Geographical Sciences (Human Geography) PhD

University of Bristol

The excellence of Bristol's social science research was confirmed by the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021). Bristol's School of Geographical Sciences ranked first for Geography in the UK Research Excellence Framework for the fifth REF cycle in a row. We have a large and vibrant postgraduate community, focusing both on PhDs by research and on taught programmes. Our postgraduate community is international and interdisciplinary and offers an exceptional academic environment for postgraduate research. Research opportunities span a variety of subjects at the leading edge of geographical research. Our research groups span a range of human geographical research: Historical and Cultural Geography; States, Economies and Societies; Quantitative Spatial Science; Political Ecologies. Within these four groups, postgraduate research includes health and housing inequalities to embodied posthuman geographies, to urban sustainability futures, to the environmental humanities, to improving techniques of quantitative modelling and machine learning, to geopolitics, decolonial geographies, and political ecology. There is also a range of exciting possibilities for interdisciplinary research that cross and connect research groups and departments. Candidates typically have two supervisors based in the school, but supervision is possible across schools and faculties. There is an active postgraduate research community whose representatives not only meet formally with staff representatives on issues of mutual interest, but who arrange social and other support for the PGR cohort. There is dedicated PGR space in the Fry Building, next to Geographical Sciences.