Doctoral Studentship Awards - Electoral Misinformation

Doctoral Studentship in Electoral Misinformation and Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence

Partner Institution: Birmingham City University (BCU)

Program Start Date: February 2025

Studentship 1: The Impact of Misinformation on Electoral Integrity

Focus: Research into instances of election-related misinformation

Research Basis: Datasets created by Meedan and its network of community partners through implementation of tiplines during 23 elections in areas throughout the Larger World between 2016 and 2024

Research Goals:

• Identify the relationship between election integrity and associated forms of misinformation
• Determine what kinds of misinformation present the greatest risk to the electoral process

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in media and cultural studies, or related field
• Stand-out candidates with bachelor's degree or relevant professional experience also considered

Studentship 2: A Linguistic Approach to Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence

Focus: Language patterns in technology-facilitated gender-based violence

Research Approach:

• Large-scale linguistic analysis of documented instances of tech-facilitated gender-based violence
• Sources: social media and messaging apps
• Goal: Discover language markers to identify and address gendered violence as it occurs

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in linguistics or associated discipline
• Exceptional bachelor's degree holders or those with significant outside experience also considered

Geographic Scope: Larger World (Meedan's areas of focus)

Application Process

1. Complete Doctoral Studentship Proposal:
   • Respond to the specific project
   • Show how you might approach the research problem
2. Submit BCU Online Application Form:
   • Complete the form at Birmingham City University
   • Add the relevant project ID
   • Upload proposal document in place of personal statement
3. Required Documents:
   • Two references (at least one addressing academic background)
   • Copies of degree certificates
   • Academic transcripts
   • Evidence of English language proficiency

Timeline:

• Expression of interest deadline: September 30, 2026
• Program start: February 2025

Resources Available:

• Visit BCU's announcement for the election misinformation studentship for complete guidelines
• Visit BCU's entry for the technology-facilitated gender-based violence studentship for more information