Applications are invited for five PhD studentships covering the period 1 October 2011 to 30 September 2014, working under the general supervision of Professor Ian Roberts in the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages (although each student will in fact be assigned a four-member PhD committee). This award has become available as a result of an ERC Advanced Grant “Rethinking Comparative Syntax”. Successful applicants for these awards are expected to begin PhD study on 1 October 2011 and will receive a student stipend sufficient to meet the fees and maintenance requirements.

Applicants should have completed a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Linguistics, with a specialisation in Syntax and expect to attain or have attained a mark of distinction. Demonstrable interest in one or more specific topics in comparative syntactic research over and above what is set out in the research proposal, and/or a good knowledge of some language(s) other than English, as well as excellent writing skills in English, are desirable. Eligible candidates must submit an advanced proposal of research relevant to the “Rethinking Comparative Syntax” project, in particular, in relation to that project, they should indicate which of the five main empirical areas of research described there they would prefer to carry out doctoral work on.

Scholarship Application Deadline: 31 March 2011