Phd in Sustainable Futures
Bristol, United Kingdom
DURATION
4 up to 8 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
01 Jun 2025
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 21,300 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Overseas: full-time I UK: full-time £4,850 per year I UK: part-time £2,425 per year
Introduction
The interdisciplinary pathway in Sustainable Futures seeks to produce a new generation of researchers who can address the pressing social issues of sustainability in the context of global environmental change.
Sustainability research asks how ecosystems and human wellbeing can be maintained and enhanced in the long term, given rising populations, limited natural resources and a fragile environment. The field, with its clear applied focus and strong strategic future-directed policy implications, has social sciences at its heart.
The programme requires a broad interdisciplinary approach and an understanding of economics, law, the politics and psychology of sustainability, and the geography and demographics of those affected. We therefore deliberately expose students to a broad range of material to help them appreciate and understand interconnected perspectives and to provide them with skills to work effectively across disciplines. We welcome students from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds.
Programme duration
- Up to four years full-time;
- up to eight years part-time.
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
The Faculty of Social Sciences and Law has an allocation of 1+3 (MSc and PhD) and +3 (PhD) ESRC scholarships. Applicants may also be interested in applying for funding from the AHRC, the University of Bristol scholarship fund, or the Law School Graduate Teaching Assistantship scheme.£
ESRC funding: Internal deadline - 11 December 2023. ESRC deadline - 12 January 2024 at 12 noon.
Curriculum
The pathway draws on expertise from the schools, institutes, and research centers at the Universities of Bristol, Bath, Exeter and The University of the West of England (UWE).
University of Bristol
- University of Bristol Law School
- School for Policy Studies
- Global Insecurities Centre
- The Cabot Institute (which draws together environmental research from across the University).
University of Bath
- Department of Psychology
- Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment
- Water Innovation and Research Centre
- Centre for Research in Education and the Environment
- Centre for the Analysis of Social Policy.
University of Exeter
- Human Geography
Climate and Society
Energy Policy
Governance, Ethics, and Social Justice
- Law
- Centre for Energy and the Environment
- Centre for Rural Policy Research
- Climate Change and Sustainable Futures research theme.
The University of the West of England
- Centre for Transport and Society
- Centre for Sustainable Planning and Environments
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Healthy Urban Environments.
Key research interests
You will have two supervisors from different disciplinary perspectives and different institutions. Your supervisors convene joint meetings on a regular basis and attend an annual one-day workshop for all pathway students.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
The PhD in Sustainable Futures offers useful preparation for related careers in the public, private, or civic sectors, as well as in academia.
In the public sector, it may open opportunities in government departments and agencies at international, national, and local levels. In the private sector, it provides training and analytical skills that are relevant to careers in consultancy or environmental management, for example. In the civic sector, it can lead to careers with environmental NGOs or development bodies.