The University of Chester has just advertised a new fully-funded PhD studentship for a project engaging religious perspectives on the human use of animals for food supported by funding from CreatureKind. The studentship will cover all fees together with stipend at UKRI terms and is offered under the University’s Sustainable Futures scheme.
Professor David Clough, co-founder of CreatureKind, will supervise the successful candidate with support from TRS Chester colleagues according to the topic area chosen. Professor Clough has published a landmark two-volume work on the place of animals in Christian theology and ethics (On Animals, 2012/2019) and is Principal Investigator on the AHRC-funded Christian Ethics of Farmed Animal Welfare project.
“We’re really excited to be able to offer this funded PhD studentship”, Professor Clough said. “Religious communities have a huge role to play in the global transformation we need in the consumption of animals and resourcing the next generation of scholars in this field is a key part of effecting change. I very much look forward to working with the holder of this studentship and we hope to be able to offer more opportunities for study in this area.”
The successful candidate will join a thriving postgraduate community at Chester, which now numbers around 50 MA students and 60 doctoral students. The Department has an active postgraduate student body, with opportunities to meet regularly for postgraduate training events, symposia, and research seminars featuring visiting academics.
CreatureKind recently welcomed the first cohort of CreatureKind fellows who work on projects to engage their communities with farmed animal welfare. This is the first time CreatureKind has funded a PhD studentship.
Sarah Withrow King and Aline Silva, CreatureKind Co-Directors, commented: “CreatureKind is delighted to partner with the University of Chester to co-fund this new opportunity. We see great potential for academic scholarship to be a catalyst for new thinking about how religious communities think about the consumption of animals and look forward to what the holder of this studentship will contribute.”
Both the University of Chester and CreatureKind are committed to encouraging diversity in scholarship, and the studentship advert particularly welcomes applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) applicants, who are currently under-represented in the University’s postgraduate research student population.
Further details about applying for the studentship are available here.