Scottish Graduate School of Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership

The Scottish Graduate School of Social Science is training the next generation of UK researchers through a consortium of universities, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. This matters because the UK needs a steady pipeline of skilled social scientists—economists, sociologists, political scientists, and others—who can tackle complex societal problems. Without coordinated doctoral training, individual universities may struggle to offer the breadth of expertise, placements, and interdisciplinary collaboration that modern research demands. The programme addresses a structural gap: how to produce researchers who are not only experts in their field but also equipped with data skills, policy awareness, and professional networks. If the training succeeds, the impact will be felt across public policy, business, and community services. Better-trained social scientists produce more robust evidence on issues like inequality, education, health, and economic growth. This research is primarily about building human capital—it does not generate a single breakthrough but sustains the entire ecosystem that does. The fundamental value lies in ensuring that when government or industry needs answers to social questions, the people providing them have been rigorously prepared to do so.