PhD in Regional Planning

Post duration: 4 years

Research Project: CO-BIOECON

Enquiries: Enda Murphy (enda.murphy@ucd.ie) and Mark Scott (mark.scott@ucd.ie)

About the School

The School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy has an international reputation as a centre of excellence for research and teaching in a multidisciplinary School ranked in the QS top 150. It has established a wide international network of research collaborators, and delivers a dual degree programme with Chang’an University, China.

The Role:

The School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy is seeking expressions of interest from prospective PhD students to fill a fully funded 4-year PhD studentship in the broad area of regional/rural development and future sustainability. We are seeking a candidate to study issues around regional development and future sustainability including transformations required in specific economic sectors to progress towards sustainability. The PhD Candidate role in UCD’s School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy will work closely with supervisors to develop a research framework, undertake empirical analysis, generate results and work towards publishing research outputs.

The candidate should be willing to work both independently and as part of a team and undertaking necessary analysis as directed by the candidate’s supervisors.

Salary:  €18,000 per annum stipend plus EU fees

Benefits

• Travel budget;
• Budget for PC/laptop;
• Materials budget (books, computer consumables and general disposables).

Start date: January/February 2023

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

This is a research focused role, where you will conduct a specified programme of research supported by research training and development under the supervision and direction of a Principal Investigator/ Supervisor, and where the student will:

• carry out an agreed research and work plan to meet project requirements and deliverables, working closely with UCD staff and PhD team from other projects in Planning;
• support tasks in the Department if requested;
• travel to meetings and conferences as required;
• collaborate with partners on specific tasks on a range of topics

As part of a structured PhD in UCD the student will complete modules in relevant topics (TBA) to a total of 30 credits as required.

The student will ensure that all research is carried out in line with UCD requirements for ethical research and data management, and that the PhD is completed within the allocated period.

Selection Criteria

Mandatory

• MA/MSc (2.1 grade or higher) in an area closely related to Planning, Regional/Rural Development, sustainability, geography, or other cognate subjects;
• Understanding of research methodology and excellent writing skills;
• Experience, knowledge or willingness to learn in areas outlined above;
• Willingness to travel;
• Good report writing experience;
• Excellent English communication skills;
• Excellent interpersonal skills;
• Willingness to work as part of a team of researchers.;
• Willingness to work closely with a wider cohort of stakeholders.

Desirable

• Well-developed research skills, both qualitative and quantitative;
• Attention to detail and strong organisational skills;
• Experience with stakeholder engagement;
• Awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion agenda;
• Ability to manage a complex workload and work to tight deadlines.

An expression of interest should be lodged containing the following documents (in English) in a single PDF and sent by email to enda.murphy@ucd.ie.

1. A cover letter outlining motivations and relevance experience (2 pages max);
2. A CV (3 pages max)
3. Maximum two samples of work demonstrating prior achievement in research, enquiry or debate e.g. a published paper or other work; software, standards or policy contribution; dissertation or master’s thesis
4. Details of a 2 referees (names, contact details)

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