soil science PhD Projects, Programs & Scholarships

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.

Project Highlights. Agriculture is a major source of nitrogen gases, which impact climate. You will assess how common agricultural practices influence soil emissions of an understudied group of nitrogen trace gases (NOz) along a gradient of soil carbon and nitrogen.

The Impact of Management on Grassland and Cropland Soil Organic Carbon

University of Limerick
Department of Biological Sciences

Dr K Byrne

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition 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 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. Applications for the project are welcome from all suitably qualified candidates, but potential funding may be restricted to a limited set of nationalities. You should check the project and department details for more information.

Background. Carbon (C) sequestration associated with pastures and improved grassland management could provide a mitigation option without impacting on agricultural production.

Mathematical modelling of poro-mechanics of soil

University of Southampton
Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Research Group: Bioengineering

Prof T. Roose

Application Deadline: 31 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.

Supervisor. Tiina Roose. Co-supervisor William Powrie. Project description. Soil is one of the most complex and important self-assembling organo-mineral composites in the world.

Biological nitrogen fixation in forest soils under elevated CO2: response of a key soil nutrient to global change

University of Birmingham
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Dr S Ullah, Dr A R MacKenzie

Application Deadline: 31 May 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

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.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, well-qualified, and self-motivated candidate to join our team as a PhD student in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR) at the University of Birmingham.

Bridging the gap between environment and health – exposure assessment of potentially harmful agents in soil

Kingston University
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing

Dr P Hooda

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.

Our current understanding of soil exposure in the UK population is extremely limited. The current risk assessment paradigm makes large assumptions based on very uncertain data to estimate direct exposures via soil ingestion or dust inhalation.

What are the effects of exotic tree introduction in British forests on soil nitrogen cycle processes?

University of Warwick
School of Life Sciences

Research Group: CENTA - Central England NERC Training Alliance

Dr R Mushinski, Prof G Bending

Application Deadline: 29 May 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.

Project Highlights. Exotic tree species are projected to become commonplace in Britain’s forests throughout the next century. You will assess whether these exotic tree species influence a significant change in the soil microbiome as well as production of nitrogenous gases.

Microbial biogeochemistry in agricultural landscapes: An investigation of reactive nitrogen oxide fluxes from soil

University of Warwick
School of Life Sciences

Dr R Mushinski, Prof G Bending

Application Deadline: 7 June 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.

A range of pollutant gases, and especially nitrogen (N) compounds (N2O, NO, NO2, etc.) are emitted to the atmosphere from agricultural activities.1 These gases are extremely important for a myriad of reason including their contribution to climate change, urban air pollution, and N-deposition.

Rebuilding soil quality and crop performance in arable farming by herbal leys

University of Sheffield
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences

Prof J Leake

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.

Intensively cultivated arable soils that have been used to grow annual crops for decades often suffer from low organic matter content and weak structure.

PhD in cellular and structural biology - Elucidating infection at the plant-microbe interphase to define targets for crop breeding

University of Sheffield
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences

Dr C Voigt

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.

Achieving food security is one of the most important global challenges. Crop production and yield has been increasingly threatened by plant pathogens in a rapidly changing environment.

Modelling soil dewatering and recharge for cost-effective and climate resilient infrastructure

University of Southampton
Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Research Group: Bioengineering

Prof T. Roose

Application Deadline: 31 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.

Supervisor. Tiina Roose. Co-supervisor William Powrie. Project description. Soil is one of the most complex and important self-assembling organo-mineral composites in the world.

“Talking” trees and the ecology of underground fungal super-highways

The University of Manchester
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Prof D Johnson

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.

Introduction. Recent exciting discoveries have shown that plants respond to herbivore-induced signals from neighbours via underground fungal networks1-3.

Dynamic soil-pile interaction for emerging large-diameter monopiles supporting offshore wind turbines (ENG1304)

University of Nottingham
Faculty of Engineering

Dr L Prendergast

Application Deadline: 29 May 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.

Are you interested in structural dynamics, soil-structure interaction and mathematical modelling? Offshore wind turbines are dynamically sensitive systems, with the potential for resonance between the rotational frequencies of the blades, the frequency of waves in the ocean and the natural frequency of the structure.

PhD in plant soil interactions

University of Sheffield
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences

Prof T J Daniell

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.

Modern agriculture relies on high inputs of reactive nitrogen fertiliser produced by the Haber-Bosch process.

Monitoring chemical dynamics in soil and water with advanced microfluidic sensors

University of Southampton
Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Research Group: Mechatronics Engineering

Dr X. Niu

Application Deadline: 31 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.

Supervisor. Dr. Xize Niu. Co-supervisor Dr. Adrian Nightingale and Prof. Tiina Roose. Project description. Excess nitrogen and phosphorous leaching from agricultural and horticultural lands into waterways is a long-standing challenge for agricultural sustainability and environmental protection.

Experiments of rain droplet penetration of porous media using laser diagnostics

University of Southampton
Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Research Group: Bioengineering

Prof T. Roose

Application Deadline: 31 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.

Supervisor. Tiina Roose. Co-supervisor Bharath Ganapatrhrisubramani. Project description. Soil is one of the most complex self assembling organo-mineral composites in the world.