The NWSSDTP values and promotes equity, diversity and inclusion. The practices and procedures of the NWSSDTP are designed to provide equality of opportunity, to promote harmonious relations between colleagues and to eliminate all forms of discrimination. The five Universities in the partnership are individually and collectively committed to fulfilling their obligations under the Equality Act 2010.

The NWSSDTP encourages applications from individuals from all backgrounds and provides flexible in-programme support that caters for a community of researchers with diverse needs. We recognize the need to recruit postgraduate and postdoctoral candidates from a broad applicant pool and value the benefits that attracting a diverse population of researchers can bring. This commitment is made with specific reference to a person’s age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religious belief & non-belief, sex and sexual orientation.

The NWSSDTP actively encourages its researchers to consider a wide range of career choices and is supported by guidance from experts at careers and employability centres at HEIs within the partnership. The NWSSDTP is committed to providing an environment which recognises and values people’s differences, maximises on the strengths that those differences bring and supports all staff and students to fulfil their potential.

Preparedness for Postgraduate Research

In 2024, the NWSSDTP undertook an extensive review and redesign of its application paperwork. Assessment moved from solely looking at academic achievements to a ‘whole person’ approach, considering more broadly what skills candidates might bring to postgraduate research and to the research culture of the NWSSDTP, based on their broader work and life experiences. Read more here…

Bending Boundaries Podcast

…PhDs that move beyond the rules of academia Join NWSSDTP students Seren, Ebru and Meghan as they discuss their experiences of doing their PhDs, as people who are part of groups who often aren’t seen, heard and celebrated in academia. Read more and listen here…

Directed Studentships and Global Majority Commitment

Since 2023, the NWSSDTP has ring-fenced studentships for candidates from a Global Majority background. From 2026, in response to our Equal Opportunities monitoring data, our ring-fencing will develop to focus specifically on areas where persistent gaps remain, specifically for Black British and Asian British candidates. This will be complemented by a commitment that a minimum of 20% of all our awards will go to Global Majority applicants. Read more here…