunities, and SWDTP events and advanced training. To find out more about the team, please visit our Meet the Team page.
The SWDTP also has a number of student representatives. The reps are recruited from an open call for volunteers. The reps attend Academic Advisory Board (AAB) meetings so please let them know if you have any issues you would like raised. The reps for 2025/26 can be found on the SWDTP website at Student Reps | Our Students | SWDTP
We will always do our very best to help you with any questions you might have about the SWDTP, but please note for academic or pastoral issues, you should liaise with your supervisor in the first instance.
Appeals and Complaints
Please refer to the SWDTP Appeals and Complaints Procedure if required. Click here to read more about appeals and complaints support for students on the UKRI website.
Data Sharing
Your Data – UKRI Data Sharing, Open Access and Acknowledgement
As a student funded by a UK Research Council, we are required to provide the ESRC with standard information on all funded students through the UKRI Funding Service portal (SDS). We are required to maintain these records throughout the studentship and amend them to reflect any changes to your registration. Data may include some sensitive personal data, e.g. gender, ethnicity, and disability, if this has been disclosed.
Your personal data may be used to monitor purposes and policy in relation to the ESRC’s involvement in postgraduate training, including statistical analyses in relation to the evaluation of research and the study of trends. Information may also be used to contact ESRC funded students.
To meet the ESRC’s obligations for public accountability and the dissemination of information, details of training and research grants may also be made available on the Research Council’s Gateway to Research GtR, the Research Council’s websites, and other publicly available databases, as well as in reports, documents and mailing lists.
The following information about funded students may routinely be made publicly available:
· Student name
· Name(s) of project partner organisations
· Project titles and topics
· Project summaries
· Studentship period of study
· Numbers of students in particular regions, universities or departments in context of the Training Grant funding announced
· Aggregated information regarding student numbers, stipend levels, qualifications, age at start, migration levels (from first degree university to another) etc.
The offer of UKRI studentship funding is conditional on your consenting for your personal data to be shared with the ESRC as outlined.
Personal information may need to be disclosed by your institution with the SWDTP hub for various reasons that include, but are not limited to, disability or illness, for the purpose of reviewing and approving suspensions, different types of leave or other types of support in line with the studentship funding.
Information may be retained by the ESRC, after completion of the PhD, for policy involving analyses of trends in postgraduate training and reporting on these to government bodies such as the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills.
Students supported by a UKRI Training Grant shall, subject to the procedures laid down by the ESRC and excluding Theses, publish the results of research funded by a Training Grant in accordance with normal academic practice and UKRI policy on Open Access UKRI open access policy – UKRI. Publications can be accepted in English or Welsh.
Publications and other forms of media communication, including media appearances, press releases and conferences, must acknowledge the support received from ESRC / UKRI, quoting the Training Grant reference number if appropriate. Please see details on how to acknowledge funding here Research Resources and Policies | SWDTP