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ARIES PhD project opportunities: October 2025
The University of Plymouth is a partner in the Advanced Research and Innovation in the Environmental Sciences (ARIES) Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) which is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
As one of 17 new Doctoral Training Partnerships in the UK, ARIES enrolled its first cohort of students in October 2019.
ARIES will equip the next generation of environmental scientists with the knowledge and tools to better understand and manage our planet by:
  • Developing multiple cohorts of scientists with advanced skills and knowledge, multidisciplinary outlooks, and substantial potential to operate successfully across all postgraduate career options.
  • Assembling a diverse and integrated training partnership that enables our PGRs to address priority topics in environmental sciences through cutting-edge and world-leading research.
  • Training all of our PGRs to understand modern methods of data management, interrogation, analysis, and presentation; from bioinformatics to artificial intelligence.
  • Ensuring our graduates engage with the interfaces between environmental science and societal needs by growing their ability to achieve non-academic impact and effective public engagement.

Applications for 2025/26 are now closed

School of Biological and Marine Sciences
  • Swamped: Is Crassula helmsii a significant threat to wetland biodiversity?
  • Using hermit crab personality to understand the effects of human induced rapid environmental change (HIREC)
  • Evaluating efforts to create temperate rainforest: recruitment of biodiversity and resilience to natural enemies
  • Anthropogenic impacts on growth and protein metabolism in the European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax
  • Understanding the primary drivers for seagrass (Zostera marina) recovery and regeneration
  • Can land crabs be part of the sustainable aquarium industry?
  • Using novel techniques to investigate foraminifera biomineralisation and geochemistry

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

  • Mg2+ and Ca2+ variability in seawater and the impact on marine calcifiers
  • Nature recovery in the European palaeoecological record
  • Life and Death in the Deep Biosphere
  • Giant fossil landslides: hidden hazards in dryland mountains
  • From the mantle to the seafloor: How do oceanic core complexes form at mid-ocean ridges?
  • Dynamics of land-to-lake transfers in the Lake Victoria basin
  • Monitoring and managing the impacts of extreme sediment-rich flows in fluvial systems
  • Integrating modern and long-term ecology to inform UK peatland fire management in a changing climate
How to apply
To apply please use the online link from the project advert and follow the instructions.
Whilst you can apply for up to three ARIES projects, you must submit a separate application for each.
Take a look at the Doctoral College information on applying for a research degree.
For any generic questions on ARIES, studentships and selection processes, prospective applicants should contact Professor Dave Bilton for projects in the School of Biological and Marine Sciences and Professor Gregory Price for the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences . For specific details on individual projects, please contact the project's primary supervisor.
For further information please see www.aries-dtp.ac.uk or contact aries.dtp@uea.ac.uk.
Applications for 2025/26 are now closed. The closing date for these projects was midnight on 8 January 2025, and the interviews will take place week commencing 24 February 2025.
Key information
  • ARIES is currently awaiting confirmation of funding under the BBSRC-NERC DLA (Doctoral Landscape Award) scheme, which is expected shortly. Funding for all studentships starting in 2025/26 is subject to this confirmation.
  • Successful candidates who meet UKRI’s eligibility criteria will be awarded a fully-funded ARIES studentship, which covers fees, maintenance stipend, and research costs specific to the project. A limited number of fully-funded ARIES studentships are available to International applicants, with the difference between ‘International’ and ‘Home’ fees being waived by the registering University. Please note however that ARIES funding does not cover additional costs associated with relocation to, and living in, the UK such as visa and health surcharges.
  • ARIES PGRs benefit from a fully-funded bespoke graduate training programme and ARIES provides an additional £2,500 to every postgraduate researcher for access to external training, travel and conferences.
  • Excellent applicants from quantitative disciplines with limited experience in environmental sciences may be considered for an additional 3-month stipend to take advanced-level courses in the subject area.
  • ARIES is committed to equality, diversity, widening participation and inclusion in all areas of its operation. We encourage enquiries and applications from all sections of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation and transgender status. Academic qualifications are considered alongside significant relevant non-academic experience.
  • All ARIES studentships may be undertaken on a part-time or full-time basis, visa requirements notwithstanding.
Please note:
ARIES is required by their funders to collect Equality and Diversity Information from all of our applicants. The information you provide will be used solely for monitoring and statistical purposes; it will remain confidential and will be stored on the UEA SharePoint server. UEA’s GDPR statements may be viewed online.
Data will not be shared with those involved in making decisions on the award of Studentships and will have no influence on the success of your application. It will only be shared outside of this group in an anonymised and aggregated form and will be used to ensure no biases exist in our recruitment stages.