Course summary

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2024). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas. The EcoWild NERC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) programme has been designed to deliver the next generation of innovative researchers and conservationists needed to protect some of the Earth’s most vulnerable and valuable ecosystems. Multiple stressors, such as climatic extremes and chemical pollution, are driving biodiversity declines. Wetlands and fringing ecosystems are exceptionally biodiverse, critical for combating the climate emergency and essential for enhancing community resilience to extreme weather events such as storms and floods. These ecosystems are among the most threatened globally, impacted by multiple environmental stressors. However, our understanding of these impacts is limited, thereby hindering conservation and restoration efforts, and impeding their potential as nature-based and bioengineered solutions. EcoWild Doctoral research projects will address these knowledge gaps. EcoWild is a unique partnership, led by Heriot-Watt University, that brings together research expertise and innovation across various fields including environmental toxicology, ecology, multiple stressor theory and modelling, wetland conservation and restoration, socioeconomics, community engagement, management and governance; and involves some of the leading UK experts in these fields. Full research themes and details of the partnership can be found on the EcoWild website (For links see Further information and enquiries). Projects based at Oxford will be in the Department of Biology and you will have a co-supervisor from one of the other academic partners (Heriot-Watt University, University of York, University of the Highlands and Islands, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) and a co-supervisor from a non-academic partner (such as Natural England, the Freshwater Biological Association, Scottish Government Marine and Fisheries). Each year you will also receive world class taught training in multi-stressor science and wetland ecology in a mix of in-person cohort-building events and online training. The training is enriched through the active involvement of our associated partners, who contribute to the design and delivery of the programme, organise challenge events, and offer secondments and internships. This provides students with valuable real world experience in addressing environmental problems and working in a professional environment. In addition to specialised training, EcoWild students will attend careers events and established workshops, including for data management, time management, leadership, writing skills and viva preparation, aligning with the Vitae Research Development Framework. As a doctoral student, your primary focus will be your research and the majority of your time will, therefore, be spent in independent self-directed research and will involve a mixture of experimental, computational and observational activities. You will be part of a vibrant educational research community that includes an active set of doctoral student-led events, seminars and workshops. The Department of Biology has a friendly graduate community which provides a welcoming network to new students. The graduate student community offers a supportive environment, both social and scientific, allowing new graduates to develop into well- rounded and confident scientists.