PhD in Physical Geography
ERC REFRESH Programme: Closed
Postgraduate Teaching Assistant (PGTA) position in Physical Geography: Application deadline: 23:59 GMT on 13 March 2026
University of Bristol PGR Scholarship: Open until Monday 19 January
Floods CDT Projects: Closed
NERC GW4+ DTLP Projects: Closed
All PhD programmes in Bristol are delivered via the Bristol Doctoral College and general information can be found on their website and please also see the University's Postgraduate study pages.
Physical Geography students usually apply to an existing project however we also admit students who already have funding or are willing to self-fund their studies and their own project. For applications to an existing project, please upload the project description under the 'research proposal'. For those applying with their own projects, please contact the proposed supervisors directly to discuss the project before submitting your application to ensure there is support for it.
You must have listed 2 (or more if relevant) supervisors on your application before applying. Applications without a research proposal or supervisors listed will not be accepted.
When applying please search and submit your application under "Geography (PhD)".
ERC REFRESH Programme: Closed
We are seeking highly capable candidates for an exciting PhD studentship, funded under the UKRI funded ERC Advanced Grant REFRESH:
The project is led by Professor Penny Johnes, collaborating with colleagues across the Schools of Geographical Sciences and Biological Sciences, as well as collaboration with colleagues at Bristol Water, Natural England, and the Environment Agency.
Applications are now closed for this project.
When applying for projects in the School of Geographical Sciences please choose 'Geography- PhD'' in the 'find a programme' box. You should refer to the project title and supervisor in your application.
| Project Title | Supervisor |
|---|---|
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Managing Freshwater Nutrients for Ecological Health and Sustainable Water Supply |
Postgraduate Teaching Assistant (PGTA) studentship: Application deadline 23.59 GMT on 13 March 2026
The School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, has a Postgraduate Teaching Assistant (PGTA) position in Physical Geography for 2026/27 entry, with an anticipated start date of 01 September 2026. The School is consistently ranked as top in the UK in geographical research. It has a vibrant and expanding Graduate School of some 150+ PhD and MSc students.
The PGTA scholarship award is for 4 years. For the first 3 years the PGTA will spend 85% of their time carrying out research as a PhD student and 15% of their time supporting undergraduate (or exceptionally taught PG) teaching, typically in tutorial, seminar, field or laboratory classes and under the direction of the member of academic staff responsible for the taught unit. The final 12 months will be free of teaching to enable the PGTA to focus on completing their PhD write-up, and Geography PGTAs typically will not have any teaching load in their final year. Training and support for teaching will be provided in line with the University’s policy on “Postgraduate Research Students Who Teach” and will be appropriately mentored.
The successful applicant will propose a research topic for their PhD in Physical Geography, in consultation with staff at the School of Geographical Sciences. The proposal will be considered as part of their application. The successful candidate will have an academic track record and research potential in Geography, in addition to evidence of teaching experience or experience potentially matched to teaching needs.
Please contact your proposed supervisors to gain their support with your application before applying to the University.
Funding information:
A Geographical Sciences PGTA studentship will cover research degree fees at the home rate, a pro-rata PhD stipend equivalent of a UKRI funded PhD studentship, payment for teaching duties, and a research and training budget. We regret that we cannot cover international fees, so the successful applicant must cover the difference in fee costs if applicable.
When applying for this position, please select ‘University of Bristol Studentship’ on the funding options tab to be considered for this position. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview (to be held online).
For further information, applicants may contact the School’s Year One Director, Dr Becky Collins (becky.collins@bristol.ac.uk), or the School’s Physical Geography PGR Director, Dr Stephen Cornford (s.l.cornford@bristol.ac.uk).
Application deadline: 23.59 GMT on 13 March 2026.
University of Bristol PGR Scholarship: Open
For September 2026 the School of Geographical Sciences has a number of University of Bristol PGR Scholarships for both home and overseas students commencing their PhDs in 2026/27. These can be awarded on a full-time or part-time basis.
These scholarships, available for a period of up to 4 years, cover tuition fees and a stipend at the UKRI amount. There is also an allocated amount of funds for research and training expenses per year.
Please make sure to read the admissions statement and other application information on the website before applying.
The deadline for applications is 11:59pm (GMT) Monday 19 January 2026. We regret that we cannot consider applications for funding received after the deadline.
Please select 'University of Bristol Scholarship' under the funding options of your application.
As part of our commitment to an inclusive and representative student community, we are also offering a specific UoB PhD scholarship for applicants of Black and mixed Black heritage eligible for home fees starting their programme in 2026. If you are eligible for this award and would like to be considered for it, please confirm this with our admin team at geog-pgadmin@bristol.ac.uk.
Applicants may apply to a maximum of 1 project at Bristol.
| Project Title | Supervisor |
|---|---|
| Artificial Intelligence for Managing Ancient Woodlands in the UK Sustainability to Meet Net-Zero Climate Targets |
Dr Ce Zhang |
| Harnessing methane oxidation as a climate solution |
Dr Josh Dean |
| Machine learning for understanding extreme weather in a changing climate |
Dr Peter Watson |
| Improving future climate prediction through modelling and data of Earth’s past |
Professor Dan Lunt |
| The Nutrient Revolution: How Cyanobacteria Transformed a Starved Planet |
Professor Patricia Sanchez-Baracaldo |
| Tracking marine gateway exchange during the opening of the south Atlantic using novel isotopic tracers |
Professor Rachel Flecker |
Flood Centre for Doctoral Training (FLOOD-CDT): Applications now closed
These projects are funded by the FLOOD-CDT in partnership with several institutions, including Bristol University.
Applications for entry in September/October 2026 for FLOOD-CDT are open now with a deadline of Thursday 8 January 2026.
Please click on the link above to view all projects, or search by different criteria. For Bristol projects please see below. Each of the successful researchers will undertake a multidisciplinary project, co-supervised with our external partners, investigating real-life problems across at least two of our Research and Training Themes. In parallel each doctoral researcher will receive extensive, multidisciplinary cohort-based training, across all six Research and Training Themes.
Please read the How to apply for NERC FLOOD CDT projects in Bristol - Sept 2026 start (PDF, 176kB) document carefully before submitting your application.
Applicants may apply to a maximum of 2 projects at Bristol.
| Project Title | Supervisor |
|---|---|
| A unified approach to climate, sea-level, and coastal change projections in the UK | |
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Geophysical Monitoring of Flood Defences for Climate Change Adaptation |
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From Hazards to Risk: Physics-Informed AI and SWOT Data for Global Flood Mapping and Socio-Economic Vulnerability |
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Unravelling the physical drivers of glacier lake outburst flooding |
NERC GW4+ DLTP Projects 2026: Applications now closed
This is an exciting opportunity to apply for a project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). We are now accepting applications for PhD projects commencing Autumn 2026 in the Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences.
The application deadline is Thursday 8 January 2026.
It is important that you follow the detailed instructions provided when applying for the DLTP and be sure to read the prospectus carefully. We advise you download the 'Admissions Statement' for Physical Geography from the prospectus and follow the instructions. The prospectus also shows other Bristol Schools offering projects under this DLTP.
When applying to NERC GW4+ DLTP projects, please include in your application the NERC GW4+ DLTP Personal Statement (PDF, 238kB) version of a personal statement.
There is an additional 'applicants questionnaire' that the DLTP require, so please complete this at the time of application as well.
When applying for projects in the School of Geographical Sciences please choose 'Geography (PhD)'' in the 'find a programme' box. You should refer to the project title and supervisor in your application.
Further particulars of the programme including eligibility for international applicants (including EU) can be found here.
It is important that you follow the detailed instructions provided when applying for the DLTP: How to Apply NERC GW4+ DLTP 2026 Entry (Office document, 57kB)
Be sure to read the prospectus carefully. The prospectus also shows other Bristol Schools offering projects under this DLTP. We advise you review the 'Postgraduate Admissions Statement' for Bristol.
Please note that you can only apply for ONE project across all the GW4+ DLTP Partner institutions.
| Project Title | Supervisor |
|---|---|
| To collapse or not: the stability of the AMOC in a warming climate | |
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Marine Ecosystems and Biogeochemistry under Future Climate Change |
Dr Lee de Mora (Plymouth Marine Laboratory) |
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Radioactive archives of global carbon cycling in rivers |
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Carbon Dioxide Removal in the UK and Brazil: Using Systems Mapping, System Dynamics, and Multi-criteria Decision Analysis to Explore Impacts on Poverty, Food Security and Biodiversity Conservation |
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Understanding the Role of Land-Atmosphere Interactions for Extreme Tropical Thunderstorms under Global Warming |
Dr Cornelia Klein (UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology) |
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The role of ocean colour feedbacks in weather extremes forecasting |
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Developing a conservation palaeobiology evidence base for southern England National Nature Reserves |
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Machine learning for understanding extreme weather in a changing climate |