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 2026

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 2026 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 2025

Projects details are available on the IAPETUS2 website.

• Plinian eruption deposits from Las Cañadas Caldera, Tenerife: constraining eruption frequencies, eruption cycles and the Quaternary evolution of the island
• Passive Seismic Imaging of Under-explored Central Iceland
• Soil sulfur: a source or sink of greenhouse gases in boreal landscapes?
• A metallogenic model for lithium and rare metal resources in the Glen Gairn granite.
• Environmental drivers in archaeology: past, present and future under the lens of geophysics.
• Fluid transport of heat and metals: understanding the formation of highly permeable fracture systems in granite.
• The origin of animals: Building a precise timeline from the geological record.
• Tracing Micronutrient behaviour accompanying forestation and climate change.
• Weathering vs. climate change: Quantifying recent silicate weathering using novel isotope tracers.
• Probabilistic flood prediction and modelling using machine learning.
• How important is mantle carbonation in Earth’s long-term carbon cycle?
• Automated Continuous In-situ Dissolved Metal Monitoring & Modelling (ACID M3)
• Blue Carbon accumulation, transformation and storage: Quantifying biogeochemical processes in saltmarsh ecosystems.
• Assessing Magmatic Dead Carbon Effects on Radiocarbon Dates: A Multi-Method Investigation of Volcanic CO₂ Degassing at Laacher See, Germany.