Fully-Funded projects open for applications!

We have several fully funded PhD projects available, funded via different schemes (Iapetus Doctoral Training Partnership, St Leonards College World Leading Scholarships, the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, and the Leverhulme Trust). The projects are listed below according to their funding source. Please contact the supervisors if you have questions about the projects. 

 

St Leonards College World Leading Scholarships

Westerly winds-overturning oceans. Supervised by Dr Mike Byrne, Dr Graeme MacGilcrhist & Simon Lee (EES)

 

Unlocking Earth's volcanic record with novel computer vision approaches. Supervised by Dr Richard Streeter (School of Geography and Sustainable Development), Dr Will Hutchison (EES), & Dr Kazim Terzic (School of Computer Science)

 

Groundwater under Antarctica: Ice sheets, Carbon and Oceanography (GAICO). Supervised by Dr TJ Young (School of Geography and Sustainable Development), Dr Graeme MacGilcrhist (EES)

 

National Centre for Atmospheric Science (UK)

Connecting Weather and Climate: Exploring Cross-Scale Interactions. Supervised by Dr Ioana Colfescu, Dr David Dritchel, Dr Mike Byrne (UStA), Dr Stephen Mobbs (Leeds)

 

Compound Extreme Events in a Warming World: From Drivers to Impacts. Supervised by Dr Ioana Colfescu, Dr Mike Byrne, Dr David Dritchel (UStA)

 

Leverhulme Trust

Connecting warming patterns to clouds: the role of atmospheric circulation. Supervised by Anna Mackie, Mike Byrne (EES)

 

Iapetus Doctoral Training Partnership

Information about funding and deadlines for Iapetus are provided below this list. Please contact the supervisors if you have questions about the projects, and for all other enquiries contact the St Andrews lead for Iapetus, Dr Sami Mikhail (iapetus@st-andrews.ac.uk). Iapetus DTP project based in the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences are listed below.

• Investigating records of terrestrial precursors in the early Solar System using Cr, Ni and Zn isotope compositions of meteorites. Supervisors: Dr. Robert Steele, Dr. Paul Savage (St Andrews), Prof. Kevin Burton (Durham)

 

• Achondrite meteorites as snapshots of Earth’s earliest history. Supervisors: Dr. Paul Savage, Dr. Robert Steele (St Andrews), Prof. Kevin Burton(Durham)

 

• Unravelling nutrient feedbacks across the Great Oxidation Event. Supervisors: Dr Eva Stueeken (St Andrews), Prof Darren Gröcke (Durham)

 

• Quantifying variations in Southern Ocean primary productivity over the last 2000 years from Sulfur Isotopes in Antarctic Ice cores. Supervisors: Prof Andrea Burke (St Andrews), Dr Liz Thomas (British Antarctic Survey)

 

• The impact of abrupt global warming on soil erosion and the carbon cycle – lessons from the past for the future. Supervisors: Dr Luke Bridgestock, Dr Graeme MacGilchrist, Prof Andrea Burke, Dr James Rae (St Andrews), and Prof Erin McClymont (Durham).

 

• Understanding pathways to extreme heat using large ensembles. Supervisors: Dr Simon Lee, Dr Michael Byrne (St Andrews), Dr Christopher Taylor (United Kingdom Centre for Ecology & Hydrology)

 

• The Ocean’s Evolution: Deciphering Circulation Changes Since the Last Glacial Maximum. Supervisors: Dr. Graeme MacGilchrist, Dr. James Rae (St Andrews), Dr. Paola Moffa-Sanchez (Durham)

 

• Anthropogenic ocean carbon uptake and acidification – establishing the “hockey stick” for ocean CO2. Supervisors: Dr James Rae, Dr Graeme MacGilchrist (St Andrews), Prof Alex Poulton (Heriot-Watt)

 

Important Deadlines & How to apply:

• Details for how to apply are provided on the Iapetus website. 
• December 9, 2024: Deadline for international applicants to contact supervisor for sponsorship
• January 3, 2025: Application Deadline

 

Financial Support:

Iapetus postgraduate studentships are tenable for up to 3.5 years and provide the following package of financial support:

• A tax-free maintenance grant set at the UK Research Council’s national rate, which in 2024/25 is £19,237;
• Payment of tuition fees at the Home rate (some of our partners have funding available for the additional fees charged to international students. Please get in touch with the primary supervisor of the project to learn more);
• Access to extensive research support funding; &
• Support for an external placement of up to six months.
• Part-time award-holders are funded for seven years and receive a maintenance grant at 50% of the full-time rate.

 

Further information

Iapetus will hold an online Q&A workshop on Tuesday 26th November 2024, where the Director will outline the application process and answer pre-submitted questions. If you would like to sign up to this workshop, please complete this short online form. You can also submit any questions you have using this form. A recording of this workshop will be available to watch from this webpage after the 26th November.