PhD studentship in Water Governance Legal Frameworks and Regional Outcomes

College of Business and Law at the University of the West of England in Bristol invites applications for a fully funded interdisciplinary PhD studentship in Water Governance Legal Frameworks and Regional Outcomes

Application Deadline: 9 August 2026 

Start date: 1 October 2026

With public trust at an all-time low, following regular spills of raw sewage into rivers and waterways, England and Wales face a deepening crisis of their water systems rooted in decades of policy choices, regulatory failure, and structural tensions of a privatised industry.  

Following the Independent Water Commission's report in July 2025, the government has committed to a major overhaul of the regulatory architecture in England, including a single integrated water regulator. Wales is considering parallel reforms, while Scotland continues with a publicly owned model. This moment of institutional change creates an opportunity to examine how legal and regulatory design shapes outcomes for regions and communities.

UK's three jurisdictions, operating within broadly comparable physical and economic environments, offer meaningfully different combinations of ownership, regulation, and governance philosophy. The reform underway enables comparison between the emerging English architecture and the longer-established Scottish and Welsh models.

We invite research proposals exploring whether ownership structure explains differences in investment, environmental performance, and the spatial distribution of costs and benefits; whether embedding water governance within wider statutory frameworks, such as the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, shapes outcomes; whether integrated regulation, as England is now developing, alters capacity to address cross-cutting challenges including catchment management, agricultural pollution, and climate adaptation; whether legal innovation (e.g. recognition of rights of nature) holds a transformative potential, and how governance arrangements distribute costs and benefits across regions, communities, and stakeholders as climate pressures intensify.  

Funding details

Studentship is available from 1 October 2026 for 3yrs, subject to satisfactory progress, and includes tax-exempt stipend of £21805 p.a., and full-time home/international fees.

Eligibility criteria

Applicants must have at least 2.1 degree in environmental management, economics, sustainability studies, environmental law or a cognate discipline, and preferably Masters degree (average programme mark no less than 65%, UK grading scale or international equivalent).

A recognised English language qualification is required. IELTS score of 7.0 overall, or equivalent.

Application

1. Prepare research proposal – maximum 5 pages all-inclusive; font size 11, 1.5-spacing, 2-inch margins. Indicative contents: research context/rationale, literature review, research questions, proposed methodology, expected contribution of the project. Development of research proposal should happen in consultation with the potential supervisor. You should contact potential supervisor with an advanced draft of the proposal to confirm they are willing to support your application.
2. Submit your application online: Postgraduate Research: Bristol Business School - PhD - UWE Bristol: Courses

Provide reference number: 2627-OCT-CBL01

Documentation: you will need to upload research proposal, degree certificates and transcripts and proof of English language proficiency as attachments to your application.

References: you will need to provide details of two referees. At least one must be an academic from the institution that conferred your highest degree. Please ensure your nominated referees are able to provide references within 14 days of your application. 

Application Deadline: 9 August 2026; 6pm (UK)

Further information

Interviews: online in late August.

If you have not heard from us by 25 August 2026 – thank you for your application, on this occasion you have not been successful.

Queries about the studentship - contact Paweł Capik; pawel.capik@uwe.ac.uk

Queries about project proposal – contact Armagan Gezici; armagan.gezici@uwe.ac.uk

Advert information