Holly Branigan

A fully funded three-year PhD position is available at the University of Edinburgh, focusing on bilingualism and language disorders in Mandarin-English speaking children. The project, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, investigates the relationship between linguistic input and uptake in children with and without Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) in both the UK and China. The successful candidate will join a collaborative team led by Professors Vicky Chondrogianni (PI), Holly Branigan (Co-I), and Lijuan Liang (Co-I), and work closely with Dr Jiuzhou Hao. The research involves developing and administering structural priming experiments in Mandarin, recruiting and testing children, and analyzing results. The student will be part of the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences (PPLS), which offers access to state-of-the-art research facilities and a vibrant academic community. Applicants must have a strong academic background in Linguistics and/or Psychology, near-native Mandarin proficiency, and experience in experimental methods and statistical analysis. The scholarship covers tuition and provides a stipend of £20,780 per year. Applications are open to UK and international students who have not previously earned a PhD. The deadline to apply is 15 January 2026, with interviews held in February and outcomes announced in March. For informal enquiries, contact Professor Vicky Chondrogianni at [email protected].