Geography & Environmental Sciences - Research

Overview
The School of Geography and Environmental Sciences draws together researchers from across a range of physical and human disciplines to address many of the international and regional changes, challenges and impacts facing society today. We have an international outlook with a research presence in five continents, 31 countries and three world oceans, providing a firm foundation to solving and exploring regional concerns. Geography and Environmental Sciences at Ulster consistently produces research judged as world-leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*). In REF 2014, 58% of our research publications and 63% of the impact our research made was rated as 4*/3*.

Our research is organised around two core themes:

1) Environmental Processes, Management and Sustainability

2) Heritage, Conflict and Society

We address issues in both of our core themes across a diverse range of geographical environments that are important for both science and society. Several staff participate across themes and have successful research collaborations across the university and external research institutions reflecting the strongly connected, interdisciplinary nature of geographical and environmental research in the School. Key specialisations include: quaternary environmental change, coastal systems, freshwater sciences, human environments, archaeology, and terrestrial ecology.

Each year, a limited number of funded PhD scholarships are available for Geography and Environmental Sciences. The School also encourages applications from self-funded students or students funded from external sources. We warmly encourage applicants to consider PhD study on a full-time (3 year) and part-time (6 year) basis on a range of original topics relevant to our research themes.

Summary
Geography and Environmental Sciences seek to provide its PhD researchers with outstanding support and facilities for their work. Dedicated postgraduate rooms are designed to bring researchers together, share insights and experience and promote a vibrant culture of enquiry and scholarship. We encourage researchers to play a full part in the life of the school, and avail of opportunities for academic communication, training, teaching, travel and a range of Ulster events to foster professional development and collegiality. A range of facilities are available to support researchers including laboratory space, IT services, specialised field equipment and vehicles.

Applicants are encouraged to contact potential supervisors in order to discuss their research project proposals. For general enquiries please contact the Research Director, Professor Paul Dunlop or postgraduate tutor, Dr Robert McNabb.

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study. We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master's Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

Get additional information for International applicants at https://www.ulster.ac.uk/doctoralcollege/postgraduate-research/apply/international-students

English language requirements
In order to be admitted to research study at Ulster, you will need to provide evidence of your English language proficiency as part of your application.

Get full details on the requirements for both home and overseas applicants can be found on our English language requirements page.

Apply
We are delighted that you are considering Ulster University for your research studies.

Get full details on the application process and further guidance on how to apply, and what you will need to upload as part of your application (see "Application Weblink" below.

Once you have identified supervisors, discussed a research proposal and are ready to make an application, please apply using the online application system (see "Application Weblink" below.

Ulster University welcomes applications from all sections of the community and from persons with disabilities. It is University policy to assess all applications using academic criteria and on the basis of equality of opportunity and you should be assured that reasonable adjustments will be made should you require them.

PhD Research
You can study for a PhD on a full (3 years) or part-time (6 years) basis and by the end of your programme, you will have produced a body of work that makes a contribution to knowledge in your chosen field.

We have various routes to obtaining a PhD - for example, in some areas you can submit a practical element as part of your submission, such as a piece of art or a musical composition.

MPhil:
The MPhil programme is studied over a 2 year period on a full-time basis or 4 years on a part-time basis.

We would recommend that you contact one of our academic staff whose interests align with your own to discuss your intended research prior to submitting an application.

Year of entry: 2020/21

Postgraduate Information Session 26 March 2020
Register at: ulster.ac.uk/pg-information-events

Careers and opportunities
PhD graduates are recognised by employers to hold valuable transferrable skills, as the nature of the degree trains candidates in creativity, critical inquiry, problem solving, negotiation skills, professionalism and confidence.

The most recent Ulster survey of PhD graduates found that 92% had secured employment within the first year since graduation (HESA Destination of Leavers Survey 2015), and while two thirds end up in the Higher Education or Research sectors, the range of skills acquired equips the remainder for employment in a wide range of contexts.

Staff research areas
Dr Joerg Arnscheidt
Joerg researches issues of water quality and aquatic ecology and is involved in investigating antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance, interactions between bacteria, algae and aquatic invertebrates, filter feeders, monitoring and ecological consequences of siltation, nutrient management and crayfish conservation. Other recurring topics are water quality of natural bathing waters, ecological impact of channelisation and ecology of subterranean and hyporheic environments.

Dr Suzanne Beech
Suzanne's research lies at the intersections between social and cultural geography focusing on young people, migration and mobility, and international higher education. At present, she is researching the role of migration industries in international higher education transitions, namely the importance of higher education agents in facilitating global geographies of international student mobility.

Dr Colin Breen
Colin's research focusses on historic landscape and societal change, environment and conflict, and the historical archaeologies of past maritime societies. He is currently engaged in research across the Middle East and Africa, as well as across the Atlantic maritime zone of Northwest Europe.

Dr Sally Cook
Sally's research interests focus mainly on the application of GIS technology and geographic methodologies, spatial data analysis and modelling to aspects of environmental, health and social sciences. These have been applied within University-funded projects such as widening access, spatial analysis of university data and encouraging uptake of GIS in secondary education as well as to externally funded research.

Professor Andrew Cooper
Andrew's research has a worldwide focus in the area of coastal geomorphology and coastal zone management

Dr Richard Douglas
Richard is a freshwater scientist, interested in the movement and toxicity of contaminants in freshwater systems. His research has focused on the distribution of heavy metals in lakes and the effect of metals on the aquatic ecosystem. The risks of heavy metals from long-range transboundary pollution has been recognised as an important factor affecting ecosystems and the human population. A clear understanding of metal biogeochemical cycles is vital to help implement cuts in global emissions.

Dr Paul Dunlop
Paul is a Quaternary glaciologist who investigates glacial landscapes in both terrestrial and marine environments to reconstruct past ice sheet behaviour. This requires a multidisciplinary approach and a variety of cutting edge techniques are used to investigate glacial landscapes that includes satellite remote sensing, GIS, marine geophysics and cosmogenic nuclide and radiocarbon dating to work out what was happening during the last Ice Age and to help age constrain glacial events.

Dr Sara Benetti
Sara's research is focussed on Abrupt and long-term climatic change and its effects on sedimentological processes. Deep sea sedimentation processes and their relationship with glacial/interglacial cycles. Application of image analysis to environmental studies and the use of geo-indicators in vulnerability and environmental impact assessment.

Dr Wes Forsythe
Wes is a maritime archaeologist, with interests in the activities and economies of coastal communities in the medieval and post-medieval eras. His research examines strategies for exploiting and utilising marine resources and their resulting effect on the coastal landscape. The discovery and documentation of a wide range of archaeological monuments surviving on our coasts has informed policy makers and facilitated legal protection to sites of cultural heritage. In addition to research carried out at home, Wes has been active in north and east Africa working in regions affected by conflict, under-resourcing and neglect.

Professor Derek Jackson
Derek's research efforts have a general focus on coastal environmental change (morphodynamics and geomorphology) at a number of time and space scales. These efforts link into themes such as climate change impacts, its associated sea level rise and increased storminess on coastlines. Ultimately the research helps in the development of responses to climate change and pressures on natural beach and dune systems globally. Specifically, the main focus of his work examines wind-blown processes and modelling of airflow in a variety of planetary (Earth and Mars) environments in temperate through to arid zones.

Dr Marianne O'Connor
Marianne's primary research interest is in coastal geomorphology with a particular focus on short term intertidal morphodynamic variability (nearshore sand bar dynamics) as well as long term shoreline evolution and the links to external forcing (NAO). She also has a keen interest in coastal management and has worked on a number of European funded research projects focused on coastal management such as Coastadapt, COREPOINT, IMCORE.

Professor Phil Jordan
Phil's research follows several themes within a catchment science framework: Nutrient and sediment dynamics and fate in river and lake catchments; High resolution monitoring of pollution dynamics in rivers; Biogeochemical interactions within freshwater ecosystems; Risk assessment of critical source areas/times of pollution at multiple scales and Agri-environmental policy development and review.

Dr Sara McDowell
Sara's interdisciplinary research focuses on the spatial dynamics of conflict and peacebuilding in divided or transitional societies and has two key strands. The first explores the ways in which the past is negotiated in contested spaces within societies engaged in peace processes. Previous projects considered the impact of the practices and processes of memory on peacebuilding initiatives in South Africa, the former Yugoslavia, the Basque Country, Israel/Palestine and Sri Lanka and mapped the spatial outworking of commemorative-related violence in Northern Ireland. The second strand focuses on the relationship between social media and border politics in divided societies.

Dr Chris McGonigle
Chris's interdisciplinary research is focused on understanding what is driving patterns of biodiversity in marine environments, and how we can use acoustic techniques to develop our ability to monitor and conserve these resources most effectively. His research includes: mid-water and ocean floor mapping for fisheries stock assessment, species distribution and hydrodynamic modelling for benthic habitat mapping. This work is at the interface of marine ecology, acoustics, spatial analysis and numerical modelling. Chris's research has societal relevance and impact with implications for sustainable development of marine resources, and the conservation of marine biodiversity.

Dr Paul McKenzie
Paul is interested in the use of GIS and Remote Sensing to answer a wide range of geographical issues. His research focuses on the development of risk models for poverty mapping across large spatial scales. Other interests include the use of remotely sensed data to map and monitor the environment and the fusion of remotely sensed datasets to extract features in the urban and agricultural landscapes. Paul leads the "digital earth Centre of Excellence" at Ulster University.

Professor Adrian Moore
Adrian has research interests in the application of GIS technologies to examine the relationships between the physical and social environments, human health and health care delivery. He is particularly interested in the mapping and spatial analysis of environmental risk factors related to ageing.

Dr Ruth Plets
Ruth's research has two sides to it: submerged landscapes and shipwreck archaeology. What links them is her interest in using high-resolution geophysical methods for underwater research. Through seabed mapping, Ruth aims to gain a better understanding of what processes took place on the Irish continental shelf during and after the last Glacial Maximum. With regards to the shipwreck research, Ruth is interested in developing robust and innovative methodologies for the imaging and (3D) visualisation of shipwrecks.

Dr Rory Quinn
Rory is a marine geoscientist, interested in applications of ocean mapping methods. His research focuses on the development of non-invasive methods for the detection, characterization and reconstruction of submerged archaeological sites through the integration of underwater remotely sensed data and computational models. A better understanding of this non-renewable resource allows us to inform policy makers and develop effective mitigation strategies to minimise loss in the face of increasing natural and human forcing (e.g. increased storminess associated with climate change and offshore engineering).