Overview
The PhD degree is the Department of Earth Sciences' principal research degree for postgraduate students. As a large and integrated department, the expertise and current research of our staff spans the breadth of Earth Sciences. We have 37 academic staff who are available to supervise PhD students.
We welcome research enquiries from students who are currently working toward, or have acquired, first degrees in: Earth Science subjects, physics, chemistry, mathematics, material science, biology, or other related subjects.
The Department of Earth Sciences is a partner in two Doctoral Training Programmes (outlined below), who award research-council-funded studentships. Other studentships are available through different funding sources.
If you wish to find out more about a project or the Department, or want to discuss devising your own project with us, then please contact a relevant member of academic staff—you can discover their interests on our Research pages.
Projects
Cambridge CREATES DTP
Environmental science is at the heart of our most pressing societal challenges: climate change and the need for secure energy; biodiversity loss in the context of food production and land use pressures; natural and climate-induced hazards in the face of growing vulnerability.
The Cambridge Research Experience and Advanced Training for Environmental Scientists (CREATES) Doctoral Landscape Award (DLA) unites the University of Cambridge and the British Antarctic Survey as hosts for PhD training and projects, working with a wide range of collaborative partners. Its aim is to nurture and train environmental scientists from a variety of backgrounds, creating diverse cohorts of interdisciplinary, problem-solving environmental science postgraduates qualified to take up a broad spectrum of careers. DLA is the new terminology for Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs), and CREATES is our new programme, which we hope will take in 5 cohorts of students, with the first cohort starting in October 2026. CREATES follows on from C-CLEAR which recruited 6 cohorts of students. Various departments of the University of Cambridge, as well as the British Antarctic Survey, are members of CREATES and eligible to host PhD students. Students will apply to work in broad areas with a named lead supervisor and will co-develop detailed PhD projects with full supervisory teams (and potential CASE partners) on arrival.
Cambridge AI4ER CDT
The Cambridge UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in the Application of Artificial Intelligence to the study of Environmental Risks (AI4ER) offers around ten 4-year UKRI-funded PhD studentships each year to start in October. The programme comprises a one-year MRes (two terms taught, one term research), and a three-year PhD to apply AI methodologies.
A wide range of projects will be available under the broad themes of:
- Weather, climate, and air quality
- Natural hazards
- Natural resources (food, water and resource security, and biodiversity)
For more information on this Centre for Doctoral Training, including training structure and applying to the course, please visit the AI4ER CDT pages.
Other
Fully-funded studentships are also available at the BPI Institute, and through the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Nuclear Energy Futures.
We are also happy to devise projects with you, particularly if the projects outlined above are not of interest and you have interests that we share. Explore our Research pages to see which members of academic staff you would like to work with, and then contact them directly.
Funding
DTP studentships will be funded by UK research councils. Other studentships available in department will be funded by industry and several Cambridge Colleges.
We also have a number of CASE awards, which involve direct links with industry partners.
Applications
Before applying, applicants are advised to contact the relevant member of academic staff for their chosen project to discuss your research interests.
To make a formal application for a PhD studentship, please go to the University's Applicant Portal. When you complete the on-line application, you will have to indicate a college choice—it may help to discuss this choice with your prospective supervisor before submitting your application.
If you are applying from outside the UK, then please read our PhD (Overseas Students) page.
For questions related specifically to a project, please contact the relevant supervisor directly.
For more general information, please contact our Postgraduate Admissions.