Royal Holloway is a member of three NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) consortia offering doctoral scholarships: the London NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) the NERC CDT in Oil and Gas, and the NERC ARIES DTP. Note that NERC funding is subject to UKRI eligibility criteria.
London NERC DTP
The London NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) is a collaborative body that brings together nine of the world’s leading research centres in environmental science. These include Birkbeck, Brunel, Kew, King’s College, the Natural History Museum, Queen Mary, UCL and the Institute of Zoology. The Royal Holloway Departments involved in the London NERC DTP are: Biological Sciences, Earth Sciences and Geography.
The next round of applications for September 2024 entry will open in November 2023. The partnership currently funds over 140 PhD students in the natural sciences.
- Biodiversity, Ecology & Conservation
- Earth, Atmosphere & Ocean Processes
- Environmental Hazards & Pollution
- Environmental Physics & Mathematics Modelling
- Evolution & Adaptation
- Natural & Biological Hazards
- Pan-disciplinary
- Past Life & Environments
- Solid Earth Dynamics.
For a description of each theme and a regularly updated list of potential PhD projects, visit the London NERC DTP website. However applications may be made to London NERC DTP programme and not to a specific project.
The programme commences with research skills training in terms 1 and 2. Students are registered initially at UCL then students transfer to their chosen institution based on the project proposals submitted at the end of Term 1.
NERC CDT in Oil and Gas
Further enquiries should be made to: Dr Nicola Scarselli, Department of Earth Sciences, 00 44 (0)1784 443597
NERC ARIES DTP
The ARIES (Advanced Research and Innovation in the Environmental Sciences) DTP was launched in 2018 with funding from NERC. Royal Holloway is among five universities and nine research centres with the aim of training postgraduate research students to become 21st Century Scientists: leaders in the science and sustainable business of the natural environment.
ARIES will offer a minimum of 75 fully funded PHD studentships over five student cohorts, the first of which began their studies in October 2019.
ARIES is built upon scientific excellence within five overlapping research themes:
- Ecology and Biodiversity
- Marine, Atmospheric and Climate Science
- Geosciences, Resources and Environmental Risk
- Environmental Genomics and Microbiology
- Agri-environments and Water
Applications for studentships that cover fees, stipend and research expenses commencing in October 2024 are now open and five projects based within our Earth Sciences department have been shortlisted for funding.
| Title | Supervisor | Download |
| Does mantle heterogeneity control the distribution of volcanic systems? | Dr Christina Manning, Dr Ian Watkinson, Prof. Alex Dickson | |
|
An innovative isotopic approach to investigating the pre-Cambrian carbon cycle
|
Prof. Alex Dickson (RHUL), Dr Hannah Elms (RHUL), Prof. Simon Poulton (Leeds) | |
| Quantification and mitigation of agricultural methane emissions |
Dr Rebecca Fisher (RHUL), Dr James France (RHUL, Environmental Defense Fund), Dr David Lowry (RHUL)
|
|
|
Probing the intersection of environmental chemistry and health: degradation of tear films by atmospheric pollutants
|
Prof. Martin King (RHUL), Dr Rebecca Fisher (RHUL), Dr Rebecca Welbourne (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory)
|
|
| Sustainable cooling of the London Underground network |
Dr Jonathan Paul (RHUL), Dr Ian Watkinson (RHUL), Prof. Adrian Butler (Imperial)
|
Further information and how to apply can be accessed from the Earth Sciences department webpage here: Earth Sciences - Postgraduate research (royalholloway.ac.uk)
General information on the ARIES DTP including their research, eligibility, partners, training and placements can be found here: Aries | Doctoral Training Partnership (aries-dtp.ac.uk)
