PhD Studentship: Discovering Causal Determinants of Positive Child Development in Observational Data

Summary

The University of Surrey are offering a fully funded PhD studentship with a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) standard stipend funded by University of Surrey (the 2025/2026 stipend is £20,780per annum, which will increase each year in line with the UKRI rate) with funding for 3.5 years. The studentship is only open to candidates who pay UK/home rate fees (i.e., no international students).

The PhD project is based on the statistical analysis of existing data and focuses on investigating the causal predictors of positive child development apply various methods of causal inference (see below for a more detailed description).

We are looking for candidates with excellent statistical skills and the ability to acquire new statistical expertise when needed, as well as advanced writing skills. Candidates should have a background in psychology (preferably with a BSc and MSc in psychology) and a strong desire to advance the field of developmental psychology.