PhD Environmental Sustainability at University of Glasgow

Programme overview

PhD research in environmental sustainability based in the School of Social & Environmental Sustainability at the Dumfries Campus. Staff expertise includes sustainable tourism, environmental risk, community resilience, hydrology and environmental stewardship.

Department: School of Social & Environmental Sustainability (Dumfries Campus) | Duration: 3 years full-time; 5 years part-time | Location: Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

What you will study

Research covers environmental impacts of tourism, hydrological modelling, marine pollution, environmental chemistry and environmental education. Each student has two supervisors, with training in Dumfries and in Glasgow in research design, qualitative and quantitative methods, social theory and generalised linear models; assessment is by thesis of 70,000-100,000 words and a viva voce.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Usual standard of admission is a Master's degree with a significant component in environmental science, environmental management, ecological sciences, GIS, environmental chemistry, conservation, natural sciences, disaster risk reduction, nature-based solutions, environmental risk, geography, environmental sustainability, environmental education, environmental humanities, sustainable tourism or climate science; applicants are also usually expected to have a 2.1 honours degree. Required documents: academic transcripts and degree certificates, CV, research proposal, two references, named supervisor information. International applicants: IELTS Academic 7.0 overall with no subtest below 6.5 (also accepted: TOEFL iBT 98 overall for tests from 21 January 2026, PTE Academic test centre 70 overall, and other listed tests; General Training IELTS and online PTE Academic not accepted).

Domestic applicants: GBP 5,238 a year (2026/27). UK annual fee for full-time study; 2027/28 UK fee to be confirmed; part-time is half the full-time fee. Source

International applicants: GBP 28,275 a year (2027/28). International & EU annual fee for full-time study; part-time is half the full-time fee. Bench fees (research support costs) may apply and are not included. Source

Intake: September

Duration: 3 years full-time; 5 years part-time

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