Current research degree projects
Explore our current postgraduate research degree and PhD opportunities.
450 research degree projects
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Biological sciences
Impacts of floral nutritional loss on pollinator community interactions
This project will use a multidisciplinary approach combining ecological surveying, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, and network analysis, to capture the impacts of loss of nutrition, including quality and quantity of nectar and pollen nutrients, on wild pollinator trophic, competitive, and parasitic interactions, in fragmented and agriculturally dominated landscapes. -
Ocean and earth science
Faulting, fluid flow, and seismicity during continental extension
The project aims to use and combine the latest techniques in seismology, structural geology, and geodesy to understand interaction of geological faults and volatile phase fluids in space and time during active extension of continents. The research will target the Corinth rift of Greece, where earthquakes are a significant hazard. -
Biological sciences
A new Green Revolution: Regulation of wheat growth in response to heat and drought
This project directly addresses the impact of climate change on food security. It will investigate how wheat plants respond to high temperature and drought using lines with altered levels of regulators of these responses. Results will be used to help develop wheat varieties that are more resilient to climate change. -
Physics and astronomy
Exploring the impact of misalignment on the appearance of black holes
Black holes grow by accreting material through a disc which is bright across the EM spectrum. There is good theoretical and observational evidence that the accretion disc will likely be misaligned with the spin axis of the black hole although this is presently hard to pin down due to a lack of models which deal with such an effect. -
Biological sciences
Climate change impacts on bat-plant pollination systems
Bats are the most important pollinators within mammals, yet climatic changes can disrupt the spatio-temporal dynamics of nectar bat-plant interactions. This project will investigate the synchrony of bat-plant pollination interactions under current and future climate changes, and the economic consequences of decreasing ecosystem service caused by disruptions of those dynamics. -
Biological sciences
Breaking Rhododendron: understanding the drivers of rhododendron success
Rhododendron is destroying natural habitats across the UK and efforts are required to better control and manage its spread. This project will ask: How are rhododendron plants impacting belowground diversity and functions and will that get worse under climate change? -
Ocean and earth science
Going going gone: physical and biogeochemical responses to Antarctic sea ice loss
This project will use a combination of numerical model outputs and observations from satellites and autonomous platforms, to investigate how physical and biological processes (and the resulting carbon dioxide uptake) respond to changing sea ice conditions in the Southern Ocean, the most important region globally for ocean anthropogenic carbon uptake. -
Ocean and earth science
Are extreme rainfall events more frequent in a warmer world?
Predicting future rainfall patterns remains highly challenging and there is a profound disagreement amongst climate model projections. In this project, you will use a data-driven approach to reconstruct rainfall patterns and extreme weather events during transient warming events in the geological record. This will provide vital constraints on the response of the hydrological cycle under higher CO2 concentrations. -
Ocean and earth science
Farmed oysters as bioremediators of microplastics in the marine environment
To assess environmental bioremediation using oyster. Microplastics and their chemical additives are widespread but once released into the environment, are impossible to remove using current techniques. Bioremediation is probably the solution and this project will explore the potential of Pacific oyster while ensuring this high-quality seafood retains its healthy status. -
Ocean and earth science
Crossed wires: examining the influence of nutrient colimitation on phytoplankton ecophysiology
Phytoplankton frequently experience scarce supply of multiple nutrients simultaneously in the marine environment, yet mechanisms enabling them to cope with nutrient co-limitation are poorly understood. This project seeks to better understand how a major group of phytoplankton, the diatoms, coordinate physiological adaptations to different nutrient co-limitation scenarios.