The Institute for Social Change is an initiative of five years at the University of
Manchester. Specific research topics within the broad field of comparative social
Change can be developed by individual applicants. The staff of the Institute
By collaborating in the investigation with members of Harvard University, including Professor
Robert Putnam.
The Institute for Social Change is designed to carry out world-class social
The comparative research on the science of social change. The main objective is to develop
New models of what drives social change. These models will be rigorous and
Empirically ashore. According to the School of Social Sciences, is intended for
Innovative Uses of empirical data, while maintaining a strong theoretical
Background. The investigation also will examine how the outcome will affect social well
Being of different members of society. The investigation of social change has
Implications for the design of policies and institutions.
Since the 1960’s, the underlying values of citizens into the political system and
Towards else has changed along with the increase of economic changes and
New migration patterns. In the UK and USA, mutual learning for change
Compare both within and across national borders has a long history, especially
In the area of social policy. We hope to revive that tradition by combining
Sociological, political and empirical research in new ways. Research topics
They include, among others, social cohesion, immigration and ethnicity, the workplace
Practices, active citizenship, the role of religion, urban planning, criminal justice,
In public health, and so on. Members of the Institute have experience in election
Results, electoral behaviour, social capital research, immigration research, and
Many other topics. Staff Associate at the University of Manchester also
Specializing in social network analysis, cultural values, personal political
Attitudes, and civic engagement, and how these relate to religious
Guidelines.
The Connection with Harvard University
Through an annual summer school and ongoing staff and student exchanges,
there will be opportunities for interchange based upon research programmes
which are located in the Institute. These research programmes have been pro”
actively started by Professors Putnam and Fieldhouse and other staff, and will
continue to grow by raising external funds as well as by the start of a process of
dissemination of comparative UK/USA results from the first project. This project
on Civic Engagement is just one of several areas of research that Institute staff
will be developing.
The staff of the Institute based in Manchester University will have duties such as
PhD supervision, Masters dissertation supervision, and curriculum
development. The Harvard staff will not be teaching at the University of
Manchester in the assessed curriculum.
An annual Summer Institute, led by Prof. R. Putnam and with participation by
staff of Harvard University, will be held in Manchester. The students in the MSc
and PhD in Social Change will be invited to apply to come for the Summer
Institute each year. In 2007”8 this Institute will last for two weeks.
Up to Three PhD Scholarships For Research on Social Change
The Institute for Social Change offers up to three PhD Scholarships for research
on the areas on which Institute staff and associates are working. These areas
include civic engagement, social capital, changing cultural values, and changing
policy interventions in a comparative cross”country perspective. Applications are
welcome at any time for PhD study in the Institute for Social Change, and the
deadline of May 15, 2007, applies if you wish to be considered for a Scholarship.
The Scholarship will entail payment of fees and an annual stipend of up to
Å11,250.
Project Topics
We welcome your PhD proposal, and we can suggest the following broad areas
of research within which a narrower topics will be suggested in your proposal:
• Civic Engagement Across Countries
• Immigration and Ethnicity
• Comparative Study of Religion
• Inequalities or Trends in Social Capital
• Social and Political Aspects of Changing Values or Behaviour
• Other topics in comparative social and political change
The scholarship will be either for a MSc+PhD programme taking four years, or
simply for the 3”year PhD programme.   Applications are welcome from
candidates with any disciplinary background.
In view of the advanced methods we use in the Institute, you are likely to end up
doing a strongly empirically grounded research project. For instance, you could
use an international secondary data set such as the European Social Survey,
World Values Survey, or Multi”National Time Use Data. We would encourage
you to use empirical analysis to trace change over time and/or to compare at least
two country experiences. In Year 1 we will help you to refine your topic, choose
some data, and develop the methodology.
