Full-time PhD Studentships available at The Open University (Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) based in Milton Keynes.

Reference

The School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences invites applications for full-time PhD studentships. The projects fall within our six interlinked themes:

• Ecosystems
• Palaeoenvironmental Change
• Dynamic Earth
• Earth System Modelling
• Educational Research
• Astrobiology

Details of the PhD projects we are offering this year can be found at:

https://www.open.ac.uk/stem/environment-earth-ecosystem-sciences/research/phd-students/current-opportunities-and-how-apply

Funding information

These projects are co-funded by The Central England NERC Training Alliance CENTA and The Open University. For students eligible for a full Home award the studentships are fully funded for 3.5 years and cover tuition fees and a stipend of £17,668 per year.

Eligibility and Requirements

Our project-based studentships are open to all applicants who meet the academic requirements (at least a 2:1 at UK BSc level or at least a pass at UK MSc level or equivalent). Please note that unless you are eligible for a Home award, you will need to consider how you will be able to meet any shortfall in funding for tuition fees. Different institutions will have different requirements for this, please contact the supervisors listed on the project for more information.

To be eligible for a full Home award a student must have no restrictions on how long they can stay in the UK and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of the studentship.

(For further information please see Annex B in the following document:

https://www.ukri.org/files/funding/ukri-training-grant-terms-and-conditions-guidance-pdf/)

How to apply

We strongly advise you to contact the lead supervisor of the project(s) that interests you before submitting an application. Please send your complete application to: STEM-EEES-PHD@open.ac.uk

Your application for a studentship should comprise: (1) your CV and contact details of 3 academic references, (2) a CENTA application form (3) either a completed Home OU application form (if you are resident in the UK) or a Overseas OU application form (if you are an international applicant).

Closing date for applications: 11th January 2023 (12:00 pm, GMT)

In order to address a historical imbalance, it is our ambition to guarantee up to half the available interviews for certain under-represented groups of Home-award-eligible students who meet the academic requirements (at least a 2:1 at UK BSc level or at least a pass at UK MSc level or equivalent).

For the 2023 intake you qualify for our interview scheme if you identify as Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) or if the postcode where you went to secondary school or grew up (in the UK) is classified as Quintile 1 in the POLAR4 category of the following website: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/young-participation-by-area/search-by-postcode/

Please see the CENTA website for more details.