NERC IAPETUS2 DTP
The School of Geography, Politics and Sociology is a partner of the IAPETUS North East and Scotland multi-disciplinary Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP).
This is funded and accredited by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
IAPETUS postgraduate studentships are tenable for up to 3.5 years, depending on the doctoral research project the student is studying. Each of our studentship awards include 3.5 years of tuition fees at Home rate, an anticipated annual living allowance (£20,780) and a Research Training Support Grant (for travel, consumables, as required).
Research projects
- IAP-25-090 – The legacy of lost woods: soil microbial communities and the regeneration of the Caledonian Forest
- IAP-25-072 – The glaciers of South Georgia from the 1950s to 2100 CE
- IAP-25-089 – Advancing ultra-high resolution palaeoenvironmental records from lake sediment cores through integrated laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging
- IAP-25-055 – Rockfall detection and modelling in the rapidly deglaciating Mont Blanc massif
- IAP-25-087 – What controls ice flow across Palmer and Ellsworth Lands, Antarctica?
- IAP-25-076 – Reconstructing past ice-sheet retreat and ice-ocean interactions from marine sediment cores.
- IAP-25-014 – Time-evolving hazard and risk from Glacial Lake Outburst Floods in Bhutan.
How to apply
The NERC IAPETUS2 DTP studentship competition for entry 2026 is now open.
Deadline for IAPETUS applications is 5th January 2026, 12 noon (UK time).
All applications must be made using the online application form on the IAPETUS webpages
Please note: at this point you are just submitting an application to fund a PhD in one of the IAPETUS institutions. You will be notified by email when you need to submit a PhD programme application to the awarding university.
If you’re successfully longlisted then you will be invited to submit a programme application under programme code 8201F ‘PhD Physical Geography’ (details below) by 9th February.
See details of the studentship timeline under the Application Flowchart of the IAPETUS webpage
You must apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal
In the ‘Course choice’ tab:
- select ‘Postgraduate Research’ in the 'Type of Study' field
- select ‘Full Time’ in the ‘Mode of Study’ field
- select ‘2026’ in the ‘Year of Entry’ field
- enter programme code 8201F in the ‘Course Title’ field
- leave the ‘Research Area’ field blank
- press ‘Search’
- select ‘PhD Physical Geography (FT)’
- save selection
You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Details’ section:
- a ‘Personal Statement’ (this is a mandatory field) - upload a document or write a statement directly in to the application form.
- the studentship code relevant project studentship code IAP25XXXXX in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field.
- Write or upload a copy of project research proposal that you are applying to.
Refer to the IAPETUS2 DTP website for a full list of documents to submit as part of your application for details of the application process and subsequent stages of the competition.
Further information
Further details of the competition can be found on the NERC IAPETUS2 website and the Newcastle University website.
Contact:
- PGR Administrator Ruby Mar via gps.pgr@ncl.ac.uk
- Newcastle IAPETUS Administrator via sage.pgdean@ncl.ac.uk