PhD Studentship on Justice and Energy Transitions with Emphasis on Critical Minerals

Supervisor: Dr Clement Sefa‑Nyarko, UKRI Future Leaders Fellow
Start Date: October 2026
Duration: 3.5 years (full‑time)
Funding: Tuition fees (Home) + annual stipend + research support allowance

King’s College London invites applications for a fully funded PhD studentship as part of the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship project Justice in Critical Minerals Governance and Energy Transitions, led by Dr Clement Sefa‑Nyarko. This studentship offers an outstanding opportunity to pursue cutting‑edge doctoral research on justice, governance, and community perspectives in global energy transitions, particularly in contexts shaped by the extraction of critical minerals essential for clean energy technologies.

The project responds to growing international concern about the environmental, social, and political consequences of mineral extraction in the transition to net zero. Despite the global push toward decarbonisation, communities living in mineral‑rich regions often face exclusion from decision‑making, inequitable distribution of benefits, and persistent injustices. This studentship will contribute to illuminating these challenges through rigorous, community‑centred, and interpretive research.

The successful PhD candidate will be based at the African Leadership Centre (ALC) within the School of Global Affairs at King’s College London. The ALC is globally recognised for advancing innovative, ethical, and African‑led approaches to peace, security, leadership, and development. As part of this vibrant interdisciplinary community, the successful applicant will benefit from academic mentorship, dedicated training programmes, leadership development initiatives, and opportunities to engage with global scholars and policy partners.

The successful candidate will undertake a PhD aligned with the overall Fellowship but with ample room to shape their own research agenda. Possible areas of focus include:

• justice and equity in critical mineral supply chains;
• community experiences and interpretations of justice in resource‑rich regions;
• governance, leadership, and accountability in extractive contexts;
• bottom‑up and participatory approaches to studying energy transitions;
• innovative qualitative or interpretive methodologies, including the novel methodology being advanced by the fellowship, Hermeneutical Ethnography.

King’s College London offers an exceptional research environment, extensive doctoral training opportunities, and support for fieldwork, conference participation, and publication development. The student will work closely with the project’s international partners and may have opportunities to engage with field sites in Africa, Latin America, or Australia, depending on their project design.

Candidate Requirements

Applicants should hold (or be close to completing) a Master’s degree in a relevant discipline such as International Development, Political Science, Environmental Studies, Geography, Sociology, Anthropology, Law, or related fields. Strong qualitative research skills and a demonstrable interest in justice, natural resource governance, sustainability transitions, or extractive politics are essential.

Experience with interpretive, ethnographic, or community‑engaged methods is highly desirable, as is familiarity with qualitative or multimodal analysis software (e.g., NVivo, Atlas.ti, MAXQDA). Applicants from diverse backgrounds and those with lived or professional experience connected to extractive contexts are warmly encouraged to apply.

How to Apply

Applicants should submit a CV, cover letter, research proposal (3,500–5,000 words), academic transcripts, and two references via the King’s Apply portal. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview.

For informal enquiries, please contact: Dr Clement Sefa-Nyarko at clement.sefa-nyarko@kcl.ac.uk

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