Start date: September 2010
Deadline for Applications: 4pm Tuesday 1 June 2010
Supervisor: Professor Alistair Sutcliffe, Dr Antonella De Angeli
Project Description:
Manchester Business School invites applications for a full-time three-year PhD studentship.
The aim of the project is to advance fundamental understanding about how people make judgements of product quality, in particular, for Interactive Technology products where the research is usually referred to as User Experience / Engagement.
This research builds on previous research that developed a preliminary theory of design quality assessment based on cognitive models of adaptive decision making. Defining and evaluating the quality of user experience beyond the standard Human Computer Interaction concept of usability has attracted much attention from researchers in aesthetics and elsewhere.
Qualifications/Eligibility:
Applicants should have a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree in Psychology, Cognitive Science, Computer Science with a HCI specialism or a related discipline and have obtained or expect to complete by autumn 2010, a Masters degree in relevant subject and meet the admission criteria for Manchester Business School Doctoral programme.
We are looking for a candidate who is competent in critical thinking and has experience or can demonstrate aptitude in quantitative research analysis including experimental design and statistical analysis, and empirical and field study research skills (interviews, ethnographic approaches). Good academic writing skill is desirable.
To meet EPSRC residential eligibility criteria candidates must be classified as Home student for tuition fee purposes. EU nationals who are classified as Home student for tuition fee purposes who have not been resident in the UK for 3 years immediately preceding the award start are eligible for tuition fee only awards.
For full details of EPSRC’s residential eligibility criteria please refer to www.epsrc.ac.uk/PostgraduateTraining/StudentEligibility.htm
Funding:
Funded by EPSRC. The three-year award covers Home tuition fees and a tax-free annual stipend of approximately £14,500 per year.
Original Thinking Applied
Enquiries about the project:
Professor Alistair Sutcliffe
Email: Alistair.sutcliffe@manchester.ac.uk
How to apply
Submit an application for the full-time ‘PhD Business & Management’ programme online at: www.mbs.ac.uk/postgraduateresearch/make-application.aspx
Your application must include the following supporting documents:
- Degree certificates and grade transcripts of any previous and current study
- Two academic references
- TOEFL/IELTS test result (if applicable)
- CV
- A statement about your suitability for this project (400-500 words)
- Relevant academic publications such as academic papers published in journals or at conferences and the extended summaries of BSc and/or MSc dissertations
Enquiries about the application process:
Anusarin Lowe, Postgraduate Research Programmes, Room 9.24 Harold Hankins Building.
Email: anusarin.lowe@mbs.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)161 275 0784
More information:
Please visit www.mbs.ac.uk/postgraduateresearch/funding.aspx#dta
