Postgraduate Research in Environmental Sciences

We are internationally recognised for our holistic and interdisciplinary approach to research, integrating physical, chemical, biological and social sciences to understand the Earth, its life and its people and the interactions between them. We are committed to tackling the environmental challenges facing society and securing a sustainable future for our world. Our postgraduate researchers are at the heart of active research teams, challenging boundaries and making real advances.

Research in the School of Environmental Sciences (ENV) addresses four overarching themes: 

• Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate Sciences
• Environmental Biology
• Environmental Social Sciences
• Geosciences

ENV postgraduate researchers work in these areas:

• Atmospheric and ocean sciences, polar sciences, autonomous vehicles
• Biological oceanography, marine biology, biogeochemistry, microbial ecology, sediment ecology
• Climate science and climate change science
• Climate solutions: decarbonisation and net zero, adaptation and resilience
• Ecological economics and ecosystem services
• Ecology, conservation ecology, tropical ecology, movement ecology, host-parasite co-evolution, land-use change
• Environmental pollution, including impacts, behaviour and fate of plastics and micro-plastics
• Environmental biology, conservation biology, genomics
• Geology, geophysics, hydrogeology, catchment science, natural hazards and resources
• Green economy, low carbon energy transitions
• Hazard risk communication, adaptation and disaster risk management
• Human and physical geography of the environment
• Science, society and sustainability

We also host international centres of research excellence spanning these themes as well as state-of-the-art research facilities for exploring the environment.

Below are some of the recent contributions from ENV’s postgraduate researchers: 

• Advising national climate policy makers(opens in a new window)
• Forests and soils in national climate strategies(opens in a new window)
• Vulnerability of birds to energy infrastructure(opens in a new window)
• Metaldehyde in a lowland river(opens in a new window)
• Microplastics in fishmeal(opens in a new window)
• Melt processes over the Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica(opens in a new window)
• Reversal of ocean gyres near ice shelves(opens in a new window)
• Global ocean carbon uptake estimates(opens in a new window)
• Diatoms in changing polar oceans(opens in a new window)

These examples highlight the importance of postgraduate research in ENV in changing our world. Would like to join this vibrant research community?

Working closely with an academic supervisor gives you the support to carry out your own independent research and make your own mark. We have a wealth of remarkable academics, but how do you know which team will be right for you?

Read about ENV’s research, our academics and publications on our webpages.

Studentships are advertised on our research pages (select Find a PhD and Masters by Research in Environmental Sciences), including for projects part of the ARIES, Norwich Research Park Biosciences, and SeNSS Doctoral Training Programmes.

Alternatively, you can apply for a self-funded studentship. In your application you will need to nominate a supervisor. You should make contact with them to discuss the project before you apply, and they will supply a research project outline for your application or help you prepare one.

Three research degrees are available:

• PhD
• PhD by Publication
• Master’s by Research (MSc by Research)

(Please note that due to unprecedented demand, international applications are now closed on the Master’s by Research course. The course remains open for UK students)

Full- and part-time options are available

Read more about each of these on our information pages.

The minimum academic requirement for entry to a doctoral degree is a UK 2:1 undergraduate honours degree in a relevant field; Or: 2:2 in an undergraduate honours degree and 60% or above in a taught Master’s degree in a relevant field of study; Or a 2:2 in an undergraduate honours degree and a research Master’s degree in a relevent field of study.

The minimum academic requirement for Master’s by Research is a UK lower second class undergraduate honours degree, or equivalent. Details of the PhD by Publication, including entry requirements, can be found on our information pages.

If English is not your first language or you are from a country that is not on the UKVI list of English speaking countries , you may be required to provide evidence of your proficiency in the English language. Further information on English language requirements can be found on our information pages.