PhD Scholarship: Menstrual Health: Towards Gender-Responsive Policy and Practice in Sport

About the Project

Applications are invited for a PhD scholarship at the School of Sport and Physical Activity, commencing 01 October 2026.

This fully funded scholarship covers Home PhD fees and provides a stipend at the Living Wage Foundation rate (£22,152 for 2025/26). The stipend increases annually according to the Living Wage rate.

As part of the scholarship, students will complete PhD study and support research activities in the school, for a maximum of 180 hours per academic year and not more than 6 hours in any one week. This activity forms part of the scholarship award and there is no additional payment for it.

Sheffield Hallam University delivers worldleading applied health and wellbeing research. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), 88% of our research was judged worldleading or internationally excellent: https://www.shu.ac.uk/sport-physical-activity-research-centre.

You will join a thriving community of ~65 doctoral researchers supported through a comprehensive doctoral training programme and will be colocated within the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) - a worldleading hub for health innovation: https://www.shu.ac.uk/advanced-wellbeing-research-centre.

Project Title: Menstrual Health: Towards Gender-Responsive Policy and Practice in Sport

Menstruation remains one of the most important, yet least openly discussed, issues in contemporary sport. Although menstrual health is increasingly recognised as central to athlete wellbeing, participation, safeguarding, and performance, many athletes continue to navigate stigma, silence, embarrassment, and uneven support. This PhD asks how sporting cultures and organisations shape what can be said about menstruation, whose concerns are taken seriously, and how responsibility for menstrual health is distributed across athletes, coaches, parents, practitioners, welfare staff, and governing bodies.

The project aims to examine how menstruation is culturally regulated and institutionally managed within sport. Moving beyond narrow biomedical approaches, it will explore how gendered norms, organisational power, communication practices, and everyday sporting environments affect athletes’ experiences and access to support. The successful applicant will develop a qualitative, participatory programme of research, likely involving interviews with athletes and key stakeholders, followed by co-designed workshops to develop practical educational, safeguarding, and policy resources.

The project will generate new knowledge on menstrual health as a question of health equity, while also producing resources that can help sporting organisations create more open, informed, and gender-responsive environments.

Applicants are encouraged to develop a proposal that addresses:

• How menstruation is talked about, silenced, normalised, or problematised in sporting settings.
• How athletes experience disclosure, support, stigma, embarrassment, or uncertainty.
• How coaches, parents, welfare staff, practitioners, and organisations understand their responsibilities.
• How sporting cultures shape communication, safeguarding, wellbeing, and participation.
• How participatory methods can be used to co-design educational or policy resources with stakeholders.
• How menstrual health can be repositioned as an issue of equity, inclusion, and organisational responsibility.

This project would suit applicants interested in sport, gender, health, welfare, coaching, safeguarding, qualitative research, and applied social change. It offers an opportunity to conduct research that is academically original and practically meaningful, with the potential to influence how sport supports menstruating athletes across different levels of participation and performance.

You are encouraged to contact Dr Jack Black (j.black@shu.ac.uk) for informal enquiries about the project.

Sheffield as your research base: Sheffield is one of the UK’s greenest and most welcoming cities. With over a third of the city inside the Peak District National Park, outstanding cycling, climbing and walking routes, and a vibrant science and healthcare ecosystem, Sheffield offers a rare combination of natural beauty and research excellence. It is an ideal environment for both academic focus and a high quality of life — a supportive place to thrive during a PhD.

Eligibility

Applicants must hold a 1st class or 2:1 degree in Sport Science, Data Science, Biomedical Science, Engineering, or related subjects. Quantitative skills are desirable; training in specialist methods will be provided. We are offering this as a full-time PhD scholarship, though flexible working hours can be discussed. We welcome applications from all members of our community and are particularly encouraging those from diverse groups, such as members of the LGBTQIA+, BAME and disabled communities.

International applicants

Please read the funding notes section for important information about tuition fees for this scholarship.

Sheffield Hallam has a mandatory English language requirement of IELTS 7, or equivalent language qualification, for all applicants from Countries not included in the UKVI exemption list here:https://www.gov.uk/english-language/exemptions. This qualification must have been taken within the last two-years, with a score of at least 6.5 in all test areas and may be required even if you have previous qualifications gained at UK institutions. Please do check with the Postgraduate research team: DoctoralSchool-HWLS-PGR@shu.ac.uk prior to application as thisqualification must be submitted as part of the scholarship application.

How to Apply

Complete and submit the online application form at: https://www.shu.ac.uk/courses/sport-and-physical-activity/phd-sport-and-physical-activity/full-time/2026

You must ensure that you upload:

1. A 1,500-word research proposal addressing this specific project.
2. Two letters of reference, or details of two academic referees
3. Copy of your highest degree certificate
4. Copy of your passport
5. International applicants must submit IELTS results (or equivalent) taken in the last two years

We do not accept proposals setting out an applicant's own research and cannot consider applications where a research proposal addressing this specific project has not been submitted.

When completing the application form, please add the project title within the Personal Statement field and ensure that all attachments have been uploaded to the application system before submission.

If you experience issues submitting your online application, or for general enquiries please contact: DoctoralSchool-HWLS-PGR@shu.ac.uk

Application deadline: 17 June 2026, 12 noon UK Time (***Late applications will not be accepted**)

Interviews: W/C 06 July 2026 Please note, we are unable to offer alternative interview slots once allocated to shortlisted candidates.

Sport & Exercise Science (33)

Funding Notes

Our PhD Scholarships are open to Home, EU and International applicants, however, the bursary will cover the home fee only. The shortfall between the home and EU/ international fee, currently around £13,362 per year, must be covered by the student for the duration of the scholarship. No additional funding will be available to assist international students with this fee gap.

Applicants must have the resources set out above to fund their study. Please note that the monthly stipend payments cannot be used to fund this fee gap, as they cover basic living expenses only.