aquatic PhD Projects, Programs & Scholarships

Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project has funding attached for UK and EU students, though the amount may depend on your nationality. Non-EU students may still be able to apply for the project provided they can find separate funding. You should check the project and department details for more information.

Research Background of the Project. Fish and other aquatic organisms propel themselves by performing various types of flapping foil routines.

Disease Control and Conservation: Applying Grazing Pressure to Solve ‘The World's Worst Wildlife Infectious Disease’

University of Liverpool
Institute of Integrative Biology

Dr D J S Montagnes, Prof A Fenton

Application Deadline: 8 January 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

BACKGROUND & TIMELINESS. Naturally occurring diseases threaten ecosystem function, biodiversity, and humans (zoonotic infections).

Changes to prescribing – evaluation of likely impacts on the aquatic environment and AMR potential

Glasgow Caledonian University
School of Computing, Engineering & the Built Environment

Dr K Helwig, Dr C Hunter, Dr J Spencer

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

SCEBE-19-019. After consumption, pharmaceutical residues are excreted by patients, not fully removed in wastewater treatment works, and thus enter the aquatic environment, where they pose a risk to aquatic organisms through chronic exposure.

CMEES-WEEG-574: Urban light pollution: understanding impacts on aquatic environments

University of Southampton
Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Dr A Vowles, Dr P Kemp

Application Deadline: 20 August 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

The world has undergone wide-scale urbanisation in recent decades. From 1950-2018 the number of people living in cities grew from 30% to 55%, and this value is projected to increase to 68% by 2050.

Assessing the diversity, drivers & importance of Megaira, intracellular symbiont of aquatic eukaryotes

University of Liverpool
Institute of Integrative Biology

Prof G Hurst, Prof M Brockhurst, Dr D J S Montagnes, Prof D Cameron

Application Deadline: 8 January 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

The biology, ecology and evolution of eukaryotes is in part a product of their symbiotic interactions with microbes. Intracellular microbes, retained during cell division and reproduction, are particularly interesting, as they are selected to maintain and nurture their hosts.

Unifying aquatic ecology under climate change: patterns and mechanisms.PhD in Biosciences (NERC GW4 + DTP)

University of Exeter
College of Life and Environmental Sciences

Dr D Barneche Rosado

Application Deadline: 6 January 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

Lead Supervisor. Dr Diego Barneche Rosado, Department of Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter.

Metaproteomics Approaches to Uncover Ecosystem Function in Aquatic Environments

University of Sheffield
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering

Dr J Pandhal, Dr A Beckerman

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Recently, it has become increasingly apparent that quantifying the molecular cellular components (e.g. DNA, mRNA, proteins and metabolites) in environmental samples can reveal significant information on ecosystem function.

Stratified shear flows in inclined pipes

Aberdeen University
School of Engineering

Dr Y Tanino, Dr D Van der A

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Stably stratified shear flows are ubiquitous in the environment and industrial systems. In the atmosphere such flows are associated with clear air turbulence.

Ecological impacts of microplastic pollution in freshwater habitats

Anglia Ruskin University
Faculty of Science & Engineering

Research Group: Applied Ecology Research Group (AERG)

Dr D Green, Dr T Ings

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Research Group. Applied Ecology Research Group (AERG) - https://www.anglia.ac.uk/science-and-engineering/research/institutes-and-groups/applied-ecology.

Microplastic-sediment interactions (MiPSi)

Queen Mary University of London
School of Geography

Research Group: Earth Surface Science

Dr K Spencer, Prof G Wharton

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project has funding attached, subject to eligibility criteria. Applications for the project are welcome from all suitably qualified candidates, but its funding may be restricted to a limited set of nationalities. You should check the project and department details for more information.

The accelerating global release of microplastics (mP) into the aquatic environment seems inevitable, with long-term consequences for water quality and biodiversity.