Fully Funded PhD Studentships in Built Environment

The context

Are you considering pursuing a PhD in Built Environment to help create a better world? Look no further than Edinburgh Napier University. Ranked as the top modern university for research power in Scotland, Edinburgh Napier also holds the 10^th position among young universities in the UK and is ranked among the top 600 universities overall worldwide according to the prestigious Times World University Rankings 2025. The university has recently established a Doctoral College, which will further enhance the quality of the PhD experience and research outcomes by fostering interdisciplinary research opportunities and ensuring that students have access to outstanding professional development and networking initiatives.

The Built Environment group is part of the School of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, the largest of the five schools at Edinburgh Napier University. With a practical focus on adding value to the social, cultural, and economic capital of the communities it serves, recently the School has invested heavily in research staff and facilities, making it an excellent environment for those seeking to embark on a PhD journey.

Located in the heart of Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland and one of the most liveable cities in the world, the School offers not only world-class academic opportunities but also an exceptional quality of life. The medieval Old Town and the elegant Georgian New Town, the beauty of Arthur’s seat and the fascinating Calton Hill; the vibrancy of the life, and the large and international student population; cultural events like the Fringe festival make the city one of the best places to live in the world. In 2022, Edinburgh was the #1 city in the world according to the Time Out Index and QS ranks it as the second-best student city in the UK in 2025,

The studentships and the research projects

The School is now continuing to invest in research with a large number of fully funded 3-year PhD studentships. The studentships will cover full UK or international tuition fees and will include a standard living allowance at the RCUK rate (currently £19,237 per annum, normally increased annually).

Students are expected to spend at least 36 hours a week on their research project, and to attend the University in person for most of their time. Normally, they will be based at the Merchiston Campus (10 Colinton Road, EH10 5DT).

The Built Environment group is looking for students to work on one of the following projects

• The effectiveness of School Street Closures: Impact evaluation
• From 3D Digital Documentation to Structural interventions for historic masonry structures
• Urban Facilities Management in the Smart Places Ecosystem
• Integrated Machine Learning Model for Predicting Emotional Responses to Real Estate Listings
• A Unified Model for Incorporating Metaverse Technologies into Maintenance Management Processes
• An agent-based modelling approach to assess the decision-making strategies in community-scale flood resilience
• Optimising Building Morphology Parameters and Lowering Embodied Carbon in Buildings Through Multi-Objective Optimisation
• Machine Learning Approach to managing Facilities Management (FM) Supply Chain Risks
• The influence of particle characteristics on the field-scale geomechanical behaviour of soils
• A Framework to Use Parallel Computing and Simulations for Low Carbon Design and Refurbishment
• Innovative Building Services Renovation in Scottish Zero Emission Neighbourhoods
• Personalised Workstations in Open Plan Office Using ML and AI/ Digital Twin
• A Framework for Implementing Material Passports in the UK Construction Industry
• Intervention without violation of natural order: A complex adaptive systems (CAS) perspective of sustainable urban development
• Evaluating the Efficiency and Sustainability of Modern Methods of Construction Timber-based
• Digitalising Decarbonisation: Exploring the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Enhancing Energy Efficiency and Circularity of Building Materials
• Building back better: Integrated assessment for post-disaster housing configuration mitigation and resilience
• Challenges and opportunities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the real estate services sector
• Geotechnical Seismic Isolation Technology for Global Earthquake Resilience and Environmental Sustainability
• Environmental Impact of Construction on Peatlands
• Developing a novel Modelling Framework for Modelling fifteen minute cities
• Exploring the mechanisms of shear wave propagation in granular materials using DEM.
• Developing a hybrid twin cycling safety interaction model in a naturalistic environment
• New Cycling Safety Framework Developing a novel framework for modelling Cycling Safety using Data Driven Engineering Sciences
• Exploring the mechanisms of wave propagation in granular materials
• Digitally twinned rating systems for low energy housing in Scotland
• Assessment framework for Inclusive Sustainable Public Places
• Spatial decision support analysis for sustainable mobility policies
• A new model for information literacies of community representatives 
• Are rural e-bike routes manageable and cost-effective? 
• Can car sharing schemes work in rural areas of Scotland and can this achieve sustainable transport?

The full description of the projects is available here

We welcome also innovative proposals outside the listed topics but aligned with the research interests of the Subject Group, which can be found here.

Projects are anticipated to start on 1 October 2025.

The students we are looking for

Successful applicants will

• Be keen on advancing knowledge and developing applications to improve the world in which we live.
• Have, or expect to achieve by the time of start of the studentship, a first-class honours degree, or a distinction at master level, or equivalent achievements. Only degrees in a subject relevant to the PhD project will be considered. Practical experience in research or industry will be considered an advantage.
• If your first language is not English, comply with the University requirements for research degree programmes in terms of English language.

Edinburgh Napier University aims to build a community where all our members are empowered to fulfil their full potential and find their own unique place in the world.

We do not just accept difference, we promote and celebrate it. We encourage applications from the right candidates regardless of age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, belief or race.

The application process

Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact potential supervisors (the details can be found in the description of the projects here ) to discuss the content of the project and the fit with their qualifications and skills before preparing an application.

The application must include:

• Research project outline of 2 pages (list of references excluded). The outline should provide details about
  • Background and motivation of the project. The motivation, explaining the importance of the project, should be supported also by relevant literature. You can also discuss the applications you expect for the project results.
  • Research questions or objectives.
  • Methodology: types of data to be used, approach to data collection, and data analysis methods.
  • List of references.

The outline must be created solely by the applicant. Supervisors can only offer general discussions about the project idea without providing any additional support.

• Statement no longer than 1 page describing your motivations and fit with the project.
• Recent and complete curriculum vitae. The curriculum must include a declaration regarding the English language qualifications of the candidate. Supporting documents will have to be submitted by successful candidates.
• Two academic references (but if you have been out of education for more than three years, you may submit one academic and one professional reference), on the form can be downloaded here.

Applications can be submitted here. To be considered, the application must use:

• “SCEBE1124” as project code.
• the advertised title as project title

All applications must be received by 5 January 2025. Applicants who have not been contacted by the end of February 2025 should assume that they have been unsuccessful.

Contact details

Should you need more information, please email SCEBDoctoralCollege@napier.ac.uk.

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