ARIES PhD project opportunities: October 2027
The University of Plymouth is a partner in the Advanced Research and Innovation in the Environmental Sciences (ARIES) Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) which is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
As one of 17 new Doctoral Training Partnerships in the UK, ARIES enrolled its first cohort of students in October 2019.
ARIES will equip the next generation of environmental scientists with the knowledge and tools to better understand and manage our planet by:
- Developing multiple cohorts of scientists with advanced skills and knowledge, multidisciplinary outlooks, and substantial potential to operate successfully across all postgraduate career options.
- Assembling a diverse and integrated training partnership that enables our PGRs to address priority topics in environmental sciences through cutting-edge and world-leading research.
- Training all of our PGRs to understand modern methods of data management, interrogation, analysis, and presentation; from bioinformatics to artificial intelligence.
- Ensuring our graduates engage with the interfaces between environmental science and societal needs by growing their ability to achieve non-academic impact and effective public engagement.
Applications for 2027/28 are now open.
The closing date for applications is 16 December 2026 at 23:59 GMT.
School of Biological and Marine Sciences
A scattered deep sea: global biodiversity change and processes across hydrothermal vents Human impacts on the role of beaches as fish nurseries: advancing tools to measure energy use and infer habitat quality Pollution in a warming world: emerging contaminants and heatwaves in estuarine ecosystems Regulating for resilience: developing a multi-level physiological framework for chemical risk assessment under climate change Too hot to handle? Seaweed-pathogen interactions in a climate change world Double whammy? The combined effects of microplastics and marine heatwaves on digestive physiology and performance in marine invertebrates The role of thermal tolerance and secondary metabolites in the increasing dominance of Indo-Pacific soft corals
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Revealing the Regolith: the critical role of the subsurface in co-seismic shallow landsliding Nature recovery in the European palaeoecological record Finding the faults that matter: understanding structural controls on critical metals and geothermal energy in SW Britain (CASE project with Cornish Lithium) Rockfall at the roof of Europe: monitoring landscape instability in the deglaciating Mont Blanc massif
How to apply
To apply please use the online link from the project advert and follow the instructions.
Take a look at the Doctoral College information on
applying for a research degree.
For any generic questions on ARIES, studentships and selection processes, prospective applicants should contact
Professor Dave Bilton for projects in the
School of Biological and Marine Sciences and
Professor Gregory Price for the
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences . For specific details on individual projects, please contact the project's primary supervisor.
For further information please see www.aries-dtp.ac.uk or contact aries.dtp@uea.ac.uk.
The closing date for applications is 16 December 2026 at 23:59 GMT.
Key information
Successful candidates who meet UKRI’s eligibility criteria will be awarded a fully-funded studentship, which covers fees, maintenance stipend £21,805 p.a. for 2026/27 rate (2027/28 rate TBC) and a research training and support grant (RTSG). A limited number of studentships are available for international applicants, with the difference between 'home' and 'international' fees being waived by the registering university. Please note, however, that ARIES funding does not cover additional costs associated with relocation to, and living in, the UK, such as visa costs or the health surcharge.
ARIES PGRs benefit from a fully-funded bespoke graduate training programme and ARIES provides an additional £2,500 to every postgraduate researcher for access to external training, travel and conferences.
Excellent applicants from quantitative disciplines with limited experience in environmental sciences may be considered for an additional 3-month stipend to take advanced-level courses in the subject area.
ARIES is committed to equality, diversity, widening participation and inclusion in all areas of its operation. We encourage enquiries and applications from all sections of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation and transgender status. Academic qualifications are considered alongside significant relevant non-academic experience.
All ARIES studentships may be undertaken on a full-time or part-time basis. International applicants should check whether there are any conditions of visa or immigration permission that preclude part-time study. All advertised project proposals have been developed with consideration of a safe, inclusive, and appropriate research and fieldwork environment with respect to protected characteristics.
Equality and diversity
The ARIES Doctoral Training Partnership is committed to equality, diversity, widening participation and inclusion in its work with PGRs, supervisors and partners; and in its interaction with the research community and beyond. Everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to flourish and succeed in an environment which enables them to do so. (UKRI)
ARIES is required by our funders to collect Equality and Diversity Information from all of our applicants. The information you provide will be used solely for monitoring and statistical purposes; it will remain confidential, and will be stored on the UEA sharepoint server. UEA’s GDPR statements may be viewed online.
Data will not be shared with those involved in making decisions on the award of Studentships, and will have no influence on the success of your application. It will only be shared outside of this group in an anonymised and aggregated form and will be used to ensure no biases exist in our recruitment stages.
