Closing date for applications: 25 August 2009
Anticipated interview date: 21 September 2009
Anticipated start date: 1 October 2009

Applications are sought for a fully funded PhD studentship (fees at UK/EU rates + stipend) to be held at the University of Leicester from October 2009 under the supervision of Dr Joanna Story, Dr Simon James and Professor Mark Jobling. The studentship is part of a new, multi-disciplinary project, called 'Roots of the British', and is funded by the College of Arts, Humanities and Law and by the Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester.

About the project

The project aims to interrogate the diverse evidence for the migration and/or continuity of human populations in the British Isles in the distant past, particularly in the first millennium BC ('Celts' and their migrations) and in the first millennium AD (Anglo-Saxon and Viking migration and 'Celtic' dis/continuity).

This PhD studentship will be cross-disciplinary in character; it will draw on the 'original' narratives of migration in the first millennia BC/AD and the ways in which these have informed 'modern' identities (local, regional and national), popular histories and academic research agendas, and will examine the (mis)use of genetics in recent popular histories. A key source will be datasets collected for research into the genetics of ancestry.

About the applicant

The successful applicant will have a good first degree (2.1 or 1st class) in a relevant discipline and a postgraduate qualification (MA, MSc or equivalent at merit or above). He/She will receive training in analysis of:

• historical texts, or
• archaeological artefacts, or
• genetics data

...as appropriate to his/her existing skills. The University of Leicester will provide desk space in a dedicated postgraduate room, normal IT resources and a library with excellent coverage of later British prehistory and the history, archaeology and language/literature of the Anglo-Saxon period, as well as genetics. The outcome, after three years, will be a PhD from the University of Leicester.

The studentship is available from 1 October 2009, but a later start date (e.g. January 2010) is possible. 

More information

Further details about the project, application procedures and online application form are available on these pages. Prospective candidates interested in applying are encouraged to contact Dr Story, Dr James or Profesor Jobling as soon as possible.

Pre-application enquiries

• Before 1 August 2009 to Dr Joanna Story (js73@le.ac.uk)
• After 1 August 2009 to Dr Simon James (stj3@le.ac.uk) or Professor Mark Jobling (maj4@le.ac.uk)