Leverhulme Trust Aural Diversity (LAURA) Doctoral Studentships

Goldsmiths is proud to be a partner in the recently announced Aural Diversity Doctoral Research Hub (LAURA), funded by the Leverhulme Trust and led by the University of Salford.

This Hub will provide inter-disciplinary PhD and Masters training in the study of hearing and listening differences. 

Value

LAURA students studying full-time will receive a living allowance (stipend) of £18,622 per year, with an additional £2,000 per year London weighting for students based at Goldsmiths. LAURA students will not pay tuition fees. In addition, LAURA students will each have access to up to £10,000 for research and professional development costs over the duration of their funding award. 

Number available

2

Year of entry

2024

Eligibility criteria

You should normally have a minimum of a good Masters qualification in a subject relevant to the PhD topic and a minimum of a 2:1 first degree. Conditional offers can be made for students currently on such a course.

We regret that we cannot accept international applicants this year. However, LAURA will be recruiting again for entry in October 2025 and 2026 and we will offer international places then. 

Some of the PhD topics involve studying a particular group of aurally divergent people – for example, there are several suggested projects on autistic hearing. If you have a hearing difference yourself or otherwise identify with the group you wish to study, then we particularly encourage you to apply. A range of aural diversity is represented in the supervisors and directors of LAURA.  

The LAURA hub can offer additional support for aurally divergent people during the application process, such as a mentor who could offer advice on your draft application.  Enquire about being matched with an independent mentor by emailing see-laura@salford.ac.uk 

Application deadlines

21 April 2024 

How to apply

Choosing a suitable project

To apply for a studentship, you will first need to identify a suitable project. There are two routes to do this:

Firstly, you can choose a project from the list of suggested research topics and supervisors. Projects offered by Goldsmiths can be found under the following headers: Noise and Soundscapes, Culture and Society, Practice Research.

Once you have identified the project that most interests you, the next step is to contact the lead supervisor and suggest a one-page outline that expands on the description provided. If the supervisor agrees, you will develop your outline into a full PhD proposal.

Separately, if you have your own research project proposal relevant to LAURA, you should first identify potential supervisors within either the Department of Music or Psychology; research interests are listed on each staff member's individual profiles.

You can then get in touch with one of our academic leads for LAURA as listed below:

• For PhD projects in Music: Professor John Drever, J.Drever (@gold.ac.uk)
• For PhD projects in Psychology: Professor Daniel Müllensiefen, D.Müllensiefen (@gold.ac.uk)

Applying

You must then apply through Goldsmiths' central postgraduate research degree admissions system, noting the admissions requirements for the programme for which you are applying. Your chosen programme must be a part of the Department of Music or Psychology.

Find out more about applying for a postgraduate research degree at Goldsmiths.

Please note that, for the application field ‘Planned Basis for Funding’, you must include ‘Leverhulme LAURA Doctoral Studentships’.

Enquiries

Informal enquiries about specific PhD projects (including student-proposed project ideas) should be made to the supervisor.

General enquiries about LAURA and the application process should be made to graduateschool (@gold.ac.uk), using the email subject: LAURA Studentships.