2025 PhD Opportunities
STUDY FOR A WATER PHD AND EARN WHILE YOU LEARN
The CDT is excited to offer the below PhD opportunities starting in October 2025.
Students will receive an enhanced stipend of £24,000 per year with fees paid for eligible students.
These vacancies may be filled before the closing date so early application is strongly encouraged.
| Proposal title | Primary sponsor | University partner |
|---|---|---|
| Understanding the retention and treatment of highway runoff pollutants within roadside bioretention systems – and implications for design and long-term maintenance Vacancy now closed | EPSRC & HR Wallingford | Newcastle University |
| Building a Digital Twin of the Tees estuary to evaluate the resilience of nature based solutions for nutrient (N & P) capture Vacancy now closed | EPSRC & Northumbrian Water Ltd | Newcastle University |
| PhD studentship: Nitrous oxide in the wastewater industry: Measurement, monitoring, and mitigation Vacancy now closed | EPSRC & Severn Trent | Newcastle University |
| Energy-SuDS: The potential of heat exchange in Sustainable Drainage Systems for decarbonising heating and cooling Vacancy now closed | EPSRC & Mitsubishi Electric R&D Centre Europe B.V. | Newcastle University |
| Parametric protection from drought risk and water scarcity in the 21st century Vacancy now closed | Newcastle University (School of Engineering) | Newcastle University |
| PhD in Water Resources: Next-Generation Flood Models: Physics-informed neural networks for urban resilience Vacancy now closed | Newcastle University (School of Engineering) | Newcastle University |
| Water-neutral and zero-waste oligonucleotides manufacturing for a sustainable pharmaceutical industry Vacancy now closed | EPSRC & GSK – Medicines Research Centre | Cranfield University |
| Reimaging and intensifying total nutrient removal secondary biological treatment processes to meet net zero targets (NutriZero) Application link available soon | EPSRC, Yorkshire Water, Southern Water, Stantec, & Microvi | Cranfield University |
| Tackling algae and algae-derived challenges in drinking water Vacancy now closed | EPSRC & UKWIR | Cranfield University |
| PhD in water chemistry: maximising PFAS forever chemical removal from drinking water Vacancy now closed | EPSRC, Anglian Water, Yorkshire Water, & Thames Water | Cranfield University |
| Impacts of Blending Drinking Water from Desalination into Existing Distribution Systems
https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/impacts-of-blending-drinking-water-from-desalination-into-existing-distribution-systems/?p181590 | EPSRC & Anglian Water | University of Sheffield |
| Scaling up of innovation in water utilities Vacancy now closed | EPSRC & Yorkshire Water | University of Sheffield |
| Influence of weather-induced ground movement on behaviour of buried water pipes https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/influence-of-weather-induced-ground-movement-on-behaviour-of-buried-water-pipes/?p181591 | EPSRC, Yorkshire Water, & RPS | University of Sheffield |
| PhD Studentship in: A simple approach to tailoring biofilms for effective removal of micropollutants during wastewater treatment Vacancy now closed | EPSRC & Southern Water | University of Sheffield |