Migrant entrepreneurship, gender and generation: context and family dynamics in small town Britain

About the project

We’re looking for highly motivated students to investigate how entrepreneurship affects gender and intergenerational dynamics among migrant family firms in small towns.

This project is a collaboration between the University of Southampton and the ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership.

You will work across disciplines to investigate:

You’ll have an interest in migration and/or work and employment, with knowledge of qualitative and ethnographic methods.

• the main opportunities and barriers for migrants when setting up businesses
• the effects of entrepreneurship on gender and intergenerational dynamics
• what is the role of context on these strategies, such as urban and rural environments, and availability of business support

Dr Maria Villares-Varela

• Migrant entrepreneurship
• Work and employment relation in small firms
• Family businesses

Dr Heidi Armbruster

• The anthropology of migration and borders
• Race and diversity in rural and provincial spaces;
• critical whiteness;

Dr Nana Zhang

• Labour, migration and trafficking
• Women, gender and development
• Children and childhood

Entry requirements

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

You must also have:

• a 2:1 honours degree (or international equivalent)
• an MSc with 2:1 honours/merit (or international equivalent)
• training in qualitative research methods, such as interviews and associated tools, and analysis
• an interest in migration studies, work and employment, race and ethnicity, gender, and generations

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), 2022/23, Faculty of Social Sciences
• choose PhD in Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology (Full time)
• add name of the supervisor (Dr María Villares-Varela) 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 Dr María Villares-Varela.

• email: m.villares-varela@soton.ac.uk
• phone: +44 (0)23 8059 2576

Research areas