PhD and Masters by Research projects within the School of Earth Sciences are published on this page. It will be expected that you contact potential supervisors in advance of submitting an application.
We offer projects eligible for full funding (fees and stipend). Students may be funded from a variety of UK and international industry and government sources, including via our NERC GW4+ postgraduate training award (see below and the GW4+ website for further details). All funded studentships for which we are currently recruiting are advertised below.
To apply to the University of Bristol you must apply online. You should select 'Geology (PhD)' as the programme in the drop down menu. For Masters by Research select 'Geology (MSc by Research)'.
We are currently facing some technical difficulties regarding second applications. You are welcome to apply for two projects, however we ask that you use the January 2024 date when making your second application to avoid any issues. We will recognise this as an application for the standard September 2023 start date unless explicity stated otherwise.
Recently closed fully funded projects:
SWBio DTP
Closing date Monday 5th December 2022 at 23:59 GMT
These interdisciplinary projects come with full four year funding from SWbio at the 23/24 UKRI rate. SWBio aims to give you the opportunity to apply your research in an industrial setting through internships and placements, undertake research jointly with core & associate partners, and undertake fieldwork. The first year of an SWBio DTP PhD has you taking on 2 rotation projects in different disciplinary areas relating to your project and taking on three related taught units. The final three years follow the conventional structure of a PhD. As with the other projects on this page, when applying please choose 'Geology PhD' from the Programme Choice drop down menu.
Due to complexities and restrictions associated with visas for part-time studies, we are currently unable to accept part-time international students to the programme.
- Joint function throughout the life course (Lead supervisor Prof. Emily Rayfield)
Joint function throughout the life course (PDF, 215kB) - Establishing evolutionary timescales (Lead supervisor Prof. Philip Donoghue)
Establishing evolutionary timescales (PDF, 303kB)
NERC GW4+ DTP
Closing date Monday 9th January 2023 at 23.59 GMT
(Please note that these projects are competitively funded. This means that only a selection of these projects will be funded based on which receive the best applications)
When applying for the GW4+DTP Projects in the School of Earth Sciences please choose 'Geology PhD' from the Programme Choice drop down menu (see Prospectus for other Schools offering projects under this DTP). It is important that you follow the detailed instructions provided in the 'How to apply' link and read the Admissions Statement in the Prospectus to apply for one of these projects.
- Environmental functional nanomaterials for improving water quality (Lead supervisor Dr James Byrne)
BYRNE Environmental functional nanomaterials for improving water quality (PDF, 317kB) - Understanding the mantle beneath the Pacific Ocean using floating and land-based seismic data (Lead supervisor Dr Jessica Irving)
Understanding the mantle beneath the Pacific Ocean using floating and landbased (PDF, 739kB) - Unravelling Mantle Heterogeneities utilising Radiogenic and Stable Isotopes (Lead supervisor Dr Ian Parkinson)
Unravelling Mantle Heterogeneities utilising Radiogenic and Stable Isotopes (PDF, 828kB) - Building a picture of magmatic-hydrothermal systems from rock and mush fragments brought to surface by silicic eruptions (Lead supervisor Prof. Alison Rust)
Building a picture of magmatic-hydrothermal systems from rock and mush... (PDF, 699kB) - Forecasting Seismic Hazard from Injection-Induced Seismicity (Lead supervisor Dr James Verdon)
Forecasting Seismic Hazard from Injection-Induced Seismicity (PDF, 826kB) - Biogeochemistry of a subterranean estuary and fluxes of solutes and nutrients to coastal waters in the Northern Bahamas. (Lead supervisor: Prof. Fiona Whitaker)
Biogeochemistry of a subterranean estuary and fluxes of solutes and nutrients... (PDF, 771kB) - Carbon (CO2) cycling mechanisms in early algae: Implications for past climate and life on Earth (Lead supervisor Dr Caitlyn Witkowski)
Carbon (CO2) cycling mechanisms in early algae: Implications for past climate... (PDF, 836kB) - Probing mantle dynamics with seismic anisotropy (Lead supervisor Prof. James Wookey)
Probing mantle dynamics with seismic anisotropy (PDF, 797kB)
University of Bristol PhD Scholarships
Closing date Thursday 12th January 2023 at 23.59 GMT
(Please note that these projects are competitively funded. This means that only a selection of these projects will be funded based on which receive the best applications)
- Open spectroscopy in Environmental Sciences: Machine-learning augmented analysis and interpretation (Lead supervisor Dr James Byrne)
UoB Open spectroscopy in Environmental Sciences (PDF, 1,004kB) - Probing magma recharge in the volcanic arc systems of SE Asia (Lead supervisor Prof. Jo Gottsmann)
UoB Probing magma recharge in the volcanic arc systems of SE Asia (PDF, 567kB) - Seeing into Earth’s core: investigating layering and lateral variation with multiple seismic probes (Lead supervisor Dr Jessica Irving)
UoB Seeing into Earth’s core (PDF, 2,967kB) - Controls on critical metal enrichment in granitic systems (Lead supervisor Dr Bob Myhill)
UOB CONTROLS ON CRITICAL METAL ENRICHMENT IN GRANITIC SYSTEMS (PDF, 313kB) - How do vertebrate jaws work in living and extinct animals? (Lead supervisor Prof. Emily Rayfield)
UoB How do vertebrate jaws work in living and extinct animals? (PDF, 295kB) - Plasticity as a mode of response climate change (Lead supervisor Prof. Daniela Schmidt)
UoB Plasticity as a mode of response climate change (PDF, 538kB) - Telling evolutionary time using molecular clocks and the fossil record (Lead supervisor Prof. Philip Donoghue)
UoB Telling evolutionary time using molecular clocks and the fossil record (PDF, 315kB)
BUMPS funded PhD project
Closing date Thursday 12th January 2023 at 23.59 GMT
-
Machine Learning for Large, Dense Seismic Monitoring Arrays (Lead supervisor Dr James Verdon)
BUMPS funded PhD: Machine Learning for Large, Dense Seismic Monitoring Arrays (PDF, 250kB)
STFC funded PhD projects
Closing date Tuesday 14th February 2023 at 14.00 GMT
(Please note that these projects are competitively funded. This means that only a selection of these projects will be funded based on which receive the best applications)
- In situ dating of meteoritic olivines (Lead supervisor Prof. Tim Elliott)
STFC In Situ dating of meteoritic olivines ELLIOTT (PDF, 355kB) - Comparative planetary seismology across the telluric planets (Lead supervisor Dr Jessica Irving)
STFC Comparative planetary seismology across the telluric planets IRVING (PDF, 446kB) - Saturn's giant moon Titan: exploring planetary atmospheres with infra-red spectroscopy from Cassini (Lead supervisor Dr Nick Teanby)
STFC Saturn's giant moon Titan (PDF, 207kB)
PETRARCH: Pinpointing Earth-system Thresholds for Anoxia with New Reconstructions of the Cretaceous Hothouse PhD projects (funded by a UKRI-Matched ERC Grant)
Closing date Wednesday 15th February 2023 at 14.00 GMT
- Elucidating Long-term Cretaceous Atmospheric pCO2 and Climate Sensitivity (Lead supervisor Dr Michael Henehan)
Elucidating Long-term Cretaceous Atmospheric pCO2 and Climate Sensitivity (PDF, 300kB)
ERC funded PhD projects
Closing date Friday 3 March 2023 at 23.59 GMT but the posts will remain open until filled.
- Fates of peatland carbon under different nutrient regimes (Lead supervisor Dr Casey Bryce)
ERC funded PhD: Fates of peatland carbon under different nutrient regimes (PDF, 312kB) - The Organic Geochemistry of Peat In Transition (Lead supervisor Prof. Rich Pancost)
The Organic Geochemistry of Peat in Transition (PDF, 352kB)
If you have any questions, please contact the Postgraduate Administrator via email earth-postgrad@bristol.ac.uk.
General information on postgraduate admissions can be found on the University postgraduate webpages http://www.bris.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/
Did you know?
The Bristol School of Earth Sciences currently has around 100 PhD students across all years of study.