Job Opportunities

We do not currently have any postdoctoral vacancies within the group, but we do welcome strong candidates to support through various appropriate fellowship schemes. If you are interested in applying for an externally-funded fellowship to hold within the group, please contact Prof. Robert Fear, Dr Imogen Gingell or Dr Daniel Whiter to discuss.

PhD opportunities

We have several PhD opportunities, for positions which are available from 1st October 2023. These opportunities have different application deadlines, depending on the funding scheme. In all cases, informal enquiries are welcome and encouraged - please email the supervisor indicated:

NERC projects funded through INSPIRE

We often offer PhD projects through INSPIRE, which is a NERC Doctoral Training Partnership between the University of Southampton, British Antarctic Survey and others. NERC is the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council. However, the application deadline for 2023 has now passed. For more details on INSPIRE, please see the INSPIRE web site.

STFC funded projects

We also have projects available through the department's allocation of STFC studentships. STFC is the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council:

• Large-scale structure of Earth’s magnetosphere (Supervisor: Prof Robert Fear)
• Exploring the time-dependence of kinetic structure at Earth’s bow shock (Supervisor: Dr. Imogen Gingell)

For these two projects, please see the Astronomy group PhD project pages for further information on the projects and how to apply. These positions are also available from 1st October 2023. Applications will be reviewed at the end of January and successful candidates will be invited for interview shortly afterwards, though late applications may be considered.

PhD opportunities - general

We welcome applications for people to study for a PhD in the group, either self-funded or through a limited number of studentships that the department has to offer. We are part of the Astronomy Group, and so applicants seeking funded studentships that are allocated to the department should apply as detailed here, although informal enquiries to Dr Robert Fear, Dr Imogen Gingell or Dr Daniel Whiter are welcome too. Please note that we do not have a funded position available every year. Students who have access to alternative means of funding should also contact us with an informal enquiry.

Anyone applying for a PhD position at Southampton should have (or expect to be awarded):

• An upper second class Bachelor's degree (or above) from a UK university in a relavant subject, or
• A lower second class Bachelor's degree together with a postgraduate Master's degree from a UK university in a relevant subject, or
• An equivalent overseas qualification