PhD Funding Opportunities

A Gold-Standard Personality Disorder Outcome Measure for Regional Implementation

Learn more from Dr Emanuele Fino

Cognitive and Motor Set-Shifting in Aging

Learn more from Dr Andrew Monaghan

Mental Health Priorities of People Living with Parkinson’s: a PD-LIFE project.

Learn more from Professor Donncha Hanna

Funded PhD Opportunities in the School of Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast 2026-27

The School of Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast invites applications for the following fully funded PhD projects:

Understanding Child to Parent Violence: A Family Wide Perspective.	Dr K McLaughlin	DfE funded
Developing and Validating a Mobile Health Tool for Predicting Postpartum Depression Symptoms	Dr A Truzzi	DfE funded
Automated Analysis of Challenging Clinical Interactions: An AI Approach to Routinely Collected Healthcare Data”	Dr M Lavelle	DfE funded
The Double-Edged Sword of Identity: Investigating Whether Single-Identity Work in Northern Ireland Reinforces Boundaries or Builds Bridges to Contact	Dr D Blaylock	NI Executive Office/School of Psychology
Dance Interventions for Parkinson’s Disease: Co-Design, Feasibility and Wellbeing Outcomes	Dr M Doumas	DfE funded
Mental Health Priorities of People Living with Parkinson’s: a PD-LIFE project.	Professor D Hanna	HEA funded
Cultural- and gender-related experiences of Parkinson’s across Ireland: a PD-LIFE project.	Professor I Latu	HEA funded
Cognitive and Motor Set-Shifting in Aging	Dr A Monaghan	Potentially DfE or School funded
A mixed-methods investigation of the mechanisms linking domestic violence and abuse (DVA) to obesity	Professor C Armour	Potentially DfE or School funded
Bridging Divides: How Parental, Peer and Social Media Socialisation Shape Youth Attitudes, Racism, and Community Cohesion in Northern Ireland	Dr G Baysu	Potentially DfE or School Funded
Understanding and Addressing Justice Needs in Post-conflict Northern Ireland	Dr M Li	Potentially DfE or School funded
A Gold-Standard Personality Disorder Outcome Measure for Regional Implementation	Dr E Fino	CAST DfE
Human Behaviour Change for sustainable dairy farming	Dr G Carroll	CAST DfE

Please note that any available PhD studentships will be allocated on a competitive basis across a number of projects currently being advertised by the School.

Applicants must have at least a 2.1 degree (or equivalent) in Psychology or a related subject and meet English Language requirements.

The University welcomes and encourages applications from disabled people or those with long term conditions.

The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity. Prospective students with a disability or long term condition are encouraged to disclose as early as possible in the application and selection process by contacting admissions@qub.ac.uk. Upon disclosure the University will ensure appropriate reasonable adjustments and additional supports can be put in place for applicants. Reasonable adjustments and additional supports will be determined on an individual basis, in line with the course entry requirements to ensure selection standards are maintained.

The School welcomes applications from international students. Mobility allowances of up to £500 per year to cover travel expenses to Belfast will normally be available to successful candidates eligible for QUB international tuition fee rates.

Current unfunded projects

We also have many unfunded projects available.

Are children’s intuitions about ownership impacted by concerns for human flourishing?	Professor Aidan Feeney
Lost in Thought: Exploring Children’s Awareness of Mind Wandering	Dr Agnieszka Graham
Words for Feelings: Exploring the Development of Emotional Granularity in Children and Adolescents	Dr Agnieszka Graham
Children’s Understanding of Emotion Words	Dr Agnieszka Graham
Neural Signatures of Freezing Gait in Parkinson’s Disease	Dr Andrew Monaghan
Inclusivity in Higher Education: Exploring Context, Barriers and Facilitators of Positive Student Experiences	Dr Aideen McParland
Beyond Labels: Mapping Early Dimensions of Neurodivergence in Infancy	Dr Anna Truzzi
Two halves make a whole: Exploring the role of the families in caring for police officers with occupational related psychological distress	Professor Cherie Armour
Identifying psychological mechanisms which promote resilience post-trauma	Professor Cherie Armour
It all adds up – Supporting children’s arithmetic from the start	Dr Chang Xu
Identifying as “Other”: Disidentification with Traditional Identities in a Divided Society	Dr Danielle Blaylock
Transgenerational Contact: Exploring how a Child’s Positive Intergroup Relationships Improves Parental Intergroup Attitudes and Behaviours	Dr Danielle Blaylock
The mediating role of Trauma Appraisals following potentially traumatic Life Events	Professor Donncha Hanna
Developing Trauma Informed Care Principles for Health Professionals	Professor Donncha Hanna
Mapping Grief and Designing Solutions: Understanding Student Bereavement and Developing Digital Support Innovations	Dr Emma Nolan
An Autonomy Supported Daily Mile to Improve Children’s Cognitive Function and Wellbeing	Dr Gavin Breslin
The Development of Psychologically Informed Mental Health Guidelines for Community Sport	Dr Gavin Breslin
Understanding the roots of Polarisation: How Children Reform and Review Beliefs	Dr Jocelyn Dautel
Developing Belief Network: Cross-cultural research on the development and diversity of religious cognition, beliefs and identities	Dr Jocelyn Dautel
Reading the kicker: how goalkeeper’s rely on opponent movements to improve performance for penalties and free kicks	Dr Joost Dessing
Sensory integration and motor control underlying manual interception	Dr Joost Dessing
How Human Perceptual and Motor Abilities Shape Human-Robot Interactions	Dr Joost Dessing
Examining Individual Differences in Brian Activity, Personality and Cognitive Performance Under Stress	Dr Kostas Papageorgiou
Embracing Individuality in Complex Skill Learning: Variability, Adaptability, and Embodiment	Dr Matthew Rodger
One PhD project in political psychology addressing one of the following topics: Truth and justice in post-conflict societies or Resistance and resilience in repressive or violent contexts.	Dr Mengyao Li
Social Psychological Foundation of Stress and Trauma	Professor Orla Muldoon
Staying Focused: How Mind Wandering Impacts Students' Ability to Delay Gratification and Achieve Academic Success	Dr Paddy O’Connor
Competition or cooperation? Exploring the neurophysiology of interhemispheric communication when the brain is primed for action.	Professor Richard Carson
Delay of Gratification in Children	Professor Teresa McCormack
Mind Wandering and Mood in Children	Professor Teresa McCormack

We welcome applications from potential students who have other sources of funding. Please see the list of potential supervisors in the School of Psychology.

Find a PhD Supervisor | School of Psychology | Queen's University Belfast

If you are interested in carrying out a PhD under the supervision of any of our academic staff, please contact the staff member directly to express your interest.

For a full description of these projects click on the individual links above or please visit the following link https://www.qub.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate-research/phd-opportunities/ and go to School of Psychology.

Psychology

PhD Funding Opportunities

A Gold-Standard Personality Disorder Outcome Measure for Regional Implementation

Cognitive and Motor Set-Shifting in Aging

Mental Health Priorities of People Living with Parkinson’s: a PD-LIFE project.

PhD Funding Opportunities

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