PhD Projects 2012-2013
The School of Geography, Archaeology & Palaeoecology is pleased to announce three separate opportunities for PhD funding starting on the 1st October 2013. We have one project funded by the Leverhulme Trust; two projects with tied funding under the DEL Strategic Awards Competition. In addition, we have further awards available under our open competition for the staff-led projects. For further details see below. Please note the separate closing dates.
Leverhulme Trust Award
We invite applications from suitably qualified students for a 3 year, fully-funded (UK/EU fees and maintenance) Leverhulme Trust PhD studentship.
Closing date: 15 March 2013.
The funded doctoral project available is:
"Stories of subsistence: People and Coast over the last 6000 years in the Limfjord, Denmark “ (PDF)
Supervisors: Prof. Paula Reimer and Dr Eileen Murphy (School of GAP), Dr David Ryves (Loughborough University). Advisor: Dr Jesper Olsen (Aarhus University)
The Studentship is available to students both from within and outside the EU, but fees are only covered at the UK/EU rate; EU and non-EU students must fulfil a residency requirement to be eligible for full awards. Leverhulme studentship stipends have been set to £13,658 per annum (pa) for 2013-14, plus UK/EU tuition fees. The project is expected to start on 1 April 2013, but the studentship can start on May 1st 2013. The applicant must therefore be available to start on this date or as soon as possible thereafter. Questions on the project can be directed to Prof Reimer (p.j.reimer@qub.ac.uk), whilst questions on the application process can be directed to the Postgraduate Co-ordinator, Dr Nicki Whitehouse (n.whitehouse@qub.ac.uk)
Online application is available via Queen’s University postgraduate applications portal.
The application process for the Strategic PhD studentships involves submitting, via Queen’s University postgraduate application portal, a written research proposal (1000 words, in applicant’s own words), together with a CV and covering letter, all of which must be uploaded via the portal as a single document. The short proposal must be written by the applicant (i.e. not a verbatim copy of the project proposal document) and must demonstrate the applicant's knowledge and understanding of the proposed project. The covering letter must map students’ own experience/education/interests onto the specific project.
As well as these two key documents, other standard applicant details, such as CV, educational qualifications, transcripts, references, etc also need to be uploaded via the QUB portal. Applicants should read the university postgraduate application guidelines carefully.
Prospective applicants should discuss their applications with the project supervisors (Prof Reimer, Dr . Murphy, Dr. Ryves or Dr. Olsen) before submitting their application and also must be prepared to attend an interview held in the School of Geography, Archaeology & Palaeoecology at Queen’s University after shortlisting.
Further details on the application and shortlisting processes may be found at the end of this web page.
DEL Strategic Awards
The School of Geography, Archaeology & Palaeoecology (GAP) at Queen’s University Belfast invites applications from suitably qualified students for two fully-funded (fees and maintenance) Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) Strategic Award PhD studentships.
Closing date:12th February, 2013.
The funded doctoral projects available are:
1. "Tracking eutrophication in UK lakes: the potential of testate amoebae" (pdf)
Supervisors: Dr Helen Roe (School of GAP), Dr Helen Bennion (University College London), Dr Chris Harrod (Biological Sciences, QUB)
and
2. "Trace Element Abundance and Renal Disease" (pdf).
Supervisors: Dr Jenny McKinley (GAP), Dr Ulrich Ofterdinger (SPACE), Dr Damian Fogarty, Centre for Public Health, QUB, Chair of the UK Renal Registry Committee. External supervisory collaboration: Prof Peter Atkinson, University of Southampton.
All students must fulfil relevant DEL eligibility criteria. Studentships are available only to students from the UK and the EU, due to funding restrictions; EU students must fulfil a residency requirement to be eligible for full awards. DEL Studentship stipends have been set to £13,726 per annum (pa) for 2013-14, plus tuition fees. For further information on DEL doctoral funding, terms & conditions and eligibility please click here.
Online application is available via Queen’s University postgraduate applications portal.
The application process for the Strategic PhD studentships involves submitting, via Queen’s University postgraduate application portal, a written research proposal (1000 words, in applicant’s own words), together with a CV and covering letter, all of which must be uploaded via the portal as a single document. The short proposal must be written by the applicant (ie not a verbatim copy of the project proposal document) and must demonstrate the applicant's knowledge and understanding of the proposed project.
The covering letter must map students’ own experience/education/interests onto the specific project.
As well as these two key documents, other standard applicant details, such as CV, educational qualifications, transcripts, references, etc also need to be uploaded via the QUB portal. Applicants should read the university postgraduate application guidelines carefully.
Prospective applicants should discuss their applications with the project supervisors (Dr Roe and Dr McKinley) before submitting their application and also must be prepared to attend an interview held in the School of Geography, Archaeology & Palaeoecology at Queen’s University after shortlisting.
Further details of the application process may be found below.
DEL PhD Awards for 2013 Entry
In addition to the two strategic awards above, the School also offers awards for the staff-led awards that are listed below. We also offer the option for student-led projects in the same opportunity.
The deadline for both of these opportunities is January 31st, 2013.
Details of how to apply for this scheme may be found below.
List of staff-led GAP PhD projects for 2013 entry:
Click (pdf) after title
| Past Cultural Change (PCC) | Supervisors |
|---|---|
| Continuity and change in early modern Ireland: peopling Plantation-era County Armagh (pdf) | Prof. Audrey Horning Dr Colm Donnelly |
| 14C-based chronology of the Iberian Chalcolithic and Bronze Age sequence (c. 2800–800 cal BC): a Bayesian approach (pdf) | Dr Dirk Brandherm Dr Maarten Blaauw |
| Refining the climatic, landscape, and ecological context of early human occupation in the early Middle Pleistocene (pdf) | Dr Nicki Whitehouse Dr Helen Roe |
| Environmental Change (EC) | Supervisors |
|---|---|
| High-resolution replicated testing of the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis (pdf) | Prof Paula Reimer Dr Maarten Blaauw |
| Dimensions and dynamics of palaeoglaciers in the mountains of Siberia (pdf) | Dr Alastair Ruffell Dr Iestyn Barr |
| Testing the robustness of peatland based proxies using tephra isochrons (pdf) | Dr Gill Plunkett Dr Maarten Blaauw |
| Optimising our palaeoecological records: the best place to core lakes and peat bogs using ground- and water-penetrating radar (pdf) | Dr Alastair Ruffell Dr Maarten Blaauw |
| Society, Space and Culture (SSC) | Supervisors |
|---|---|
| Plant Cultures, Political Cultures: ‘Race’, Identity and Power in the development of the National Botanic Gardens Kirstenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa (pdf) | Dr Nuala Johnson Dr Diarmuid Finnegan |
| Irish travels through Empire: expeditions, experiences and the practices of exploration 1830-1880 (pdf) | Dr Nuala Johnson Dr Diarmuid Finnegan |
| What’s in a number? Housing markets and geographies of worth (pdf) | Dr Nuala Johnson Dr Niall Majury |
| A cultural geography of ghost ‘towns’ (pdf) | Dr Carl Griffin Dr Keith Lilley |
| Protesting power: articulating and networking opposition to high tension lines (pdf) | Dr Carl Griffin Dr Keith Lilley |
Notes for prospective applicants
Please read carefully the following instructions before submitting a proposal. Please also read the general guidelines on applying for postgraduate research in GAP.
There are two routes available for developing a DEL PhD proposal and making an application:
1. To develop a student-led project in consultation with academic staff in GAP;
2. To apply for a staff-led project in consultation with academic staff in GAP.
If you wish to develop a student-led project you must contact potential supervisors and discuss with them your proposed research and on that basis submit a proposal which consists of a 5-page document outlining: the 1. research project title, 2. the supervisors’ names, 3. the project aims and objectives, 4. the intellectual context, 5. the methods to be employed, 6. a timeline for completion within 3 years, and 7. a bibliography of sources cited.
If you wish to apply for a staff-led project please look at the list at the top of the page of projects on offer for entry in 2013 and contact the supervisors named. You MUST discuss you application with the supervisors and on that basis submit a proposal which consists of a 5-page document outlining: the 1. research project title, 2. the supervisors’ names, 3. the project aims and objectives, 4. the intellectual context, 5. the methods to be employed, 6. a timeline for completion within 3 years, and 7. a bibliography of sources cited. Please do not repeat verbatim the contents of the supplied project description.
When you are happy with your application you will then need to complete the application process using the QUB online portal for new students.
The process:
- Once your application is submitted online, it will be processed by the School.
- Any incomplete applications will not be eligible. Please ensure you have supplied all the relevant documents and that you have identified two referees. Note: referees MUST NOT be your supervisor(s).
- Your application will be ranked by the School’s Postgraduate Research Committee (SPRC). Student-led and staff-led project applications are considered together by this stage.
- The highest scoring applicants will then be invited for interview at the School – this will occur in February. The interview will consist of a brief 10-minute presentation to the panel by the applicant on their proposal, and then questions by the panel members will follow.
- Interviewees are scored on their performance and the highest scoring interviewees will be ranked. This then enables the selection committee and SPRC to nominate applicants to the University for possible external funding for the PhD.
- Successful applicants should know the outcome of this process by the end of March 2013. Please note that competition for PhD funding is highly competitive, and applicants are encouraged to seek alternative sources for funding should their application be unsuccessful.
- If you have any procedural questions do please contact the Postgraduate (Research) Coordinator for the School: Dr Nicki Whitehouse (n.whitehouse@qub.ac.uk). If you have any questions about specific projects do please contact the relevant supervisor(s).
