• United Kingdom

Accepting PhD Students

PhD projects

I am particularly interested in mentoring PhD students who are passionate about analysing public attitudes and public opinion, especially on matters related to foreign policy. Additionally, I welcome students with a strong interest in methodological approaches, particularly structural equation modelling and latent variable analysis.

Personal profile

Personal Statement

 

Thomas J. Scotto is the Head of the Department and Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Strathclyde. His research interests focus on public opinion and applied quantitative methods, particularly structural equation modeling and latent variable analysis.

His recent work, funded by the ESRC and the British Academy, examines cross-national public opinion on foreign policy issues. This research has been published in journals such as International Studies Quarterly, Political Behavior, International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, and Canadian Foreign Policy. Earlier in his career, Professor Scotto concentrated on American and Canadian voting behavior, co-authoring the University of Toronto Press book Making Political Choices: Canada and the United States.

From 2007 to 2016, he was a member of the Department of Government at the University of Essex, where he received multiple teaching awards from the Essex Student Union. Between 2020 and 2024, he served as Dean of Education, North American Link, and Professor of Politics in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow.

Professor Scotto's consultancy work includes developing "open government" indicators for the OECD, contributing to "Parliamentary Strengthening" projects in Mozambique, Ukraine, and Georgia, and advising on survey design in the United States and the United Kingdom. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) in 2024.

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 5 - Gender Equality
  • SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
  • SDG 13 - Climate Action
  • SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Education/Academic qualification

Doctor of Philosophy, Short-term forces or artifacts of measurement error? : the components of partisan change and presidental vote choice in the United States, 1988-2000, Duke University

1 Jun 200231 Dec 2005

Award Date: 31 Dec 2005

Master of Arts, From a two-party-plus to a one-party-plus? Ideology, vote choice, and prospects for a competitive party system in Canada

15 Aug 199931 Aug 2002

Award Date: 31 Aug 2002

Bachelor of Arts, Measuring the Presidential Coattail Effect: a Methodological Critique, State University of New York at Binghamton

15 Aug 199531 May 1999

Award Date: 31 May 1999

Keywords

  • public opinion
  • foreign policy
  • American Government
  • Canadian Government
  • Structural Equation Modelling
  • Voting Behaviour
  • Latent Variable Modelling
  • Quantitative Methods

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