Assessing the skill of early warnings signals for climate tipping points, PhD (ARIA Funded) Ref: 5514

Supervisors

Primary Supervisor - Dr Chris Boulton

Secondary Supervisors - Prof Tim Lenton, Dr Paul Ritchie

This is a 3.5 year PhD studentship that will focus on advancing the methods for early warning detection of tipping points in climate systems, with a strong focus on the collapse of the Subpolar Gyre in the North Atlantic ocean.

An ideal candidate will have a first degree with a strong background in mathematical and statistical methods and/or climate change, with an interest in working within an interdisciplinary team. The project will involve the use of Machine Learning and as such the ideal candidate will have at least a desire to learn these techniques. The studentship is funded as part of work package 2 of the AdvanTip project.

The project aims to achieve a breakthrough in early warning of tipping points by leveraging progress in theory, AI and physical understanding. As such you will work within a highly interdisciplinary team of researchers in the Global Systems Institute at Exeter along with teams at a number of external partners within the UK and Europe.

The studentship will be awarded on the basis of merit. Students who pay international tuition fees are eligible to apply, but should note that the award will only provide payment for part of the international tuition fee (~£24k) and no stipend.   

International applicants need to be aware that they will have to cover the cost of their student visa, healthcare surcharge and other costs of moving to the UK to do a PhD.

The conditions for eligibility of home fees status are complex and you will need to seek advice if you have moved to or from the UK (or Republic of Ireland) within the past 3 years or have applied for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.  

The collaboration involves a project partner who is providing funding [and other material support to the project], this means there are special terms that apply to the project, these will be discussed with Candidates at Interview and fully set out in the offer letter.  The collaboration with the named project partner is subject to contract.  Please note full details of the project partner’s contribution and involvement with the project is still to be confirmed and may change during the course of contract negotiations.  Full details will be confirmed at offer stage. 

Entry requirements

Applicants for this studentship must have obtained, or be about to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class UK Honours degree, or the equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK, in an appropriate area of Climate Science.

If English is not your first language you will need to meet the English language requirements and provide proof of proficiency. Click here for more information.

How to apply

Apply now

To apply, please click the ‘Apply Now’ button above. In the application process you will be asked to upload several documents •            CV

•            Letter of application (outlining your academic interests, prior research experience and reasons for wishing to undertake the project).

•            Research proposal

•            Transcript(s) giving full details of subjects studied and grades/marks obtained (this should be an interim transcript if you are still studying)

•            Two references from referees familiar with your academic work. If your referees prefer, they can email the reference direct to PGRApplicants@exeter.ac.uk quoting the studentship reference number.

•            If you are not a national of a majority English-speaking country you will need to submit evidence of your proficiency in English.

The closing date for applications is midnight on 17^th April 2025.  Interviews will be held virtually in the week commencing 28^th April 2025.

All application documents must be submitted in English. Certified translated copies of academic qualifications must also be provided.

Please quote reference 5514 on your application and in any correspondence about this studentship.

Summary