Overview
If you're ready to take your expertise in Earth and Environmental Sciences into a postgraduate research degree, the University of Portsmouth is the perfect place to do it.
Seventy-two per cent (72%) of our research outputs in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences were classed as world leading or internationally excellent in the Research Excellence Framework 2014 – and through our Earth and Environmental Sciences research, we're studying our planet and how life on Earth has evolved from its earliest beginnings to the present day.
With environmental crises such as climate change putting the future of the planet in jeopardy, we're using our findings to predict how the Earth may change in the future and researching what we can do to safeguard it. As a postgraduate researcher here, you could research subjects including crustal evolution, environmental modelling and monitoring, marine biogeochemistry and ecosystems, palaeontology, applied geoscience and applied physics.
Our students make lasting contributions to the field – like one of current PhD students, Emily Roberts, who has made headlines after discovering the first fossil plant gum on record.
When you study for a postgraduate research degree with us, you'll join our collaborative research community, and play your own part in turning our knowledge into action.
Support and facilities
When you join us, you'll be supported by our Graduate School, alongside your assigned supervisory team, who'll help you get the most from our facilities. The Graduate School will help you become part of our thriving, collaborative research community, and help grow your skills as a researcher through the Graduate School Development Programme, which offers training, workshops and events.
You'll have access to fully-equipped physical geography, GIS and photogrammetry labs.
Other facilities you can use include:
- Geochemical facilities, which include laser ablation and solution ICP-MS and ICP-MC-MS. Using these facilities, you can analyse a large range of materials and elements across the periodic table, and measure isotope ratios for sourcing of materials and dating minerals.
- Imaging facilities, including scanning electron microscopy and near infrared spectroscopy. Using these facilities, you can image materials to extremely high magnification, measure the chemistry and crystallography of materials down to the nanometre scale, characterise the spectra of materials, and use remote sensing techniques to map their spatial distribution in the natural environment.
- Rock and soil mechanics, including triaxial and uniaxial presses, acoustic emission sensors, and heating and cooling elements. Using these facilities, you can obtain data on the physical properties and behaviour of materials under different loading conditions and over a range of conditions.
- Our Hyperspectral Laboratory, which has an ASD Labspec4 (Vis-NIR) spectrometer and a range of spectral imaging systems including an infrared geotechnical core-scanner to examine rocks, soils, debris, environmental materials and archaeological artefacts for engineering and hazard characterisation.
What can a postgraduate research degree do for my career?
Once you complete your postgraduate research degree, you'll be a highly-skilled researcher with the knowledge and skills to make an impact in many different industries.
Your postgraduate research qualification demonstrates to potential employers that you're an intelligent, capable and motivated person, with provable abilities and experience in critical thinking, problem-solving, project management, communication, leadership and creativity.
