PhD studentship in Slavonic linguistics at the University of Sheffield

Venue: Sheffield (UK)
Period: from autumn 2012
Application deadline: May 1, 2012

The Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies at the University of Sheffield invites applications for a PhD studentship in Slavonic linguistics. The studentship is sponsored by the Leverhulme Trust. 
Candidates will have a proposal that involves the collection of experimental data (i.e. questionnaires, tests) that can be analysed quantitatively. Proposals might be purely morphosyntactic in focus, or could include a sociolinguistic element (geographic/social distribution of forms or constructions). An interest in tying this research to data gathered from corpora is also welcome, as is a focus on how our methods of collection and analysis may affect the results. 
The successful candidate will receive a three-year studentship at the research council rate of £13,590 per annum, plus travel and conference funding. Tuition fees for UK and other European Economic Area residents (inc. Switzerland) will be paid in full. For other applicants, only a portion of the tuition fees can be met.

Candidates should have, or be expecting to obtain by this summer, a BA and MA, with at least one of them focusing on linguistics, and have degree-level facility in the Slavonic language you wish to work on. The first degree should be a good upper second or equivalent. Some familiarity with corpora and statistics will be an advantage.

Informal contact prior to application regarding your proposed topic is welcomed and may increase chances of a successful proposal.  Enquiries should be directed to Professor Neil Bermel, n.bermel@sheffield.ac.uk. 
To apply, candidates should submit an application for admission to PhD study on the University’s standard online form.
The application should include a clearly formulated research proposal of 500-1000 words, plus bibliography.  It should propose a preliminary hypothesis or research question and lay out the way in which the candidate plan to test or answer it.  Please indicate clearly in the application that the proposed source of funding is the Leverhulme Trust studentship. 
Applications should reach the University of Sheffield no later than May 1, 2012.  Interviews by phone may be conducted before reaching a decision in mid- to late May.

Neil Bermel
Department of Russian & Slavonic Studies, University of Sheffield
address: Jessop West, Sheffield S3 7RA - UK
tel.: 0044.(0)114.222.7405
e-mail: n.bermel@sheffield.ac.uk