Funded Social Work and Social Care Doctoral Studentship
Funded studentship for research in children’s pathways through care and fostering
We are pleased to be working in partnership with TACT, the UK’s largest fostering charity, to offer an 80% funded Professional Doctorate studentship for an experienced social work and/or social care professional.
This exciting opportunity is for a practitioner who wishes to undertake our Professional Doctorate in Social Work and Social Care while contributing to research that will improve outcomes for children and young people.
About the studentship
The successful candidate will work with leading academics, researchers and practice experts to develop research focused on:
- Fostering and permanence
- Children’s pathways through care
- Professional decision-making in children’s social care
- Improving outcomes for children, young people and families through evidence-informed practice
The studentship offers:
- 80% funding towards tuition fees for our Professional Doctorate in Social Work and Social Care, completed over 5 years on a part-time basis.
- Academic supervision from Tavistock Education and Training and collaboration with experienced practitioners from TACT.
- Opportunities to collaborate with nationally recognised experts in children’s social care, fostering and permanence.
- A supportive research environment that values co-production, innovation and practice-based evidence.
- The opportunity to undertake doctoral research with the potential to influence policy and improve outcomes for children and families across the sector.
We welcome applications from experienced practitioners who are passionate about advancing knowledge, improving practice and making a lasting difference to the lives of children and young people in care and those that support them.
Applicants should meet the entry requirements for our Professional Doctorate and will also need to submit a separate application to this programme.
This studentship is only available to students who qualify for Home Fees.
How to apply
To apply for this studentship opportunity, please express your interest via the online form below. Then, submit an application to our Professional Doctorate in Social Work and Social Care via our MyTAP application portal.
As part of the MyTAP application form, you will be prompted to provide a brief proposal for a doctoral research project that could be completed on a part-time basis over a three-year period. This research proposal should be tailored to this studentship opportunity. It should focus on examining the impact of the newly developed Regional Care Co-operatives and help to produce knowledge of real-world value to an organisation like TACT. Your proposal might, for example, include a focus on children and young people’s experiences, outcomes, social work practice and/or foster carers’ experiences, or other relevant topics.
Applicants will be assessed on the quality of the research proposal and wider application. The deadline for applications is Monday 10 August 2026. Short-listed applicants will be invited for an online interview in August.
If you have already submitted an application to our Professional Doctorate programme but wish to be considered for this studentship, please complete the form below or contact us directly: training@tavi-port.ac.uk. We will facilitate the submission of your new research proposal.
If you have any questions about the studentship or application process, or if you would be interested in funding a studentship in future, please get in touch: training@tavi-port.ac.uk.