PhD in Physical Geography
University of Bristol PGR Scholarship
University of Bristol PGR Scholarship
For September 2025 the School of Geographical Sciences has a number of University of Bristol Scholarships for both home and overseas students commencing their PhDs in 2025/26. 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 12.00 Friday 31st January 2025. 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.
| Project Title | Supervisor |
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| Machine Learning for Understanding Extreme Weather in a Changing Climate | |
| Artificial Intelligence for Managing Ancient Woodlands in the UK Sustainability to Meet Net-Zero Climate Targets | |
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Quantifying the Marine Bio-Physical Feedbacks During Severe Weather Events in a High-Resolution Coupled Earth-System Model |
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Isotopic and Model Constraints on the Climatic Impact of the Opening South Atlantic
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Flood Centre for Doctoral Training (FLOOD-CDT)
These projects are funded by the FLOOD-CDT in partnership with several institutions, including Bristol University.
Applications for entry in September/October 2025 for FLOOD-CDT are open now with a deadline of 8th January 2025.
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 (PDF, 563kB) document carefully before submitting your application.
Applicants may apply to a maximum of 2 projects at Bristol.
| Project Title | Supervisor |
|---|---|
| Drought to Flood Transitions in a Changing Climate | |
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Better Understanding and Handling of Uncertainty in Flood Management
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A Unified Approach to Multiple Timescale Climate, Sea-Level, and Coastal Change Projects in the UK |
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Attribution of Global Sea Level Rise-induced Coastal Flooding |
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How Can Citizen Science and High Resolution Monitoring be Used to Characterise the Effectiveness of Natural Flood Management Solutions? |
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Parametric Flood Modelling for Vulnerable Populations in Southeast Asia |
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Climate Drivers of Future Extreme UK Flood Risk |
NERC GW4+ DLTP Projects 2025
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 2025 in the Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences.
The application deadline is Monday 13th January 2025.
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 (Office document, 194kB) 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. You will need to make a separate application for each project you wish to be considered for.
Further particulars of the programme including eligibility for international applicants (including EU) can be found here.
| Project Title | Supervisor |
|---|---|
| Carbon Budgets for Glacial Landscapes and the Role of Microbes in Storing and Releasing Carbon | |
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Quantifying the Contribution of Glaciers to Freshwater Resources in Mountain Regions
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Revealing and Protecting the Diminishing Phyco-diversity of the Cryosphere |
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The Future of the UK's Water Supply |
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Marine Ecosystems and Biogeochemistry Under Future Climate Change |
Lee de Mora (Plymouth Marine Laboratory) |
ERC REFRESH Programme
Three exciting PhD studentships are available under the UKRI funded ERC Advanced Grant REFRESH: Researching the Role of Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) as a Nutrient Resource in Freshwater Systems. The programme is led by Professor Penny Johnes, collaborating with colleagues across the Schools of Geographical Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Chemistry at the University of Bristol, with Bangor University and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
| Project Title | Supervisor |
|---|---|
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Revealing and Exploring Cellular Metabolism of Dissolved Organic Matter in Rivers, Using Environmental Omics |
Dr Daniel Read (UKCEH) |
There are 2 other projects funded by the ERC Refresh programme that are registered different Schools/ Institutions than Geographical Science at the University of Bristol. Please see the full list advertised here for further information and links.
There are many opportunities for carrying out a PhD in Physical Geography in the School of Geographical Sciences, with several different funding routes.
A list of currently available projects is shown below. This list is not exhaustive, so if you have another idea or project in mind, please contact one of the supervisors listed below, other potential supervisors or for general enquiries geog-pgadmin@bristol.ac.uk to discuss things further.