PhD studentships to examine alcohol health labelling in the UK
We are advertising two fully funded PhD opportunities on the topic of alcohol health labelling in the UK, jointly funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the University of Stirling.
Key facts
Fee status
Your country/region
Level
Postgraduate (research)
Number of awards
Two
Value of awards
Deadline
We are delighted to advertise two fully funded PhD opportunities on the topic of alcohol health labelling in the UK. Both are jointly funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the University of Stirling.
We are advertising two opportunities:
- To examine the impact of alcohol health labelling on young people in the UK.
- To explore the framing of alcohol labelling in UK public and policy discourse.
Successful applicants will join the Institute for Social Marketing and Health (ISMH), a world-renowned centre for research into marketing, behaviour change, and public policy at the University of Stirling. ISMH is designated as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for alcohol policy and public health research and has over 40 years’ experience of research leading to improvements in population health and wellbeing.
The successful candidates will join a team of over 30 researchers, including early career researchers and other PhD students, within the Faculty of Health Sciences, Sport and Society.
Both studentships will focus on health labels on the packaging of alcoholic drinks. These labels provide a high-reach and low-cost opportunity to provide important health information to the public. The studentships are linked to a large research programme on alcohol health labelling, known as Opti-Label, which is led by Prof. Niamh Fitzgerald and Dr. Nathan Critchlow from ISMH in collaboration with five other universities (Sheffield, Bristol, Bath, UCL, and University College Cork). Successful applicants will work closely with researchers on Opti-Label and benefit from wider programme activities, such as team meetings, access to key policy stakeholders and international experts, and support with dissemination.
Both studentships will allow successful applicants to develop their research skills, publication profile, and careers while working on a topic of high policy interest. Specifically, the UK Government has committed to introducing mandatory health messages on alcohol. This commitment was first made in the 10 Year Plan for the NHS, published in July 2025. It was repeated in the National Cancer Plan for England, published in February 2026.
Subjects of study
The two opportunities are outlined below. While it is possible for an applicant to be considered for both studentships, please note that doing so will require submission of separate covering statements for each, outlining how your experience and interest align with each opportunity.
- Exploring adolescents’ perceptions of alcohol packaging and health messaging
Supervised by: Prof. Crawford Moodie and Dr Robyn Burton
Most adolescents will have been exposed to alcohol packaging many times before they reach the age at which they can legally purchase alcohol. How adolescents engage with and perceive alcohol packaging, including the promotional and health messages on packs, may play a role in shaping the relationship they have with alcohol. There is a need to explore how adolescents view alcohol packaging and their response to current and novel health messaging.
We anticipate that this mixed-method studentship will involve:
- A review of relevant literature about how adolescents respond to health messages on the packaging of alcohol products, and
- Qualitative and quantitative research examining how adolescents view alcohol packaging and respond to current and new health labels for alcohol, including those developed through the Opti-Label Programme.
This PhD will particularly suit people with an interest in marketing, public health, communication, adolescent health, alcohol and/or public policy. It is aimed at those with experience in qualitative or quantitative research and a desire and potential to improve their research skills.
2. Exploring how alcohol labelling is framed in UK public and policy debates.
Supervised by: Dr. Lauren Carters White and Dr. Rachel O’Donnell
Put simply, ‘framing’ is about the ideas we have about a social issue and how we share them. Public perceptions of alcohol and its related benefits and harms are shaped by multiple sources, including individual/peer experiences, and media and industry messaging. Public perceptions can, in turn, influence support for specific policies, like the Government’s new commitment to put health warnings on alcohol packaging. There is a need to better understand how policy stakeholders in the UK are framing this new policy, how it is understood by the public, or how alternative ways of framing it may influence public support.
We anticipate that this studentship will involve:
- A review of relevant literature on how alcohol labelling is framed as a policy by the public or policy stakeholders.
- Analysis of how stakeholders (including health, industry organisations and the public) understand and/or frame the new alcohol health labelling policy (using government consultation responses and/or data already collected by the Opti-Label team).
- An experimental study to develop different framing approaches and test their impact on public perceptions of alcohol health labelling.
This PhD will particularly suit people with an interest in communications, public health policymaking, commercial determinants of health and/or alcohol. It is aimed at those with experience in qualitative and/or quantitative research, a desire and potential to improve their skills in both, and strong written and verbal communication skills.
Value of the award
- Full-time university fees at home rate for 3 years.
- Annual stipend at the UKRI minimum rate (£22,268 per annum for 2026/2027).
- Access to funds to support research and dissemination activities.
- Access to training and skills development opportunities through ISMH, the University of Stirling’s Institute of Advanced Studies, the Faculty Health and Wellbeing PhD cluster, and the Opti-Label Programme.
- Membership of the NIHR Academy with multiple benefits including access to a wider doctoral research community, bespoke mentoring and leadership training, and annual events including a conference and doctoral training camp. NIHR Academy members are eligible to apply for specific funding for short placements in other academic centres or local authorities.
Funding will be adjusted on a pro-rata basis for part-time students. Successful candidates will be required to undertake annual progress reviews as part of their research degrees programme.
Eligibility and availability
We welcome applicants from any relevant academic or professional discipline. Applicants should bear the following eligibility criteria in mind.
- Applicants should hold at least an upper second-class (2:1) honour Bachelors degree or higher qualification in a relevant topic area.
- If your first language is not English, then you are required to show English language competency equivalent to the minimum level of IELTS 6.5 (6.0) in all bands.
- Applicants should be new students who have not yet begun or already hold a doctoral qualification.
- While international students are eligible to apply, please be aware that these studentship opportunities will only cover home fees. Any international awardee must be prepared to fund the difference between home and international fees.
- For visa purposes, international awardees will have to demonstrate that they can pay the difference in fees (in 2025, home PhD tuition fees in social sciences were £5,006 and international PhD tuition fees were £19,500).
- International applicants should also be aware that the successful candidate will be required to relocate to the UK for the duration of their studies. Any offer will be conditional on securing a visa to study in the UK during this period.
- While we are willing to discuss where successful applicants are based within the UK, applicants should be prepared to undertake regular travel to the Stirling campus. Those who wish to undertake their studies from a distance (elsewhere in the UK) must make this known in their application and they will be responsible for funding regular travel to/from the Stirling campus (i.e. anticipated to be at least monthly).
- Some aspects of the research may require a candidate to travel to other external sites, such as when conducting fieldwork.
- Find more information about admission to the research degrees programme at Stirling.
How to apply
The deadline for application is 16:00 BST on 30 June 2026. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. Applications should be submitted to Anna Orme, Opti-Label Programme Manager, at a.m.orme@stir.ac.uk.
To apply, please submit the following:
- a completed expression of interest form (including references).
- a covering statement setting out how your preferred studentship opportunity fits with your interests, skills, and experience (see guidance below);
- a curriculum vitae which is no more than two A4 pages in length. This must include details of educational and recent employment history.
Covering statements must adhere to the following requirements. Please check carefully before you submit, as applications which do not meet these criteria may not be reviewed.
- Should outline your suitability for the studentship of your choice in terms of your interests, skills and experience, including:
- relevant interests, evidenced by prior activities or experiences.
- your experience as relevant to the methods you anticipate might be used during the PhD.
- demonstrable ability to work both independently and with others to a high standard.
- evidence of written and verbal communication skills, including for an academic, professional or policy audience.
- Must not exceed two A4 pages.
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Must be at least 11-point font, using Times New Roman.
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Must have page margins no smaller than 1 inch (2.54cm) on all sides.
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Should be submitted as a Microsoft Word file.
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Must include a statement outlining whether you have used AI in the preparation of the covering statement and, if so, specifically how AI was used. This statement does not count towards the 2-page limit.
Applicants who wish to be considered for both studentships should submit separate covering statements tailored to present their suitability for each opportunity.
Next steps
After the deadline, all eligible applications will be reviewed by a panel.
Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend an interview in July 2026. The interviews will take place online, via Microsoft Teams. Further instructions on the interview will be provided to shortlisted applicants in due course.
Those who are successful at interview, will then submit a formal application for a research degree at the University of Stirling, with a start date to be discussed and agreed with the supervisory team.
Use of AI in application
We understand that applicants may wish to use aspects of AI (e.g. ChatGPT, Co-Pilot, and similar platforms) when developing their covering statement, such as finding material on a topic that you will then consider in more depth.
Judicious use of AI to inform applications is not discouraged, but applications must be your own work, and your covering statement must be transparent about whether you have used AI platforms or agents and, if so, which ones and how you have used them.
AI is not permitted to be used during the interview process.