Study at Cardiff | Postgraduate

Environment (PhD/MPhil)

Programme Description

The Cardiff School of Planning and Geography is a major international centre for research in the areas of planning, environment, housing and spatial policy. As a top-rated research school with the ambition to play a leading role in academic and policy debates at national and international levels, it aims to recruit committed research students for the pursuit of innovative, cutting-edge research at PhD level. With its international linkages and research profile, the School provides a rich and lively scholarly environment in which to conduct doctoral research work. At present there are around 30 full-time PhD students in the School. A series of shared offices are available for PhD students and each full-time student has access to computer facilities.

Research in the School is structured around the following broad themes:

• Sustainable consumption and production systems
• Poverty, social justice and entitlement
• Regional, city-region and neighbourhood governance
• Innovation and regeneration
• Complexity, urban evolution and environmental systems
• Pedagogy, knowledge and the built environment

These themes are explored at multiple scales (supra-national, national, regional and local) in urban and rural spaces, and across different sectors (such as housing, environment, labour markets). Research work at the School of Planning and Geography is organised into five main groups with a number of crosscutting research centres. Some of these focus work within research groups and others operate across research group boundaries.

Available Research Areas

Research areas of the Environment group include:

• Environment - Society - Space Relations
• Rural Development, Society and Welfare
• Agri-food systems
• Social Justice, Regeneration and the Environment
• Sustainable Development
• Environmental Governance

For more information on the School's research interests, please follow this link.

Entry Requirements

Applicants should normally hold a first or second class Honours degree (or equivalent) or a Masters degree in a discipline relevant to the particular area of research.

All candidates will be required to demonstrate competency in English language prior to arrival in the UK. We look for the following standard: IELTS minimum overall score of 6.5 with at least a score of 7.0 in the writing section, and no less than a score of 6.0 in other sections.

Note: International students pursuing part-time programmes of study are not eligible for Tier 4 General Student) visas and must have alternative leave to remain in the UK if they intend to study at the University in person.

Application Guidelines

The 2000 word synopsis of the proposed research should include the following:

• aims and purpose of the research
• overview of the academic literature relevant to your field
• proposed methodology
• academic contributions of your research

This is to ensure, firstly, that the school has the necessary expertise to provide adequate supervision and, secondly, that the applicant has a researchable project in mind. Potential applicants are encouraged to identify at an early stage the degree of "fit" between their proposed research and the research interests of Planning and Geography staff. In order to do this, please refer to the research groups on sections on the School's website.

Next intake: The University has four entry points for research degrees; 1st October, 1st January, 1st April or 1st July

More information

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