PhD Studentship in Just Transformations to Low Carbon Living

Award Summary

Full PhD tuition fees paid at the UK home student rate (UK students and EU students with settled or pre-settled status) for 3 years. 

An annual tax-free maintenance grant equivalent to the National Minimum Doctoral Stipend (currently for 2025-26 this is £20,780 full time equivalent) across 3.5 years, subject to satisfactory progress.  

Funding is also available towards fieldwork and research consumable costs relevant to the research project. 

Home and international applicants are welcome to apply. Successful international candidates are required to fund the difference between home fees and international tuition fees (applications for assistance can be made to the NUORS scheme, but cannot be guaranteed). 

Overview

This PhD will use participatory research methods to co-produce policy-relevant research on just transitions to low carbon living in North East England. The successful candidate will be part of an interdisciplinary team based at Newcastle University, and will play a key role in designing and delivering research that supports just transition initiatives in the region. 

This PhD is affiliated to the JUST (Joined-Up Sustainability Transformations) Centre: a new ESRC-funded multi-university consortium bringing together five universities in the North of England with partners in the policy, innovation, business, local government, community, and voluntary sectors. JUST aims to generate innovative, place-based strategies that move communities towards fair and democratic low carbon futures. 

The successful candidate will join the North East England Place-Based Research Team (led by Prof. Danny MacKinnon) and the “Principles of Justice” Thematic Working and Interest Group (led by Prof. Derek Bell). You will work closely with a wide range of local stakeholders to co-design and co-deliver Participatory Action Research (PAR) case studies that explore how and when principles of justice can be successfully embedded in place-based initiatives that promote the transition to low carbon living. You will collaboratively explore which principles of justice are most important for a just transition in North East England and how to co-design tools or frameworks that support local stakeholders to join up social and economic justice with environmental sustainability. 

The Newcastle-based research team work closely with the other Universities in the Centre (Manchester, Lancaster, Leeds and Liverpool) and there is an opportunity to network and work directly with them as part of you PhD programme. 

Number of awards: 1

Start date: September 2026 

Award duration: 3.5 years 

Sponsor: ESRC JUST 

Supervisors

The core supervision team, Prof. Derek Bell and Prof. Danny MacKinnon, are based in the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology.

How to apply and Eligibility Criteria

See www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/fees-funding/search-funding/?code=GPSJUS26

Contact details

If you are interested in applying, please contact Prof. Derek Bell (derek.bell@ncl.ac.uk) or Prof. Danny MacKinnon (danny.mackinnon@ncl.ac.uk) for an informal discussion.

For questions about the application process, please contact gps.pgr@newcastle.ac.uk

Advert information