Join our Graduate School of the National Oceanography Centre Southampton (GSNOCS). We're an interdisciplinary research community working on the latest topics in ocean and earth science.
GSNOCS is a centre of excellence. We are large, international, scientifically diverse and genuinely interdisciplinary with over 120 registered PhD supervisors and more than 150 PhD students with backgrounds in:
Find out more about the:
One-to-one contact with practising researchers is the most important component of postgraduate education. We host a large cohort of academic staff at NOCS involved in supervising our PhD students. There are many hundreds more working in related disciplines across the University.
A supervisory team will mentor and guide you in carrying out your research. An advisory panel will monitor your progress and give additional advice.
Our research generally focuses on one of these areas:
You can either apply for a structured studentship or propose your own PhD idea.
Structured studentships are advertised PhD projects with a title, supervisor, remit and funding already in place. These projects are set up through collaborations with industry, external partners or through one of several centres for doctoral training that we take part in.
Taking one of our structured studentships will give you access to additional training, conferences and secondments.
The INSPIRE Doctoral Training Partnership offers fully-funded studentships. You can explore these here or visit the INSPIRE website to explore projects for September 2024 entry into the 6th round of INSPIRE recruitment.
At some rifted margins, mantle rocks are exhumed both from beneath the continent and through tectonic extension at the mid-ocean ridge, then hydrated and intruded by melt. This project aims to quantify the evolution of mantle hydration and melting during breakup at such margins, using a new seismic dataset.
The aim of this project is to assess the role of climate variability in driving Antarctic Ice Sheet changes and its contribution to sea level rise by combing new observations of ice, ocean and atmosphere.
Using the latest climate models and novel spatial analyses, this PhD will investigate the biogeographic and ecological characteristics of pelagic bioregions in the Southern Ocean. Projecting these bioregions under future climate storylines will identify ecological risks, climate winners and losers, and provide outputs that can guide climate-smart ecosystem management.
Future hazards from sea ice keels pose a threat to planned subsea cables routes in the Arctic and Antarctica. This project will use high-resolution ocean and subsea models and observations to understand and assess this threat. It will deliver a risk-assessment model demonstrator for trials by industry stakeholders.
Quantify the frequency and volumes of sediment delivered to deep-sea basins from high-to-low latitudes along the Eastern Atlantic and determine underpinning controls. Quantify the organic carbon sequestered in turbidites in deep-sea basins to establish geological fluxes of carbon from hinterland to abyssal plains, and whether there is a long-term climate influence.
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is the largest pool of reduced carbon in the ocean, sequestering 2 Pg C/yr of atmospheric carbon dioxide. This project uses in situ physical and chemical observations to investigate how overturning processes in the Nordic Seas inject vast amounts of DOC into the deep ocean.
The Cenozoic (66-0 Ma) is characterised by a shift from a warm, ‘greenhouse’ climate to a cold, ‘icehouse’ climate. However, the mechanisms responsible remain poorly understood. This project will combine organic geochemistry and Earth system modelling to assess the importance of organic carbon burial in modulating climate during the Cenozoic.
The project aims to use and combine the latest techniques in seismology, structural geology, and remote sensing to understand how geological faults behave in space and time during continental extension, and how faulting interacts with the flow of fluids such as CO2 and H2O. The research will target magma-rich (East Africa) and magma-poor (Corinth rift) end member types of settings.
Have all ancient reef-builders influenced biodiversity as coral reefs do today? Coral reefs are the primary ecosystem engineers in our oceans today, but their capacity to maintain environments is threated by climate change. Using the fossil record, we can study the (in)consistency of climate change impacts on reef-building ecosystem engineers.
This project will explore the physiological and behavioral effects of electromagnetic fields associated with HV cables of offshore windfarms.
Coccolithophores are widespread marine algae that are threatened by climate change. This project will examine the evolutionary processes that enabled coccolithophores to become the most important calcifying organisms in our oceans. The project will use a combination of genomics and culture-based physiological studies to identify unique aspects of coccolithophore biology.
This project investigates enigmatic long-distance geochemical trends in fundamental magmato-tectonic systems including plume-to-rift and rift-to-spreading contexts. We aim to determine if plate-scale mantle flow patterns or regional-scale interconnected melt transport networks drive these trends, shedding light on Earth's complex dynamics. The study will combine tools from advanced modeling and machine learning.
Towards the journey for Net Zero, there is a pressing need to revolutionise the monitoring of greenhouse gas pollutants throughout the oceans. Modern gas sensors are bulky and power hungry, limiting their use—this project will develop unique and tiny Silicon Photonic sensor chips for widespread oceanic greenhouse gas monitoring.
This project aims to address the challenge of predicting land-sea exchanges of material in Arctic shelf seas. Employing numerical and semi-analytical models, we’ll reveal how vertical mixing impacts property and movement of the Arctic's shelf waters. Results will provide valuable insights for refining mixing parameterizations to improve climate predictions.
This project will explore the physiological and behavioral effects of noise and vibration that is associated with pile driving as well as vessels and trenching during the installation and running of offshore windfarms.
Shifting rainfall patterns and seasons represent an alarming consequence of human-driven global climate change. Yet even the sign (wetter/drier) of future change is uncertain in some regions. This project examines the response of continental climates to global warmth in the past to study natural forcing and evaluate uncertain future predictions.
Long-term environmental monitoring of impacts to the seabed is rare but important, particularly as climate change accelerates. Seabed photography makes it possible, but inconsistency in application reduces comparability This project will assess climate-related ecological change in benthic fauna, and develop consistency in seabed photography key to future marine monitoring.
This project will explore how learning from systemic shocks, e.g. associated with new fisheries policy post Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, and changes in the cost of fuel and price of fish due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, can help enhance the resilience of the marine fisheries resource.
Marine phytoplankton are key players in the global carbon cycle, responsible for half of Earth’s primary production. This project will use underwater robots to evaluate small-scale physical processes in the upper ocean, its effects on phytoplankton growth and assess the importance of including these processes in oceanic carbon models.
Polar amplification¾where enhanced warming in polar regions outpaces global temperature change¾is poorly understood. Using geological evidence, numerical climate models and theory, this project will explore why polar amplification sometimes affects the Arctic, sometimes the Antarctic and sometimes both poles. Crucial projections of polar amplification for future climate change will be made.
The widespread reorganisation of ecological communities associated with anthropogenic activity, within the context of climate change, heighten concerns about the likely consequences for ecosystems. By combining extant data sets with laboratory and field observations, this studentship will determine the effects of multiple stressors, alone and in combination, on marine benthic ecosystems.
The project aims to design a controller for collaborative task division among autonomous platforms surveying seafloor areas. Building on existing collective decision-making strategies in robot swarms, the project uses Machine Learning (e.g., multi-agent reinforcement algorithms) to enable a heterogeneous set of underwater vehicles (AUVs and Drifters) to map unknown areas.
Sea-ice melting impact ecosystems. Satellite methods cannot accurately measure sea-ice thickness due to assumptions of snow cover and freeboard. This project will develop green technologies for ice thickness measurements. This project will involve novel laboratory geophysical measurements of ice and development of low power acoustic source for autonomous underwater vehicles.
Suspending lives in extreme environment is fascinating. Indeed it is a conserved response that occurs in anoxia, a no-oxygen condition, in many organisms. This project will use model organisms including yeast and worms to elucidate the molecular mechanisms in sensing oxygen, arresting the cell cycle and recovering from anoxia through an interdisciplinary approach.
Anthropogenic climate change has no analogue but, in the last 60 million years, the hyperthermals of the early Cenozoic come the closest. Here you will develop a new analytical tool for the boron isotope analysis of single planktic foraminifera to revolutionise our understanding of the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and other hyperthermals.
Antarctic sea ice – which has experienced a major decline since 2016 – has recently been proposed to play an important role in shaping the structure and circulation of the global ocean. This project will investigate this role on time scales of seasons to centuries, and assess implications for contemporary climate change.
Ocean currents around Greenland regulate Greenland Ice Sheet melting and the consequent injection of meltwater into the North Atlantic. This project will assess what controls these currents and how they mediate interactions between the North Atlantic and the Greenland Ice Sheet, helping predict future sea level rise and ocean circulation.
The aim is to resolve gene expression of individual cells in marine samples by a new sequencing approach. This information can help us understand how microbes turn over nutrients, mutually interact, and adapt their physiology to environmental change such as coastal water pollution and climate change.
You will work on exciting sediment archives recovered during a recent major international scientific research expedition to the North Atlantic. This project will shed new light on fundamental shifts in Earth’s past climate as well as develop new understanding on the dynamics, causes and consequences of Earth’s magnetic field changes.
You can either apply for a structured PhD or propose your own research project idea.
Taking a structured PhD will give you access to additional training, conferences and secondments.
We offer our structured studentships in partnership with Inspire Natural and Environmental Research Council (NERC) and the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership (SCDTP).
We offer a wide range of fully-funded studentships. We run most of our PhD studentships in partnership with doctoral training centres, meaning you’ll benefit from enhanced training and guaranteed funding.
These studentships:
Find out about the Inspire doctoral training partnership offering fully-funded studentships.
The University of Southampton supports (in conjunction with other funders) additional fully-funded studentships.
These are associated with some projects carried out in collaboration with a non-academic partner. Students get a top-up to their research training support grant (RTSG) of £1,000 or £2,000 a year.
GSNOCS has a limited number of international student scholarships, available for highly qualified non-UK/EU applicants to help cover the cost of student fees.
You must identify the project(s) you're interested in, and we recommend you contact the relevant supervisors before you apply.
Get in touch with the GSNOCS office team at gsnocs@soton.ac.uk
Once you've found a supervisor, they can help you with potential funding sources. We offer match funding in some cases.
You'll need to state how you intend to pay for your tuition fees when you submit your application.
Find out more about funding your PhD
You can borrow up to £26,445 for a PhD starting in 2022. Doctoral loans are not means tested and you can decide how much you want to borrow.
Find out about PhD loans on GOV.UK
You may be able to win funding from one or more charities to help fund your PhD.
2022 to 2023 entry:
| PhD | UK | International |
|---|---|---|
| Full time | £4,596 | £24,600 |
| Part time | £2,298 | £12,300 |
2023 to 2024 entry:
| PhD | UK | International |
|---|---|---|
| Full time | tbc | £25,500 |
| Part time | tbc | £12,750 |
2024 to 2025 entry:
| PhD | UK | International |
|---|---|---|
| Full time | tbc Spring 2024 | £26,100 |
| Part time | tbc Spring 2024 | £13,050 |
You're eligible for a 10% alumni discount on a self-funded PhD if you're a current student of graduate from the University of Southampton.
It's a good idea to contact a relevant supervisor about the project or research you're interested in, before you apply.
Decide whether to apply to an advertised research project or create your own proposal.
It's a good idea to email potential supervisors to discuss the specifics of your project. It's best to do this well ahead of the application deadline.
You’ll find supervisors’ contact details listed with the advertised project, or you can search for supervisors in the staff directory.
You’ll need to send us:
You’ll need to have a 2:1 undergraduate honours degree, or equivalent qualification, in an appropriate subject.
If English is not your first language, you'll need an IELTS minimum level of 6.5 with a 6.0 in writing, reading, speaking and listening.
Your awarded certificate needs to be dated within the last 2 years.
If you need further English language tuition before starting your degree, you can apply for one of our pre-sessional English language courses.
Check the specific entry requirements listed on the project you’re interested in before you apply.
Research degrees have a minimum and maximum duration, known as the candidature. Your candidature ends when you submit your thesis.
Most candidatures are longer than the minimum period.
| Degree type | Duration |
| Ocean and Earth science PhD full time | 2 to 4 years |
| Ocean and Earth science PhD part time | 3 to 7 years |
