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Available PhD topics, current PhD projects, open projects, NERC and other funding bodies
Although many people do a PhD in order to go into academia, it can also be very beneficial for careers in industry and the private sector. A PhD is hard work and takes at least 3 years to complete, so you need to find a suitable topic, which will engage your enthusiasm and interest for the long-haul.
AvailableTopics
Funded projects open for applications
If you are interested in applying to do a specific PhD project in our Department (self-initiated, self-funded or through a non-DTP studentship), you should direct your initial enquiry to the named supervisor (or co-supervisor) who can guide you further. In cases of uncertainty, you may also direct your enquiry to the Graduate Tutor. Once a supervisor has agreed in principle to supervise your project, or if you are applying for a specific funded studentship, you must complete a formal UCL PhD application.
- Earth Sciences Open Projects
At present we do not have any new PhD projects available.
The London NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP).
The PhD topics shown here are representative examples of projects offered by our department that are eligible for funding through the London NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP). The London DTP offers studentships covering all aspects of earth and environmental science, hosted by different London-based academic institutions including UCL.
If you are interested in any topic below, please contact the named supervisor for more information in the first instance. To apply for a DTP studentship, please do not apply to UCL directly but instead follow the DTP instructions. Whilst the topics illustrate a cross-section of active research within our Department, the list is not exhaustive and we also welcome enquiries from students who wish to formulate their own topics.
- Biodiversity, Ecology & Conservation
Constraining the Past and Future Distribution of Crocodylians
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: Philip Mannion NERC Using the Past to Improve Predictions of the Future of Vertebrate Biodiversity
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: Philip Mannion Alex Pigot NERC - Evolution & Adaptation
Size control on extinction dynamics in Cenozoic planktonic foraminifera
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: Bridget Wade Andy Purvis, NHM NERC - Earth, Atmosphere and Ocean Processes
The importance of micronutrient cycling in glaciated environments for the global carbon cycle – a case study from Greenland
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: Susan Little Philip Pogge Von Strandmann NERC The aridity, drought and biodiversity impacts of Solar Geoengineering
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: Peter Irvine Tim Newbold NERC Ice sheet-ocean-climate interactions during the Pleistocene Ice Ages
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: David Wilson Heather Ford - QMUL NERC Mapping Rain on Snow Events Across the Arctic Landscape
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: Julienne Stroeve Michel Tsamados NERC Data assimilation of satellite snow thickness products in the Arctic Ocean
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: Michel Tsamados Julienne Stroeve NERC Testing Earth’s thermostat with novel isotope tracers
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: David Wilson Susan Little NERC - Environmental Pollution
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: - Natural and Biological Hazards
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: - Past Life and Environments
Timing and controls on evolution of deep-marine lobe and related deposits, Eocene Hecho Group, Jaca basin, Spanish Pyrenees. Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: Kevin Pickering Paul Bown NERC Signs of life in Paleoarchean chemical sedimentary rocks
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: Dominic Papineau NERC The Evolutionary and biogeographic impact of the break up of Gondwana during the Cretaceous and Cenozoic
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: Paul Upchurch NERC Quantifying temperature changes in the Oligocene icehouse
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: Bridget Wade NERC - Solid Earth Dynamics
The initial condition for the long-term evolution of terrestrial planets
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: Maxim Ballmer John Brodholt NERC The seismic signals of the heterogeneous Earth mantle
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: Maxim Ballmer Paula Koelemeijer NERC The dynamics of mantle plumes, and their geophysical and geochemical expressions
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: Maxim Ballmer Ana Ferreira NERC Glacial erosion in the tropics: The Santa Marta Range, southern Caribbean
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: Matthew Fox Andy Carter, BBK NERC What can long period seismic tremors tell us about physical-chemical processes inside active volcanoes?
Supervisor: Co-supervisor: Funding: Alex The-Ru Song NERC