Geology and Geophysics has a large diverse community of research students, the majority studying for a PhD. In common with the rest of the UK this takes 3 to 4 years and may involve a component of "enhanced study" of additional training.
To be accepted onto our PhD programme you'll generally need the equivalent of a UK 1st Class or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in an appropriate discipline, with good performance in the areas of specialisation within which you intend to conduct your research. Most applicants also have an additional degree such as the MGeol or a vocational MSc (or the international equivalent).
The university also has English language requirements for non-native speakers. To find out more about the application process please contact the Postgraduate Research School .
Although most research students start their programmes at the beginning of the conventional academic teaching year, this is not a restriction: research students can begin at any time of year.
As part of the School of Geosciences, PhD studentships may be available through three doctoral training partnerships. Target is a UKRI programme partnering 11 UK universities that faces the challenge of meeting the demands for Earth resources to face the energy transition. The Quadrat programme offers a broad range of studentships in collaboration with Queen's University, Belfast. GeoNetZero is a partnership of 12 universities that explores solutions in Geoscience for meeting the transition to low-carbon economies.
Target https://target.le.ac.uk
Quadrat https://www.quadrat.ac.uk/
GeoNetZero https://geo-net-zero.hw.ac.uk/
However, many of our doctoral students are funded through various research programmes run through the department or ae funded externally (e.g. through scholarship programmes of individual nations). Especially if you are an international student wanting to study here for a PhD - often the best first step is to contact a member of staff here who would become your PhD supervisor to discuss the potential research projects before applying formally.
Current available PhD opportunities are listed on our webpages. You can also check out what is currently going on via our people and our research pages.
The University offers great opportunities for early career researchers to develop their research and broader skills and encourage them to engage with the public in their research.