PhD by Research

The Dept of Earth Sciences welcomes applicants for those wishing to conduct research in many aspects of the Earth Sciences. For research interests of our staff please see:

• Academic staff web pages 
• Research group web pages

For discussions about possible research projects please contact the member of academic staff.

For questions about the application process please contact: Louise Bowron, Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE. earthsci.pgadmissions@durham.ac.uk.

Tel. no. +44 (0)191 334 2198.

The Dept. of Earth Sciences participates in several Centre for Doctoral Training that offer fully-funded PhD studentships to eligible candidates.

NERC IAPETUS-2 Earth Science Studentships for October 2025

Durham is the lead partner for the NERC funded IAPETUS2 partnership including the Universities of Glasgow, Newcastle, St Andrews, Heriott-Watt and Stirling along with the British Geological Survey and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

Further information on the IAPETUS 2024 partnership is now available at: https://www.iapetus2.ac.uk/studentships/

In the first instance, applicants should contact the project supervisors or Louise Bowron at (earthsci.pgadmissions@durham.ac.uk).

These PhD studentships will provide for UK tuition fees and a full stipend at UK Research & Innovation recommended levels for each year of study. 

Applications will open in November 2024

Projects details are available on the IAPETUS2 website.

• Passive Seismic Imaging of Under-explored Central Iceland
• Tracing Micronutrient behaviour accompanying forestation and climate change
• Computational innovation for the energy transition: Bayesian stratigraphic correlation of subsurface data
• Weathering vs. climate change: Quantifying recent silicate weathering using novel isotope tracers
• Plinian eruption deposits from Las Cañadas Caldera, Tenerife: constraining eruption frequencies, eruption cycles and the Quaternary evolution of the island
• Reactivation and mineralisation associated with the Lake District Boundary Fault
• Active deformation and landscape evolution in the western Ordos, northern China
• The origin of animals: Building a precise timeline from the geological record
• Impact of climate change on the northern Greenland Ice Sheet over the Late Cenozoic based on a novel geochemical technique and climate modelling
• Landscapes of resilience? Archaeobotanical and stable isotope analysis of archival material from the First Millennium CE in the Anglo-Scottish borders
• Why are we not making soil? Learning lessons from the historic anthropogenic soils of UK and Germany
• Underground heat storage in abandoned coals mines for Net Zero
• How important is mantle carbonation in Earth’s long-term carbon cycle?
• Automated Continuous In-situ Dissolved Metal Monitoring & Modelling (ACID M3)
• Exploring the impact of pollution on coastal marine environments in NE England
• Northern Farming: Sustainable Practice Through Time
• Do organic-mineral interactions increase or decrease greenhouse gas release from rivers?