Key Information
Funding provider: Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science
Subject areas: Psychology, Nutrition, Population and Public Health
Project start date: 1 July 2025 (Enrolment open from mid-June)
Supervisors:
- Dr Alecia Cousins
- Dr Hayley Young
- Dr Menna Brown
Aligned programme of study: PhD in Psychology
Mode of study: Full-time
Project description:
Reviews conducted by the UK government, the National Institute of Health and the Food Foundation outline that high levels of consumption of Ultra Processed Foods (UPFs) and a lack of healthy dietary intake (e.g., fresh fruits and vegetables) is the one of the biggest risk factors for the development of preventable, non-communicable physical and mental health issues. Food related ill-health (mental and physical) costs the NHS between £6-11bn+ per year (Public Health England, 2016).
Since the “cost of living crisis”, the number of people in the UK living in poverty has increased significantly, resulting in many more households facing food insecurity which is associated with reduced consumption of balanced nutritional intake and increased consumption of UPFs. Many households are also turning to local foodbanks for support. While foodbank parcels provide a vital lifeline by supporting food provision, parcels largely consist of items which are UPFs and lack in fresh food produce due to financial and logistical barriers. This projects aims to work in partnership with a local foodbank in order to further understand the relationship between food insecurity, dietary patterns and psychological outcomes. It also aims to explore the development of community based initiatives to increase access to fresh food produce and evidence the impact of this provision on psychological outcomes.
Project objectives include:
- Explore the link between food insecurity, foodbank service use and mental health.
- Understand potential barriers and faciliators to accessing fresh food from the perspective of organisations and service users.
- Working with a interdisciplinary team and members of the community, co-develop a community based initiative to widen access to fresh food produce for service users.
The successful candidate will benefit from an interdisciplinary team of experts from different sectors (nutrition and public health research, food industry partners and charitable organisations). Through participatory research techniques the successful candidate will also have the opportunity to develop expertise in networking, collaboration, communication, community engagement and engaging policy makers. The studentship will be especially suited to candidates who have strong interpersonal skills (e.g., communication, empathy, teamwork). Experience working with members of the public through organisations such as foodbanks, charities, local community groups would be desireable.
Eligibility
UK fee eligible students only
Applicants for PhD must hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level and a master’s degree. Alternatively, applicants with a UK first-class honours degree (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University) not holding a master’s degree, will be considered on an individual basis. See – Country-specific Information for European Applicants 2019 and Country-specific Information for International Applicants 2019.
English Language
IELTS 6.5 Overall (with no individual component below 6.5) or Swansea University recognised equivalent. Full details of our English Language policy, including certificate time validity, can be found here.
Funding
This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £19,237 for 2024/25).
Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available.
How to Apply
To apply, please complete your application online with the following information
- Course choice – please select
(Full Time) Psychology / PhD / Full-time / 3 Years / July 25
In the event you have already applied for the above programme previously, the application system may issue a warning notice and prevent application, in this case, please email pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk where staff will be happy to assist you in submitting your application.
2. Start year – please select 2025
3. Funding (page 8 on the application process) –
- ‘Are you funding your studies yourself?’ – please select No
- ‘Name of Individual or organisation providing funds for study’ – please enter ‘RS793 – Food Banks’
*It is the responsibility of the applicant to list the above information accurately when applying, please note that applications received without the above information listed will not be considered for the scholarship award.
One application is required per individual Swansea University led research scholarship award; applications cannot be considered listing multiple Swansea University led research scholarship awards.
NOTE: Applicants for PhD/EngD/ProfD/EdD – to support our commitment to providing an environment free of discrimination and celebrating diversity at Swansea University you are required to complete an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Monitoring Form in addition to your programme application form.
Please note that completion of the EDI Monitoring Form is mandatory; your application may not progress if this information is not submitted.
As part of your online application, you MUST upload the following documents (please do not send these via email):
- CV
- Degree certificates and transcripts (if you are currently studying for a degree, screenshots of your grades to date are sufficient)
- A cover letter including a ‘Supplementary Personal Statement’ to explain why the position particularly matches your skills and experience and how you choose to develop the project
- Two references (academic or previous employer) on headed paper or using the Swansea University reference form. Please note that we are not able to accept references received citing private email accounts, e.g. Hotmail. Referees should cite their employment email address for verification of reference
- Evidence of meeting English Language requirement (if applicable)
- Copy of UK resident visa (if applicable)
- Confirmation of EDI form submission
Informal enquiries are welcome; please contact Dr Alecia Cousins – a.l.cousins@swansea.ac.uk
*External Partner Application Data Sharing – Please note that as part of the scholarship application selection process, application data sharing may occur with external partners outside of the University, when joint/co- funding of a scholarship project is applicable.
