Accessibility statement

Information for Academic Visitors

The Department of Sociology welcomes Academic Visitors from any University who wish to pursue their independent research. Please note that coming to York as an Academic Visitor does not enable you to access either regular academic supervision or credit transfer and it will involve no remuneration. However it will offer you formal attachment to the Department and access to research facilities such as the library. 

The length of the visit can be any period from one month to a year. Visiting Academics will normally be expected to present a paper in one of the departmental seminars or events. 

Researchers who are currently studying for a PhD can also apply to visit the Department under this scheme for up to one month to undertake independent research.

If you wish to visit the University as a Visiting Student (ie you wish to undertake supervised study), please go to our visiting students webpages.

If you are interested in applying to the Department as an Academic Visitor please read the below information.

How To Apply

How to apply

To apply, please prepare the following documents:

  • a brief letter of application, indicating
    • why it would be useful to you to spend time in York
    • who you would like to work with and whether you have been in contact with them 
    • a clear indication of how you intend to pay the bench fees *
    • a clear indication of the period you wish to be in York (eg start and end date of your stay), and your plans for finding accommodation.
  • a one to two page research proposal for your time in York
  • a one to two page CV, with full name, address, and current academic position
  • a letter of recommendation from your Head of Department or other senior academic who knows you and your work.

Please send your inquiries and application by email to sociology-research-admin@york.ac.uk  

Applications are considered on a monthly basis at the beginning of each month, and applicants will be informed as soon as possible, once a decision has been made. Unfortunately we are not in a position to invite every applicant and applications will be reviewed according to the following criteria:

  • how they fit with the Department’s research interests
  • the benefit to the Department in terms of research engagement, prestige and potential for collaboration
  • the strength of application or research proposal.

* Please contact sociology-research-admin@york.ac.uk if the bench fees are problematic for you, as we do not intend for these costs to be prohibitive and there may be ways in which we can help.

Facilities

Facilities

The following are provided for Visiting Academics:

  • University of York email address and use of University and Department computing facilities
  • use of the University Library
  • admission to most undergraduate and postgraduate lectures and workshops
  • copies of course material
  • admission to research seminars and other public events
  • limited free use of the Department's photocopier
  • shared office space with space to work.

Bench Fees

Bench Fees

Bench fees are costs which visiting academics are required to pay, in order to cover the costs that the University will incur in hosting them. The normal rates are £250 a month or £3000 a year. Our normal policy is that visitors with funding from, for example, their government or a research grant should be able to fund their visit this way. If this is not applicable then they will need to be covered privately.

Please contact sociology-research-admin@york.ac.uk if the bench fees are problematic for you, as we do not intend for these costs to be prohibitive and there may be ways in which we can help.

Visas

Visa procedures

The Department cannot provide advice on visas. For more information on visa applications, please visit the University's Immigration Advice Service website.

If you require a visa to enter the UK it is essential that you seek advice on how to obtain the correct visa to suit the purpose of your visit.

Other Information

The best time to visit

The academic year at York is divided into two semesters. Semester 1 runs from September to January and Semester 2 runs from February to June. See upcoming semester dates.

The University vacation period begins in June and lasts until mid September. Many people are away at this time and the Department provides no teaching or events.

The libraries may also open for shorter hours and may close completely for short periods.

Accommodation arrangements

The Department is unable to help with accommodation.

Please contact Accommodation Services for more information.

Our Visitors

2023/24

  • Xindong Xue - Social networks and health management
  • Catharina Wold Robson - Body dissatisfaction and social media use
  • Yanhong Zhang - Conversation Analysis and Parent-child Interaction
  • Suvi Salmenniemi - a comprehensive analysis of Marxist feminism as a utopian project
  • Yaxin Wu - Conversation Analysis and Particles in Chinese Mundane Conversation

2022/23

  • Johanna Ahola-Launonen - Technological optimism and the sense of justice in sustainability transitions
  • Ben Hemmings - The Birth of the Preclinic: Psychiatry, Power and Subjectivity in Digital Peer Support Services
  • Lucy Brown - analysis of Early Modern witchcraft prosecutions from the perspective of process sociology
  • Gerlinde Mauerer - Gender and Family in Motion: Parental arrangements
  • Tiago Cavalho - the spread of Extinction Rebellion across the world

2021/22

  • Gayle Kaufman - attitudes toward marriage and relationships following marriage equality in the US.
  • D'Lane Compton - social psychology and the demography of sexual orientation.

View more previous visitors

Contact details

Department of Sociology Law and Sociology Building
University of York
York
YO10 5GD