Partnership dissolution and re-formation in later life among individuals from minority ethnic communities in the UK

About the project

Explore the personal impact of partnership dissolution and re-partnering in later life in a fully funded PhD project in collaboration with the ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership.

The likelihood of experiencing divorce at ages 65 and over has been rising in the last two decades. However, our understanding of how ethnic differences affect partnership dissolution and re-partnering in later life remains limited. There is also a need to further understand how these events affect the individuals’ resources.

In this project, you’ll analyse data from the UK Census and the UK Household Longitudinal Survey to investigate the impact of these patterns on older individuals’ financial circumstances, social networks, and mental and physical health. You will develop your quantitative analysis skills and build on your interest in ethnic differences in partnership patterns and resources.

This is a supervisor-led PhD project for equality, diversity and inclusion. We encourage candidates from under-represented backgrounds to apply.

Professor Maria Evandrou FAcSS

• Centre for Research on Ageing: Director
• ESRC: Centre for Population Change (CPC): I am Co-Director of ESRC Centre for Population Change. My collaborative work focuses on a) Increasing longevity and the changing life course, and b) Understanding intergenerational relations & exchange. For more information, please visit the CPC website.
• ESRC CPC - Connecting Generations: I am also Co-Director of the ESRC CPC-Connecting Generations research programme. The research will investigate areas such as changing intergenerational relationships; intergenerational flows of support in later life; and work-life balance, employment and caring responsibilities in mid-life. More information on the Connecting Generations research programme here.

Professor Jane Falkingham

• Professor Jane Falkingham: VP Engagement and International

Professor Athina Vlachantoni

• Informal care provision and receipt
• Unmet need for social care
• Pension protection

Entry requirements

You require both of the following qualifications in a relevant subject area:

You must also have:

It's desirable that you have:

• a 2:1 honours degree (or international equivalent)
• an MSc with 2:1 honours/merit (or international equivalent)
• a background in social sciences linked to ethnicity, partnership and/ or ageing over the life course
• knowledge of binary and multinomial logistic regressions regression modelling
• knowledge of longitudinal analysis
• experience in using Understanding Society (UKHLS) or other large-scale datasets

International applicants

If English isn't your first language, you'll need to complete an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to demonstrate your competence in English.

You'll need to achieve a Band G, IELTS 7.0 overall with a minimum of 6.5 in all components.

Fees and funding

Full tuition fees and a tax-free stipend of £17,668 for up to 3.5 years.

There is also access to additional support for training and fieldwork.

How to apply

You must submit 2 application forms to:

• University of Southampton
• ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership

University of Southampton application

Apply to University of Southampton

You need to:

• choose programme type (Research), 2023/24, Faculty of Social Sciences
• choose PhD in Gerontology (Full time)
• add name of the supervisor (Professor Maria Evandrou) in section 2

ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership

Apply to ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership

You must have submitted an application to us before completing the ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership form.

Faculty of social sciences

Email: fss-pgr-apply@soton.ac.uk

ESRC South Coast Doctoral Partnership

Email: scdtp@soton.ac.uk

Project leader

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact Professor Maria Evandrou.

• email: maria.evandrou@soton.ac.uk
• phone: +44 (0)23 8059 4808

Research areas