SWDTP Human Geography studentship

Applications close on 14 January 2025 (12:00 noon UK time) and the studentship will start on 1 October 2025

Apply

To apply for the SWDTP Human Geography pathway please use the online application form. Simply click on the ‘online application’ link below for PhD Human Geography :
Online application
Within the Research section of the application form, in the following fields, please add:
  • Proposed project title/studentship title: add your project title
  • Proposed supervisor: add the potential supervisor’s name
  • Studentship code: add SWDTP 25-10 Human Geography

Application guidance

It is important that you follow the instructions above or your application for this studentship may be missed and therefore will not be considered.
Before applying, please ensure you have read the Doctoral College’s general information on applying for a research degree .
For more information on the admissions process, please contact research.degree.admissions@plymouth.ac.uk.
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science and Engineering
We welcome applications for PhDs in all areas of human geography. You will be joining a vibrant postgraduate research community with wide ranging interests in human geography.
Human geography at the University of Plymouth forms part of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) South West Doctoral Training Partnership for the South West (SWDTP), offering opportunities for funded PhD studentships.
Research in human geography at Plymouth is part of the Centre for Research in Environment and Society (CeRES) and our work examines Environmental Governance and Mobility, Culture and Society . For details of our all staff research interests, please see our geography web page . More specifically, the following staff welcome contact for research related to the following areas in this SWDTP round:
  • Examining the citizenship barriers and opportunities for young people in environmentally precarious locations.
  • Exploring young people’s role in influencing / shaping marine practices and policy.
  • Investigating the risks and opportunities for young people’s housing and / or employment mobilities.
  • Covid and civil society – examining the impact of the pandemic on citizenship and civil society.
  • A permacrisis in the countryside? The impact of change on rural society.
  • Post-military geographies – the changing spatial relationship between the armed forces and society.
  • Healthy Cities.
  • Geospatial analysis of environment-health interactions.
  • Use of personal sensors for understanding how individuals navigate the Urban landscape.
  • Atmospheres of counterterrorism and the ‘Protect Duty’.
  • Affective geographies, non-representational theory, and identity, community, difference, and / or subjectivity.
  • COVID-19 and post-pandemic atmospheres of urban living: how has the pandemic refigured the ways we live and move with others?
  • Exploring the multi-modal experiences of movement and travel.
  • The impact of devolution on transport and mobility practices in urban areas.
  • Transport, health and wellbeing in different governance regimes.
  • Geospatial analysis of population, census, environmental or natural hazard data to examine risk or socioeconomic questions.
  • Visualisation and analysis of population and big data.
  • Estimating seasonal and spatiotemporal population characteristics in human geography research.
  • Examinations of the politics and/or geographies of ‘hubs’ (either online or in-person) in crisis contexts.
  • Exploring emerging practices of streaming live experiences of extreme weather/disasters.
  • Novel forms of community organisation and mobilisation in disaster recovery contexts (e.g. inter-faith networks, community associations).

Initial enquiries

For more details and informal enquiries, please contact Dr Paul Simpson .

How to apply

The ESRC SWDTP encourages collaboration across the universities of the partnership and with external organisations.
Closing date: 14 January 2025,12:00 noon (UK time)
Start date: 1 October 2025
The studentship is supported for three to four years depending upon the pathway and includes full home tuition fees plus a stipend which is currently £19,237 per annum (2024/2025 rate). There are limited number of places for international students.

Eligibility

Information on the eligibility criteria for full awards can be found on the South West DTP website.

Application process

We strongly encourage you to discuss your proposed research topic with an academic staff member in your field. More specifically, the staff listed welcome contact for research related to the areas mentioned above in this SWDTP round. You can also explore the member lists of Plymouth's research groups and centres or search staff profiles using subject-area search terms (e.g. citizenship) or an individual's name.
You will need to submit the following documentation in order for us to consider your application:
Your application will only be considered if it contains the above and you have met our minimum criteria. If we need further details or additional documentation, we will contact you.
For full details on the studentship process, please visit the South West Doctoral Training Partnership: How do I apply for a studentship? page.