BSPS Doctoral Scholarship Award 2012

UPDATE

To address some queries:

1. Deadline. In light of the fact that many supervisors and referees will have many calls on their time which might make it difficult to provide the necessary letters by the deadline, a partial extension of the deadline will, exceptionally, be allowed in this, the first year that the competition is being run under its new timing. Applicants must still submit their materials by midnight GMT 21 March 2012, but applications will still be considered if referees and supervisors are unable to submit their letters by this date; however these letters should be submitted as soon as possible and in any case, no later than Tuesday 27 March 2012. Applicants should include in their application materials a statement of whom we should expect reference and supervisor letters from.

2. Supervisor’s Letters. Applicants may be in the position of considering a number of different departments for their doctoral studies and thus have a range of possible supervisors in mind. In this event, they should ask their currently preferred supervisor to write for them. Should an applicant be successful in the BSPS doctoral scholarship competition, but end up accepted onto a PhD programme at a different institution from that of the supervisor who initially wrote for them, it would still be possible to hold the award at the new institution, subject to a suitable endorsement from the new supervisor. It should be noted that where it is obvious that a given applicant and project is a good fit to supervisor and institution, supervisor’s letters may be rather brief without thereby disadvantaging a candidate.

Please contact the Honorary Secretary if there are any queries on these or other points relating to the Scholarship competition.

The Society announces that it will be offering up to two scholarships for doctoral work in the philosophy of science at a UK university, subject to candidates of sufficient merit presenting themselves. The level of the award will be the same as that of AHRC funding and will cover fees and maintenance. Scholarships will be awarded for a period equal to the institutional norm for PhD study at the student's institution minus any time already spent on the PhD (i.e., up to 3 yrs at most UK institutions). [See note 1.] The BSPS award will not be made to anyone with another source of funding [though see note 2]. Applicants must have applied for other sources of funding for which they are eligible. The closing date for applications is midnight GMT Wednesday 21 March 2012. (It is intended that the outcome will be notified promptly thereafter.) Applicants are responsible for ensuring that complete applications, including references, arrive by the deadline. Applicants are therefore advised to give their referees and proposed supervisor clear notice of the deadline by which materials are required.

The competition is open both to Home/EU and to international students, provided that they will have been accepted onto an appropriate doctoral programme in philosophy of science at a UK university in time for the start of the 2012-13 academic year.

How to Apply:

A) Applicants should send (preferably as a single pdf file):

1. A covering letter;
2. A curriculum vitae (no more than 2 sides of A4);
3. An outline of the proposed research (no more than 500 words);
4. A statement that i) sets out whether or not they have any other funding in place and what and how much if so; which ii) sets out what other sources of funding they have applied for and the dates at which they will hear whether these applications have been successful; and iii) explains the institutional norm for PhD completion at their institution (i.e. whether their institution follows a 1+3 model or a 2+2 model for MA and PhD study, for example).

In addition:

5. If the applicant has already been accepted onto an appropriate doctoral programme, they should provide evidence that this is so. Otherwise, the award will be made to a successful candidate subject to confirmation at a later date of their having been accepted onto an appropriate programme.

B) The proposed supervisor should send a brief statement (no more than 500 words) explaining why they are happy to supervise the applicant on the proposed project and how and why the supervisor’s institution is a good fit for the person and project.

C) Two academic referees (which could include the supervisor) should write reference letters directly to the Honorary Secretary.

All documents should be sent by email to the Honorary Secretary at christopher.timpson@bnc.ox.ac.uk

Any queries should also be directed to the Honorary Secretary.

Notes

1. Where an applicant is already part way through their PhD the BSPS grant will be correspondingly reduced.
2. In cases where applicants have minimal funding from other sources this will be made up to AHRC levels by the BSPS grant. (For example, an applicant who has a fees-only award from elsewhere would be eligible to apply for a maintenance grant from the BSPS.)


Dr C.G. Timpson,
Honorary Secretary,
British Society for the Philosophy of Science;
Brasenose College, Oxford, OX1 4AJ, UK.
christopher.timpson@bnc.ox.ac.uk

Copyright © 2012 British Society for the Philosophy of Science