RLFANS.COM - The World's Most Popular Rugby League Website

Women and Rugby League
The International Centre for Sports History & Culture at De Montfort University is looking for a talented post-graduate student to undertake a fully-funded, three-year PhD research project, starting 1 October 2011.

The research project will examine the history of women’s involvement in rugby league, as players, officials, administrators, supporters and unpaid labour.

The Project
The researcher will investigate women's participation in what has traditionally been seen as a male, working-class sport, examining the relationship between gender, class, leisure and regionalism. Working in partnership with the Rugby Football League, the researcher will have a unique opportunity to study the history of gender and sport 'from the inside' of a major sporting body.

The research will be based on the RFL archives, other primary source materials and oral history interviews. The partnership with the RFL will allow access to large numbers of interviewees currently and previously involved in the sport.

Based in the International Centre for Sports History & Culture, the project will be supervised by Professor Tony Collins in conjunction with the Rugby Football League.

The standard tuition fees and maintenance grant will be paid by the AHRC to the award holders. In addition, the Rugby Football League will provide a bursary of £1000 p.a.

Applicants must have a good first degree in an appropriate subject and a Master's degree relevant with relevant research experience.

Eligibility
The studentship is open to British or EU nationals normally resident in the UK, the EU or Switzerland, or others who have been resident in the UK or EU for the past three years for reasons other than education.

For full details regarding funding and residency eligibility, please see the AHRC's Guide to Student Funding 2011 at www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Documents/ GuidetoStudentFunding.pdf

For more information or to apply, please contact Professor Tony Collins at tcollins@dmu.ac.uk

Deadline for applications: 12 noon on Monday 5 September.