Postgraduate research degrees
The School of Geography and Sustainable Development hosts a diverse and vibrant community of around 50 research students, most of whom are studying for a three-year PhD. The School offers the following research degrees:
- PhD (Doctorate), normally of three years duration leading to a thesis of no more than 80,000 words and an oral examination.
- MSc (Res) and MSt (Res), these are one-year programmes examined by a 30,000-word thesis. Part-time options are also available.
The University of St Andrews offers beautiful surroundings and a stimulating, interdisciplinary intellectual atmosphere. Coupled with supportive supervision, high-quality library and laboratory facilities, the University provides an excellent environment that enables world-class research into a wide range of topics.
See more information about research within the School. You can also read about the research interests of staff members on their individual profiles in the people section.
The University's GRADskills programme provides a wealth of training opportunities to help you develop transferable skills and achieve your research and career goals.
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The School of Geography and Sustainable Development is not currently advertising PhD studentships but please check this webpage periodically for updates.
University funding opportunities
Below are a selection of general funding opportunities of relevance to the School of Geography and Sustainable Development. You can view a longer list of general funding opportunities.
- AD Links Foundation Postgraduate Scholarship (UK) or AD Links Foundation Postgraduate Scholarship (EU) - for PhD students from the UK and EU and aimed particularly at those with an interest in sport.
- Spragge Conservation Scholarship - for UK domiciled students undertaking a PhD in conservation of the natural environment
- China Scholarship Council - the University of St Andrews has a collaborative agreement with the China Scholarship Council to develop research collaborations between the UK and Chinese universities and research institutions. Available to Chinese students wishing to undertake a PhD at the University of St Andrews
- Commonwealth PhD Scholarships - for candidates from least developed countries and fragile states in the Commonwealth, for full-time doctoral study at a UK university
- Douglas and Gordon Bonnyman Scholarship - for postgraduate students from any country starting a PhD in the arts or humanities
- Fulbright-University of St Andrews Award - for students from the USA who have applied to a UK university to study the Arts or Humanities at doctoral level
- Rafferty Scholarship - for postgraduate students from Canada or New Zealand undertaking research at the University of St Andrews
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In addition to the current funded opportunities, we also welcome applications for study towards research degrees on a wide range of topics from candidates with an excellent academic background. You can find out more about the range of research undertaken in the school by viewing the Research groups page. In the first instance, please contact a relevant member of academic staff to discuss your interest and ideas for possible research projects.
Below is a list of example PhD topics and titles suggested by staff members (and grouped by research group). You can use this to help identify a supervisor whose research interests align with your own. Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and you can find more staff members on the people page.
These project ideas do not have funding attached (unlike those listed under Current funded opportunities), and this would have to be secured separately. You can learn more about options and opportunities for funding PhD projects by viewing the Funding tab below.
To find out more about any of the project ideas listed below, please contact the named member of staff.
Population and Health
- In a context of economic, political and health crises, what is shaping people’s decisions about where to live? (Nissa Finney)
- Is Britain becoming more segregated? (Nissa Finney)
- How can we understand the stark ethnic inequalities in housing in Britain? (Nissa Finney)
- Population health inequalities, e.g., by race/ethnicity, gender, SES (Jo Hale)
- Mental health and well-being, especially in later life (Jo Hale)
- Residential segregation, residential (im)mobilities (Qiong He)
- Changing housing dynamics and inequalities (Qiong He)
- Population aging in lower and middle income countries (Chia Liu)
- Determinants of family dysfunction, e.g. intimate partner violence (Chia Liu)
- The characteristics, causes and consequences of declines in internal migration (David McCollum)
- The labour market dynamics of migration (David McCollum)
- Social and spatial mobilities (David McCollum)
- The impacts of the contemporary crises (including financial, Covid-related and that of migrant reception) on urban public spaces (Antonis Vradis)
Geographies of Societies, Solidarities, Inequalities and Possibilities (GOSSIP)
- Intersectional geographies of sexualities, gender and race: how do queer people of colour experience space and place? (Ale Boussalem)
- Queer geographies, anti-racist geographies, and geographies of resistance: how do queer and/or anti-racist movements imagine and enact resistance against the far-right? (Ale Boussalem)
- Geographies of diaspora: what geographical knowledge is produced in diasporic communities? (Ale Boussalem)
- Critical geographies of education (Qiong He)
- Urban and regional development/governance (Qiong He)
- Exploring home and energy geographies: where, how and why does energy demand matter? (Louise Reid)
- Homes that care: understanding technology enabled care at home (Louise Reid)
- Exploring energy with care – understanding overlaps between care and energy in the context of home (Louise Reid)
- Conflicts over fossil fuels and resource extraction (Michael Simpson)
- The geographies of settler colonialism (Michael Simpson)
- Historical geography of coasts and coastal research (Tim Stojanovic and Dan Clayton)
Environmental Change
- Iceberg calving in West Antarctica (Doug Benn)
- Exploring the role of Rwanda’s peatlands in its sustainable future (Lydia Cole)
- Bundling benefits from peatlands to enable nature recovery (Lydia Cole)
- Exploring effectiveness of peatland restoration under different funding regimes in rural Scotland (Lydia Cole)
- What controls the rate of glacier retreat in Greenland? (Tom Cowton)
- How do ice sheets interact with the oceans? (Tom Cowton)
- Better integration of ecology and palaeoecology, including the role of long-term ecological processes in the conservation and management of upland ecosystems (Althea Davies)
- What factors affect the preservation of volcanic ash (tephra) in terrestrial and lacustrine environments? (Richard Streeter)
- How can erosion patterns in high-latitudes be used to predict future landscape change? (Richard Streeter)
Bell-Edwards Geographic Data Institute (BEGIN)
Note: To be suitable for BEGIN projects, you have to be able to code and implement your ideas, and preferably know R or Python.
- Develop innovative remote sensing techniques, refining data processing methods, and creating sophisticated tools to interpret collected information from remote sensing sources (Fernando Benitez-Paez)
- Applying spatial data modelling methods to effectively shape public policies and enabling what-if scenario modelling using large spatio-temporal datasets for urban areas (Fernando Benitez-Paez)
- Movement analytics, specifically developing new methods for either animal movement of human mobility (Urska Demsar)
Sustainable Futures
- Between environmental policy ideal and implementation reality: what are the issues and how might we address the gap? (Antje Brown)
- Geopolitics of maritime governance and security in Africa and its impact on the future of Africa's sustainable development agenda (Ife Okafor-Yarwood)
- The ecological economics of pumped-storage hydropower (Christopher Schulz)
- Indigenous and local knowledge on peatlands and wetlands in the Peruvian Amazon (Christopher Schulz)
- Environmental conflicts in Brazil’s Pantanal wetland (Christopher Schulz)
- Governing marine protected areas (Tim Stojanovic)
- Indigenous, traditional and local perspectives on education for sustainable development (Rehema White)
- Influences of craft and associated material based activities on human nature relationships and sustainability (Rehema White)
- Traditional beliefs in and uses of wildlife products in sub-Saharan Africa: relationship with urbanisation, cultural identity and development (Rehema White)
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Research students within the School are funded from a wide range of sources including UK research councils, charities, industry partners, and overseas agencies. See a complete list of current postgraduate funding opportunities. For details of specific projects with funding attached please see the Current funded opportunities tab above.
Enquiries from self-funding students are welcome. Information on tuition fees and other costs of studying at St Andrews can be found on the University’s fees and funding page.
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Prospective students with a 1st class or 2.1 degree in Geography or a related discipline can be considered for entry into the School's postgraduate programmes.
Current funded opportunities may have their own specific application process, which will be given along with details of the project. Otherwise, if you are interested in undertaking a research degree, the first stage is to identify and contact a potential supervisor (see ‘Research projects’ above). You must secure the support of your potential supervisor before proceeding to a formal application.
When you contact your potential supervisor it is helpful to include the following:
- Details of project - a specific PhD project proposal of at least 500 words of original and referenced writing.
- Funding - identify a source of funding. You may wish to look at the fees and funding section on the University's Apply page.
- CV or resume
If you and your potential supervisor wish to continue to a formal application please do so at the University's Apply page. If you have any queries about the application process please email the postgraduate research administrator at gsdpgradmin@st-andrews.ac.uk.
Please be aware that application documents should not contain any AI-generated content, as per the University of St Andrews admissions policy. This may lead to an offer of study being withdrawn or, if found subsequent to matriculation, to termination of studies. See the University’s Admissions policy for details.
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The School of Geography and Sustainable Development occupies the Irvine Building which is located in the historic town centre near the University Library and overlooks St Andrews Bay. The School is well known for world-leading research in a number of areas and has five research groups:
Sustainable Futures
Environmental Change
Population and Health
Geographies of Sustainability, Society, Inequalities, and Possibilities (GOSSIP)
Bell-Edwards Geographic Data Institute (BEGIN)According to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, 94% of research conducted in the School was classified as world-leading or internationally excellent, within "an internationally excellent research environment". The School also has a well-established reputation for high teaching quality and was ranked fourth in the UK by the Times Good University Guide 2024 and the Guardian University Guide 2024. The School has 44 academic staff, 16 postdoctoral fellows and 45 PhD students, supported by four technicians and seven administrative staff.
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The School’s 45 PhD students, known in St Andrews as 'research postgraduates' or PGRs, are a vital part of its research culture. PGRs are engaged across the research interests of the School and are members of research groups. In addition to regular supervision and research group meetings, PGRs gather monthly for 'Lunch and Learn' sessions for discussions related to PhD life and future careers.
There is also a programme of social activities throughout the year, led by the School’s research postgraduate student representatives, known as PGR Reps. PGR Reps are members of the Postgraduate Committee which oversees PGR matters for the School and is chaired by the Director of Postgraduate Research Studies.
PGRs are provided with desk space, co-located with staff in the Irvine Building and have access to all the facilities of the University, including social, sporting and library facilities. PGRs also have the opportunity to undertake skills training provided by the International Education and Lifelong Learning Institute (IELLI) at St Andrews, including their GradSkills Programme.
Progress through the PhD is monitored via the annual PGR conference and review meeting which takes place in April. Through this process, together with supervision and training, the School achieves outstanding rates of PhD completion. Our PGR graduates have gone on to jobs in academia, industry, government, and consultancy in the UK and elsewhere.
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The School's PhD programme is designed to enable you to undertake a substantial piece of research whilst gaining the skills and wider experience that will help with your next steps, whether you wish to pursue a career in or beyond academia. Every PhD is different, but a broad outline of your pathway as a PhD student is provided below.
Year 1
- Training
At the start of each year you will conduct a training needs analysis with your supervisors in order to identify the skills, both generic and subject-specific, that you will need in order to complete your research successfully. The Centre for Educational Enhancement and Development (CEED) provides in-house training on a range of generic skills, whilst training for specific research methods may involve travel to institutions further afield. - Research
You will meet regularly with your supervisor and will start work on your research. For many students, the first chance to share their research with a wider audience comes at the School's PGR Conference, held each April.
You will have two reviews in your first year as a PhD student, followed by an annual review in each subsequent year. These are intended to make sure that you are settling into and progressing in your studies in St Andrews, and to give you a chance to get advice from staff beyond your supervisory team.
Year 2
- Research
You will be in a more intensive stage of your study, carrying out the necessary research and data collection on which your thesis will be built. This may be something you can do from your desk, or may require fieldwork or placements away from St Andrews.
You will be expected to present your research at the School's PGR Conference in April, and will be encouraged to attend relevant conferences at workshops at a national and international level. - Teaching
This may be a good time to gain experience teaching undergraduate students. The School offers a wide range of paid teaching opportunities to PhD students, such as leading tutorials, helping with lab classes and fieldtrips and marking assignments.
Year 3
- Research
You will spend this year trying to complete your research for your thesis and work towards submitting the final draft and having your viva defence.
You will continue to build on your research from the preceding years, with an increasing emphasis on analysing and interpreting your data and writing up your findings. As well as working towards the completion of your thesis, you will be encouraged to submit your work to academic publications, where it can be picked up by a wider audience.
As in previous years, you will be expected to present your research at the School's PGR Conference in April, and will be encouraged to share your findings at national and international conferences.
Year 4 (if needed)
If not completed in year 3 you will complete and submit a final draft of your thesis and have your viva defence. During the year you will continue working on publications, conferences and even applications for funding, as you will now be ready to enter the job market.
- Training
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Sašo Gorjanc
I finished my PhD and graduated in June 2024, with the support of Robertson (School of Geography and Sustainable Development) and Slovenian Ad Futura Scholarships. My PhD focused on the impacts of social constructions among different policy actors on the interpretation and implementation of EU marine environmental policies, which I pursued with the great support of Dr Timothy Stojanovic and Dr Charles Warren. With the support of the School, I also had the opportunity to present my work at conferences and in policy meetings in Switzerland, Canada, Greece, Romania, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain. Additionally, as part and on top of my PhD, I have also been selected to become one of the Europaeum Scholars, which additionally allowed me to learn more about European topics and travel across the continent for different seminars. Therefore, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in St Andrews and have since started a job at ACTeon environment, an environmental consultancy and research company in France, where I work on different EU marine biodiversity and policy projects, with the social scientific focus.
https://www.acteon-environment.eu/en/the-team/
Abi Whitefield
I graduated from my undergraduate Geography degree at St Andrews in 2018 and knew I didn’t want to leave the University. In 2019 I started my PhD in the School of Geography and Sustainable Development, having been funded by the St Leonards Widening Participation Scholarship and the AD Links Foundation Scholarship. My PhD was on understanding perceptions of deer (and their management) in urban areas of Scotland. My supervisors, Dr Charles Warren and Dr Althea Davies were a fantastic support throughout my PhD, especially as the majority of my research took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. I used mixed qualitative and quantitative methods and really gained a fantastic skillset in survey, interview and Q-methodology research design. It was great to work with a range of stakeholders, from policy, local authorities, voluntary organisations and the public. I also loved having the opportunity to teach.
I graduated in November 2023, although started working in February 2023, shortly after having submitted my thesis. I became a sustainable transport consultant at a small consultancy in Edinburgh, which brought my passion for environmental issues and social research together. I have since started working for the Scottish Government as a social research officer in the Marine Directorate, focusing on working towards a marine just transition. It’s great to be putting my environmental social science background to use.
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Mary Abed Al Ahad
I was very fortunate to be awarded the St Leonard’s, School of Medicine, and Geography and Sustainable Development PhD scholarship in 2019. It allowed me to carry my PhD project investigating the impact of air pollution on several objective and self-reported health outcomes including cause-specific mortality and hospital admissions, self-reported general health and mental well-being as well as limiting long-term illness. I also assessed whether effect of air pollution on health varies by ethnicity in the UK. I got insightful mentoring and support from my supervisors, which helped me navigate the various challenges of a PhD and gave me the confidence to explore my own research ideas and methods. My PhD experience was fantastic, working in a welcoming and stimulating environment, and being supported by my peers and fellow researchers in the Population and Health and Population and Behavioural Research Groups initially and the wider Schools of Medicine and Geography and Sustainable Development.
I graduated in November 2023 and stayed in academia. Earlier this year, I was a Postdoc Research Fellow of the MigrantLife project at the School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, examining residential mobility, housing and family formation heterogeneities across immigrants and their descendants in Europe, focusing specifically on Sweden. In March 2024, I transitioned to the role of Associate Lecturer in Population and Health Geography at the University of St Andrews where I will be leading on quantitative methods and Environment and Health modules.
Genevieve Cezard
Being awarded the St Leonard’s and Geography and Sustainable Development PhD studentship (in 2016) gave me the freedom to investigate my own research project on ethnic inequalities in health in Scotland. I received invaluable guidance and support from my supervisors, helping me to get through the variety of challenges a PhD can bring but also giving me the confidence to pursue my own ideas. My PhD years were great, working in a very welcoming and stimulating environment. I finished my PhD in 2019 and graduated in 2020.
During my first postdoc in social epidemiology at the University of St Andrews, I explored health inequalities in multimorbidity trajectories. I joined the University of Cambridge in 2021 initially as a statistician/epidemiologist to research the health consequence of COVID-19 infection and vaccination. In 2024, I became a senior research associate in health data science and a fellow of the HDR UK Big Data for Complex Disease programme.
Solène Marion
I finished my PhD in 2021 and I enjoyed my time at St Andrews and in the School of Geography and Sustainability Development. During my PhD, I focused on the interaction between red deer and hikers in the Scottish Highlands. I had the opportunity to conduct fieldwork, write and publish papers, teach, and participate in national and international conferences with the support of the School of Geography and SD. I enjoyed the different training opportunities and the sense of community, specific to St Andrews; networking and social events were numerous. I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver (Canada) where I continue my research on outdoor activities interaction with wildlife.
Helen Packwood
I thoroughly enjoyed my time as a PhD student in the School of Geography and Sustainable Development at St Andrews! I admit, it was daunting returning to studies after many years in the workplace, but I quickly settled into this welcoming community and received excellent support from staff and fellow students. Over the three years, I had many opportunities to develop new skills, travel, meet new people and build on my professional experiences. Since graduating, I have remained in academia, based at the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh. Initially, working as an Outreach Fellow in the Edinburgh Q Step Centre, and more recently as a Lecturer in Social Research Methods.
Iain Todd
After 40 years working in the energy sector - in both industry and the UK Civil Service - I completed my PhD at the University of St Andrews between 2017 and 2020. My research addressed a question that had always puzzled me - the barriers in Africa to deploying their abundant renewable (solar) resources. This involved a fascinating time conducting interviews in South Africa, and at the end a viva examination by Zoom! Since completion, I have been working at the Erasmus University Rotterdam researching the barriers to energy transition in the Netherlands and the UK, in the post-COVID world. The Climate and Energy Transition | Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences | Erasmus University Rotterdam (eur.nl)
