Funding
Competition funded (UK/EU and international students)
Project code
PSH50680126
Start dates
October 2026
Application deadline
16 January 2026
Applications are invited for a fully-funded three year PhD to commence in October 2026.
The PhD will be based in the Faculty of Science and Health within the School of Psychology, Sport and Health Science, and will be supervised by Dr Edward Morrison and Dr Chris Mills.
Candidates applying for this project may be eligible to compete for one of a small number of bursaries available. Successful applicants will receive a bursary to cover tuition fees for three years and a stipend in line with the UKRI rate (£20,780 for 2025/26).Bursary recipients will also receive a £1,500 p.a. for project costs/consumables.
Costs for student visa and immigration health surcharge are not covered by this bursary. For further guidance and advice visit our international and EU students ‘Visa FAQs’ page.
Please note, these funded PhDs are only open to new students who do not hold a previous doctoral level qualification.
The work on this project could involve:
- Using motion-capture to record gymnastics performance data
- Creating avatars using animation technology
- Liaising with experienced gymnasts and expert judges for psychological experiments
“Lookism” is a social perception bias whereby people are treated more or less favourably depending on their attractiveness. Much work in social psychology has shown the power of such biases in everyday life. But less work has applied this bias to sports, especially those where success is based on aesthetic judgements, such as gymnastics. This project seeks to provide empirical evidence on how body shape and size may influence scoring outcomes in gymnastics, with the goal of promoting more inclusive practices and improving the objectivity of the sport’s evaluation system.
The project will involve working with local gymnastics clubs to recruit experienced gymnasts, capture performance data using motion-capture, animate avatars using these data, and working with expert judges as participants.
This project will involve working in an interdisciplinary setting across psychology, sports and exercise science, and computer animation.
Entry requirements
You'll need a good first degree from an internationally recognised university (minimum upper second class or equivalent, depending on your chosen course) or a Master’s degree in an appropriate subject. In exceptional cases, we may consider equivalent professional experience and/or qualifications. English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0.
You will have a good understanding of psychology, and strong quantitative skills. Experience with motion-capture and computer animation will be an advantage, although full training will be given. A willingness to learn new technical skills is essential. You will be comfortable working across disciplines (psychology, sports science, and computer animation).
How to apply
Before you apply, you must contact Dr Ed Morrison (ed.morrison@port.ac.uk), quoting the project title.
When you are ready to apply, please use our . Make sure you submit a personal statement, proof of your degrees and grades, details of two referees, proof of your English language proficiency and an up-to-date CV. Our ‘How to Apply’ page offers further guidance on the PhD application process.
Please also include a research proposal of 1,000 words outlining the main features of your proposed research design – including how it meets the stated objectives, the challenges this project may present, and how the work will build on or challenge existing research in the above field.
If you want to be considered for this funded PhD opportunity you must quote project code PSH50680126 when applying. Please note that email applications are not accepted.