South West Doctoral Training Partnership (ESRC) PhD

Programme overview

Established in 2011, the South West Doctoral Training Partnership (formerly known as the SWDTC), now comprises the Universities of Bristol, Bath, Exeter, Plymouth and UWE. As recognised research leaders, all institutions are committed to providing excellent training, development and teaching for the postgraduate community across disciplinary and interdisciplinary research fields.

The SWDTP is a strategic partnership accredited by the Economic and Social Sciences Research Council. As well as developing tailored training programmes for our students and staff, the partnership also supports a wide variety of collaborative activities, including events and student placements in public, private and civic society organisations.

The partnership is made up of a number of disciplinary and interdisciplinary pathways. For details of the pathways available at Bristol, please see the Apply to the SWDTP section of our website. The pathway you are interested in will determine which programme you will need to apply to through our online application system. Each programme has its own entry in the programme finder where you will find further details of research activities and potential supervisors.

The SWDTP offers funding for 1+3 or +3 awards in a range of disciplines and interdisciplinary themes. Students will normally be registered in the school of their first supervisor. This may not be the school that processes your application.