[Funding for 3.5 years, stipend (£20,780 p.a) and international fees via Horizon Europe, Synergy grant 'Ecological Archaeologies of the Afrotropics (EcoArch)', project 101224871.]

The University of Reading invites applications for a fully funded PhD studentship in Environmental Science, focusing on vegetation-fire interactions in Africa during the Holocene. This interdisciplinary project aims to reconstruct vegetation and wildfire regimes across the African continent over the past 12,000 years, leveraging the increasing availability of pollen and charcoal data and advances in reconstruction techniques. The research will analyse the causes of observed changes and assess the relative importance of climate change and human activities as drivers on different timescales.

The successful candidate will join the SPECIAL group, an interdisciplinary research team within Geography and Environmental Science at the University of Reading. The PhD is funded through the Horizon Europe Synergy grant for the project 'Ecological Archaeologies of the Afrotropics (EcoArch)', providing a stipend of £20,780 per annum and covering international fees for 3.5 years. The student will have opportunities to collaborate with project partners at the University of Oslo, Penn State University, and research centres across Africa, and may participate in EcoArch fieldwork activities.

This computationally based project is ideal for students with a strong background in environmental science or a closely related discipline, who possess well-developed quantitative and programming skills (R, Python), familiarity with palaeoenvironmental data, and an interest in environmental modelling to address real-world challenges. Applicants should hold at least a UK Upper Second (2:1) bachelor’s degree or equivalent, or a master’s degree in environmental sciences or a related field. The position is open to students worldwide.

To apply, candidates should use the provided application link, create an account, and quote the reference ‘DRC26-007’ in the ‘Scholarships applied for’ box within the Funding Section of the online application. If prompted for a research proposal, simply paste the project title. The application deadline is March 15, 2026, with an envisaged start date in May 2026. For further enquiries, contact Dr. Sandy P. Harrison at [email protected]. Successful candidates will receive a formal studentship award letter, subject to standard eligibility checks.