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World-Leading Scholarship in Mathematics and Earth and Environmental Sciences

The University of St Andrews is pleased to offer a full scholarship funded by St Leonard's Postgraduate College, to support an exceptional student undertaking doctoral research in the project 'The circulation of Alien Seas – Modelling ocean mixing and nutrient pathways on early earths.' This scholarship provides comprehensive funding for a PhD student to explore how Earth's ancient oceans circulated billions of years ago using mathematical modelling, climate physics, and machine learning. The project investigates how nutrients and energy moved through early oceans that were chemically and physically different from today, examining how these ocean-atmosphere systems responded to climate perturbations and supported early life. The research blends fluid dynamics, climate modelling, and geochemistry with modern data-driven machine learning approaches to understand early Earth habitability, biogeochemical cycles, and the emergence of life. Students will develop ocean circulation models, formulate advection-diffusion equations, apply machine learning techniques to ancient rock sequences, and compare predictions with geological proxies. The scholarship supports doctoral students at one of the UK's leading research-intensive universities, where over 88% of research is world-leading or internationally excellent according to REF 2021.

St Leonard's College World-Leading Doctoral Scholarships

The University of St Andrews offers up to six full scholarships funded by St Leonard's Postgraduate College to support exceptional students undertaking doctoral research on topics contributing to the world-leading theme of the University Strategy. The scholarships comprise a full tuition fee award and an annual stipend. St Andrews is one of the leading research-intensive universities in the world, with more than 88% of research carried out rated as world-leading or internationally excellent according to the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021. As a doctoral student, recipients will be part of a vibrant postgraduate community at St Leonard's Postgraduate College, which is at the heart of postgraduate life at St Andrews. Students will have access to comprehensive research skills development through the University's GRADskills programme, which provides academic, professional, and personal development opportunities. The Careers Centre offers dedicated support for postgraduate students to help them identify and achieve their career ambitions. The scholarships support doctoral students in contributing to ground-breaking research across a wide range of disciplines. Doctoral students receive intensive research training in their home School and benefit from being fully supervised and integrated into the research interests of academic staff. Recipients will be expected to submit their thesis for examination by the end of the award period.