PhD scholarship, Sheffield Hallam University: Development of a framework to support job related fitness amongst South Yorkshire Police officers

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.

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.

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.

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.

Project Title: How can we better support police officers in attaining their job-related fitness requirements?

The police service represents a key pillar of society, with officers fulfilling an essential role in our communities. Officers’ abilities to perform this role effectively is dependent on their physical and mental health being supported and maintained throughout their working lives and beyond. Accordingly, officers are required to complete annual job-related fitness tests to demonstrate physical competence to fulfil their roles. Testing involves physical measurements of fitness, but in general officers receive limited support in terms of training or preparation. In addition to this perceived lack of support, officers may display dissatisfaction with the tests themselves due to perceptions that they do not reflect what is required of their jobs, and are not supportive of people with varied needs, responsibilities and backgrounds.

This PhD programme, therefore, will address these needs by working with South Yorkshire Police to develop an understanding of:

• the efficacy of current job-related fitness testing procedures;
• police officers’ engagement with and perceptions of: physical training and exercise itself; the testing methods used to determine their physical competency; the support they receive from the police service.

This will then inform the development and evaluation of an officer support framework, co-produced with South Yorkshire Police.

This work has the potential to provide a valuable assessment of current police officer fitness testing and support that could directly influence the practices of regional and national police services. The successful applicant will have the opportunity to shape a framework to support and innovate workplace wellbeing in this sector.

Applicants should have:

• a desire to work in an interdisciplinary team including members of the police service;
• strong communication skills;
• be driven to develop and apply knowledge of the theories of physical training and assessment, exercise adherence models, and mixed methodology research including quantitative and qualitative methods.

In return the successful applicant will:

• be mentored and developed by renowned and experienced researchers and practitioners in applied exercise sciences, physiology, psychology, physical activity and health;
• lead on a range of published articles and applied interventions with real-world, person-centred impact.

Please note, due to this work being undertaken in collaboration with South Yorkshire Police, the successful applicant will need to go through vetting and background checks. This vetting will be prompted after the applicant has accepted the post and all relevant processes will need to be completed before data collection begins.

You are encouraged to contact Dr Chris Kirk (C.Kirk@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:

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

Please add the project title within the Personal Statement field of the application form.

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.

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.

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.