PhD in Political Economy of Production and Consumption Transformations at University of Leeds
University of Leeds is advertising a
fully funded PhD scholarship
in the
Political Economy of Production and Consumption Transformations
within the
Sustainability Research Institute
, School of Earth and Environment. The project sits in the
Production and Consumption Transformations (PACT) Centre
, funded by UK Research and Innovation and the UK Government Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
This PhD is designed for a student interested in
ecological economics, political economy, governance, public policy, sociology, human geography, environmental studies, sustainability science
, and related fields. The research will examine how production-consumption chains can be transformed to support climate goals, social-ecological goals, and a just transition. Possible topics include sectoral dynamics, actors and coalitions, institutional arrangements, industrial strategy, and policy levers that bridge production and consumption.
The project may focus on a specific sector such as construction or automotive, and it explores structural conditions including regulation, economic governance, geopolitical and geoeconomic shifts, capital dynamics, and social norms. The scholarship also offers an opportunity to spend up to six months on secondment at DESNZ.
Supervision is by
Richard Bärnthaler
,
Sam Betts-Davies
, and
Charlie Dannreuther
. Richard and Sam are based in the Sustainability Research Institute, while Charlie is based in the School of Politics and International Studies. The post encourages applicants to contact Richard Bärnthaler for questions.
Eligibility: applicants should normally hold at least a
first-class or upper second-class UK Bachelor’s Honours degree
or equivalent in an appropriate discipline; some research degrees may require a Master’s degree. International applicants must meet the University’s English language requirement, stated as
IELTS 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in each component
or equivalent.
Funding: the scholarship is
fully funded
for one
UK-status candidate
and covers UK tuition fees. The post explicitly notes that the opportunity is available only to UK residents due to funding restrictions.
Deadline:
30 June 2026
. Start date:
1 October 2026
. Applications should be submitted online through the University of Leeds research degree application portal, with the project title and proposed supervisor clearly stated in the research information section.
