Connecting warming patterns to clouds: the role of atmospheric circulation

We invite applications from qualified and highly motivated students for 3.5-year PhD Studentships in the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences (SEES) at the University of St Andrews. We offer three studentships funded through the St Leonard’s College and two studentships through the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS):

• “Westerly winds-overturning oceans”, supervised by Michael Byrne, Graeme MacGilchrist & Simon Lee (all SEES)
• “Unlocking Earth’s volcanic record with novel computer vision approaches”, supervised by Will Hutchison (SEES), with Richard Streeter (School of Geography and Sustainable Development) & Kazim Terzic (School of Computer Science)
• “Groundwater under Antarctica: Ice sheets, Carbon and Oceanography (GAICO)”, supervised by Graeme MacGilchrist (SEES), with TJ Young (School of Geography and Sustainable Development).
• “Connecting Weather and Climate: Exploring Cross-Scale Interactions”, supervised by Ioana Colfescu (NCAS, SEES and Mathematics), with David Dritchel (School of Mathematics), Mike Byrne (SEES) and Stephen Mobbs (Leeds University).
• “Compound Extreme Events in a Warming World: From Drivers to Impacts”, supervised by Ioana Colfescu (NCAS, SEES and School of Mathematics), with Mike Byrne (SEES), David Dritchel (School of Mathematics).
• “Connecting warming patterns to clouds: the role of atmospheric circulation”, supervised by Michael Byrne and Anna Mackie (both SEES)

For additional information on the projects and the application procedure, including deadlines, visit https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/earth-sciences/prospective/pgr/ and contact the lead supervisors. 

In addition, we offer several projects funded through the IAPETUS2 Doctoral Training Program. Studentships within this program can be found at https://iapetus2.ac.uk/studentships, and the deadline for these applications is 24^th January 2025. The deadline for international applicants to contact a potential supervisor for sponsorship is 9^th December 2024. Please refer to https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/earth-sciences/prospective/pgr/ for further details including full project descriptions of all projects on offer and more information about the School and University. Interested candidates are encouraged to contact the primary supervisor in advance of applying. The scholarships will cover tuition fees (for any nationality), a yearly stipend of £19,237 per year (in the 2024/25 academic year, pending confirmation from UKRI and subject to increase annually), and a research training support grant to cover research costs. Applicants must have or be expected to attain a first-class or an upper secondary undergraduate or master’s degree (or overseas equivalent) in a relevant topic.

The University of St Andrews strives for equal opportunities. Applications of any background are welcome, and are particularly welcomed from people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented in research posts at the University. 

For informal enquiries about the studentships, please contact the relevant supervisor. For informal enquires about the application process please contact Kristeen Barker at earthsci@st-andrews.ac.uk. Please include ‘PhD studentship application’ in the subject line of your email.