PhD, Master’s & Postdoc Opportunities in Earth Science in New Zealand

NIWA offers recurring postdoctoral fellowships that support its research programmes and give early career researchers the chance to lead a major research project in a defined area of science. Fellows work under the guidance of a senior scientist while also contributing to other research and consulting projects, gaining broader experience across NIWA’s science and applied research environment. The programme is designed for researchers who want to apply their expertise to practical questions in Ne...

Fully funded PhD position in Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, starting in March 2027. The thesis will investigate decision support for emergency fuel supply in New Zealand. The project will model post-disaster diesel supply disruptions and evaluate potential interventions, contributing to research on natural hazards, supply chain resilience and emergency logistics. The doctoral researcher will use network analysis, optimisation modelling and simu...

PhD opportunity at The University of Auckland in Civil Engineering , with a focus on natural hazards , risk assessment , resilience , geospatial analysis , and vulnerability modelling. The project will develop vulnerability models for primary production land and assets , addressing how natural hazards can damage buildings, infrastructure, and productive land. The post notes that the supervisor’s main interests include water-related hazards such as flooding and tsunamis , while the wider supervis...

Fully funded PhD opportunity at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, in community-led natural hazard resilience in indigenous landscapes . This project sits within the Natural Hazards and Resilience Platform (Te Pae Tūroa) and is a strong fit for students interested in environmental science, geography, earth science, law, urban planning, disaster resilience, climate adaptation , and community-engaged research. Eligibility highlights: a master's degree in Law, Policy and Planning, Disaster ...

Postdoctoral opportunity in plant physiology , electronic engineering , and mathematics at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand. Professor Sebastian Leuzinger shared that a postdoc is now available in his group for a highly interdisciplinary, “very blue sky” research project. The role is framed as a Research Fellow position and appears to sit at the intersection of plant ecology, global change science, and engineering/mathematical approaches. This is a strong fit for candidates who c...

Fully funded PhD opportunity at the University of Canterbury in natural hazard resilience , Indigenous landscapes , Māori-led community resilience , climate adaptation , policy and planning , and law . The project is hosted at UC Civil and Environmental Engineering and is funded by the Natural Hazards and Resilience Platform Te Pae Tūroa. The PhD topic is Holistic community-led natural hazard resilience in Indigenous landscapes . It focuses on Māori communities whose ancestral territories are ad...

PhD opportunity at the University of Waikato, New Zealand in Building Resilient Coasts: Long-Term Dynamics of Nature-Based Solutions . This project focuses on the long-term evolution of coastal nature-based solutions (NbS) for reducing hazards such as storm surge, flooding, and erosion, while also considering ecological co-benefits. The research sits at the intersection of Earth Science , Environmental Science , Civil Engineering , and modelling-based coastal research, with possible emphasis on ...