PhD Studentship: The Oxford Interdisciplinary Life and Environmental Science Training Programme (ILESLA)

4 Year, full-time PhD studentship

Eligibility: Home UK/EU and International applicants

Bursary p.a.: The stipend is at the UKRI rate (currently £20,780 for the academic year 2025/26, plus an additional £2000)

University fees and bench fees: The studentship covers bench fees, stipend, and tuition fees. Visa and associated costs are not funded. International applicants can visit https://www.brookes.ac.uk/students/isat/ for further information

Closing date: 8 January 2026 – 12:00 midday UK time

Interviews: Tbc

Start date: September 2026 

Director of Studies: Andrew Jones, Associate Professor

Supervisors: Dependent on project 

Requirements: Entry requirements: 

Applicants are required to hold/or expect to obtain a UK Bachelor’s Degree 2:1 or higher (or overseas equivalent) in a relevant academic subject.

UKRI eligibility criteria apply. 

English language requirements:

International applicants must have a valid IELTS Academic test certificate (or equivalent – please contact ilesla.oxford.brookes@brookes.ac.uk to check equivalency) with an overall minimum score of 7.5 and no score below 7.0 issued in the last 2 years by an approved test centre. Visit this webpage to check for equivalence accepted by Oxford Brookes.

Project Description:

The 4 year MPhil/PhD provides the opportunity to undertake research across the full breadth of biological and environmental science. This tailored programme includes taught courses in interdisciplinary skills. Two exploratory research projects are taken in Year 1, with prospective supervisors, before choosing the 3 year research project. A 12 week professional internship provides work experience.

Studentships are available on the BBSRC/NERC funded ILESLA training programme. Students admitted through Oxford Brookes University must undertake one rotation project at Brookes and another at any of the partner organisations. The PhD project must include a supervisor from Oxford Brookes University. Full programme details are available on the University of Oxford website.

The Partnership is: University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University, Pirbright Institute, Diamond Light Source, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, The Open University

The programme is supported by the BBSRC and NERC through a Landscape Award with additional support from within the Partnership.

Application process

Visit our course page for details about how to apply for a place at Oxford Brookes and for further information, as well as details of Open Days via the above ‘Apply’ button.

Applications for 2026 entry are all through the University of Oxford application system: there will be one entry route regardless of the institution where you will be carrying out your research. Applications to all three universities will therefore be reviewed as a single group. This means that if you are shortlisted for interview you will normally only be interviewed once for entry into the programme. You will benefit from the same programme structure and training programme irrespective of which organisation(s) you apply to.

You can apply online for entry to the programme via the University of Oxford Graduate Admissions Course Page.

When applying, please make it clear in the "Proposed Supervisor" field, if you are applying for a place at The Open University and/or Oxford Brookes University. 

General enquiries can be directed to: ilesla.oxford.brookes@brookes.ac.uk

Queries about the programme can be directed to Associate Professor Andrew Jones (a.jones@brookes.ac.uk) and also Professor Verena Kriechbaumer (vkriechbaumer@brookes.ac.uk).

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