Research profile
Researchers in the Welfare, Health and Wellbeing are work in the UK and internationally to improve knowledge of the social processes that contribute to people’s welfare, health and wellbeing. We address these challenges through robust, ethical research and by developing innovative methodologies to advance how research, knowledge production and evaluation are conducted. We have strong connections with policy-making and practice, and a commitment to social impact and public engagement. Our established research areas include:
- Health behaviour, experiences and interventions
- Sport, physical activity, health and wellbeing
- Social change and wellbeing in the global south
- Youth welfare, health and wellbeing
- Media, communication and representation in health and wellbeing
- Wellbeing experiences and evidence
Find out about the exciting research we do: browse profiles of our experts, discover the research groups and their inspirational research activities you too could be part of. We’ve also made available extensive reading materials published by our academics and PhD students.
Learn more about research in this area.
ESRC-funded studentships through the GUDTP Health and Wellbeing Pathway
Many of our research areas are eligible for studentships awarded through our membership of the Health and Wellbeing Pathway of the ESRC-funded Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership (GUDTP).
Browse the work of subject-relevant research groups
Find a supervisor
Our researchers create knowledge and advance understanding, and equip versatile doctoral researchers with the confidence to apply what they have learnt for the benefit of society. Find out more about working with the Supervisory Team.
You are welcome to approach your potential supervisor directly to discuss your research interests. Search for expert supervisors for your chosen field of research.
We welcome enquiries about potential topics in the area of Health and Wellbeing; the list below is by no means exhaustive but gives examples of current and recent opportunities:
- Community sport and wellbeing: a qualitative perspective
- The impact of community sports programmes on young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
- Addressing health and wellbeing inequalities through sport and physical activity
- Developing sport development: online collaborative training for staff working in national/international sport development-based charities
- Sexual Health Promotion: a comparative study of methods for reaching young people.
- Improving LGBT Health Through Good Practice in Health Promotion
- Anti-violence Interventions With Young People: Evaluating a sexual consent campaign
- Switched on and Connected? Loneliness And Young People – the well-being of young people in the digital age.
PhD topics
While we welcome applications from students with a clear direction for their research, we are providing you with some ideas for your chosen field of research:
- Applications for education and/or healthcare: Exploring the potential of ‘human-like’ computing, supervised by Arthur Money
- Artificially intelligent conversational agents: exploring their value in education and/or healthcare, supervised by Arthur Money
- Blinded by the load – electrophysiological and pupillometric indices of the interplay between non-spatial and spatial attention, supervised by Bianca De Haan
- Children’s gender-related development: The role of cultural visibility and acceptance of gender diversity, supervised by Francisco Gomez Jimenez
- Item-Level Scoring of Memory Tests as an Approach to Detect and Study Abnormal Cognitive Ageing, supervised by Matteo De Marco
- Machine learning approaches in health data science for risk prediction of cardiovascular diseases, supervised by Raha Pazoki
- Mindfulness-based Environmental Sustainability (MiBEST), supervised by Elena Antonova
- Naturalness of autonomous vehicles, supervised by Joseph Giacomin
- Testing the efficacy of virtual reality and action simulation training for improving balance in children/young adults with movement coordination difficulties, supervised by Adam Bruton, Carla Harkness-Armstrong, Aliah Shaheen and Rebecca Hings
- The impact of heat stress on human health, performance, and function across the lifecourse, supervised by Oliver Gibson
- The role of PE/PPE proteins in tuberculosis, supervised by Anthony Tsolaki
- Trust In Autonomous Vehicles, supervised by Joseph Giacomin
- Turning the curse into a blessing: using mindfulness to reduce psychosis-risk in people with high positive schizotypy who have heightened creative abilities, supervised by Elena Antonova
- Understanding teaching and learning in Higher Education with a focus on AI and/or authentic assessments, supervised by Stephanie Baines and Pauldy Otermans
- Understanding the effects of meditation on mood, cognition, and the brain, supervised by Andre Szameitat
- Understanding the mechanisms behind age-related balance and movement change, and/or exploring strategies to improve balance, function, and wellbeing in the older adult population, supervised by Daniel Low
Research journey
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Find out about what progress might look like at each stage of study here: Research degree progress structure.
Research support
Research support
Excellent research support and training
The Graduate School provides a range of personal, professional and career development opportunities. This includes workshops, online training, coaching and events, to enable you to enhance your professional profile, refine your skills, and plan your next career steps as part of the Researcher Development Programme. The researcher development programme (RDP) offers workshops and seminars in a range of areas including progression, research management, research dissemination, and careers and personal development. You will also be offered a number of online, self-study courses on BBL, including Research Integrity, Research Skills Toolkit, Research Methods in Literature Review and Principles of Research Methods.
Library services
Brunel's Library is open 24 hours a day, has 400,000 books and 250,000 ebooks, and an annual budget of almost £2m. Subject information Specialists train students in the latest technology, digital literacy, and digital dissemination of scholarly outputs. As well as the physical resources available in the Library, we also provide access to a wealth of electronic resources. These include databases, journals and e-books. Access to these resources has been bought by the Library through subscription and is limited to current staff and students.
Dedicated research support staff provide guidance and training on open access, research data management, copyright and other research integrity issues.
Find out more: Brunel Library
Careers and your future
You will receive tailored careers support during your PhD and for up to three years after you complete your research at Brunel. We encourage you to actively engage in career planning and managing your personal development right from the start of your research, even (or perhaps especially) if you don't yet have a career path in mind. Our careers provision includes online information and advice, one-to-one consultations and a range of events and workshops. The Professional Development Centre runs a varied programme of careers events throughout the academic year. These include industry insight sessions, recruitment fairs, employer pop-ups and skills workshops.
In addition, where available, you may be able to undertake some paid work as we recognise that teaching and learning support duties represent an important professional and career development opportunity.
Following the completion of the course students may follow several career paths:
- Career path within academia starting as a University Lecturer/Assistant Professor
- Career path as a researcher in clinical and public health commencing as a post-doc researcher and progressing to senior researcher.
- Career path within government agencies (e.g . PHE, Department of Health etc)
We have well-established research projects funded by a range of RCUK and charitable organisations and supervisors ensure candidates can gain experience of high-level research during their period of study.
UK entry requirements
The general University entrance requirement for registration for a research degree is normally a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree (1st or 2:1).
An interview will be required as part of the admissions process and will be conducted by at least two academic staff members remotely via MS Teams, Zoom, or face to face.
Applicants will be required to submit a personal statement and a research statement.
Please contact your proposed supervisor, where possible, to receive feedback and guidance on your research statement before submitting it. Learn how to prepare a research statement here.
EU and International entry requirements
English language requirements
- IELTS: 7 (min 6 in all areas)
- Pearson: 64 (59 in all subscores)
- BrunELT: 68% (58% in all areas)
- TOEFL: 98 overall (min 20)
You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.
Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.
Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.
Fees and funding
2024/5 entry
International
£23,615 full-time
£11,805 part-time
UK
£4,786 full-time
£2,393 part-time
Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase.
Some courses incur additional course related costs. You can also check our on-campus accommodation costs for more information on living expenses.
Brunel offers a number of funding options to research students that help cover the cost of their tuition fees, contribute to living expenses or both. Recently the UK Government made available the Doctoral Student Loans of up to £25,000 for UK and EU students and there is some funding available through the Research Councils. Many of our international students benefit from funding provided by their governments or employers. Brunel alumni enjoy tuition fee discounts of 15%.