PhD Studentship: NERC Resilient Flood Futures (FLOOD-CDT). Assessing the Eco-hydrological and Geomorphic Effects of Floodplain Restoration

Award summary

100% of home fees covered, and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £19,237 (2024/25 UKRI rate), plus research project costs.

Overview

The Centre for Doctoral Training for Resilient Flood Futures (FLOOD-CDT) will train the next generation of research practitioners who will make a tangible difference to future flood management in the UK and internationally. Our goal is to provide a nurturing and inspiring training environment to develop the independent future leaders we need who can translate research and innovation into practice. Find out more here: https://flood-cdt.ac.uk/

Naturally functioning floodplains provide a range of ecosystem services. Through hydrological connections to rivers, they store water helping to attenuate floods and maintain baseflows during droughts. They also facilitate biogeochemical processing of nutrients, aiding water quality remediation, and carbon sequestration. Despite their relatively small area, floodplains support a disproportionately high biodiversity due to dynamic geomorphic and hydrological processes that create a variety of habitats.

This project will investigate the conservation and restoration of healthy floodplains, which potentially could mitigate the projected increasing frequency of extremes of flooding and drought associated with climate change and reverse biodiversity losses. Understanding floodplain responses to these multifaceted drivers of change and their controls will help underpin successful management of floodplains and plan restoration projects.

Number of awards: 1

Start Date: 15/09/2025

Award duration: 3.5 years

Sponsor: NERC

Supervisors: Claire Walsh (Newcastle University)

Eligibility criteria

You must have, or expect to gain, a minimum 2:1 Honours degree or international equivalent in a subject relevant to the proposed PhD project (inc. Geography, environmental science, engineering etc.). Enthusiasm for research, the ability to think and work independently, excellent analytical skills and strong verbal and written communication skills are also essential requirements.

Home and international applicants (inc. EU) are welcome to apply and if successful will receive a full studentship. Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all sub-skills.

How to apply

You must apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal

• Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.  
• Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:  
• Search for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8040F 
• The Research Area is: Civil Engineering (Environmental)
• Select PhD Civil Engineering (full time) as the programme of study

You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Details’ section:  

• A ‘Personal Statement’ (include your research interests in flooding and rationale for your choice of project)
• The studentship code FLOOD254 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field
• When prompted for how you are providing your research proposal - select ‘Write Proposal’. You should then type in the title of the research project from this advert. You do not need to upload a research proposal.

In the ‘Supporting Documentation’ section please upload:

• Your CV giving details of your academic record and stating your research interests

In your application you will also need:

• The name two current academic referees together with an institutional email addresses
• Academic transcripts and degree certificates (translated if not in English)
• Language certificate (IELTS/TOEFL), if applicable.

You must submit one application per studentship, you cannot apply for multiple studentships on one application.

Contact details: claire.walsh@newcastle.ac.uk

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