We are delighted to announce that applications are open for a funded placement opportunity with Prison Reading Groups (PRG), part of Give a Book, a registered charity established to provide books and promote the pleasure of reading in the hardest places. This is a great opportunity to take a closer look at what books can do behind bars. Prison Reading Groups (PRG) sets up, funds, and supports informal reading groups in over 50 prisons nationwide. During the placement you will be expected to conduct a literature review of the benefits of reading for pleasure, plan and co-run focus groups to explore prisoners' perceptions of the pleasures and benefits of reading for pleasure and co-create a survey around these issues.

Funding and impact on submission deadline 

• If you are a full-time College-funded student, you will continue to be registered as a student and continue to receive your stipend but your funding end date will be extended to reflect the time taken away from your research to do the placement.
• If you are a part-time College-funded students, you will interrupt your studies and your stipend will be paused for the duration of the placement  - but you will receive a  a bursary commensurate with your studentship stipend i.e. equivalent to £189 per week full time during the placement.  Your funding end date will be extended to reflect the time taken away from your research to do the placement.
• If your PhD is self-funded, you will receive a bursary commensurate with a studentship stipend i.e. equivalent to £189 per week during the placement.
• In all cases:
• • You will also be eligible to apply for up to £1,500 in addition to support travel, accommodation, and other expenses.
  • Your submission deadline will  be extended to reflect the time taken away from your research to do the placement.
• If you are UKRI-funded, you can still apply for this placement opportunity.  However, if you are successful, it will be expected that you source the funding for the placement from your own Research Council's placement scheme. 

Before you submit your application

Before you submit your application for one of these PGR placement opportunities please ensure that you:

• Read the advert carefully.
• Read the PGR Career Enhancement Placement Scheme guide carefully, to understand e.g. what funding you would receive.
• Discuss your plans with your supervisor, as they will need to approve your placement.  You will be asked to upload a supporting statement from them as part of your application.
• Prepare a CV, outlining your qualifications, key skills and experience (including work, teaching or voluntary experience).  You will be asked to upload this as part of your application.
• If you are on a Student Route visa, contact the International Student Support Office for advice on how many hours you can spend on your placement a week.
• Contact the Doctoral School if you have any queries that are not addressed in the PGR Career Enhancement Placement Scheme guide or webpage.

You will need to submit the application in one sitting.  You can view the information you need to provide here.

Once you have submitted your application, the Doctoral School will be in contact with you within a week to advise on the probable timeline for the decision and to explain the next steps.

Give a Book PhD placement application form