QUADRAT

All studentships are funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Please see our funding page for up-to-date figures – these change annually. Funding covers UK Level tuition fees (set by the department), an annual maintenance stipend for living expenses (paid monthly in arrears) and a research training and support grant (known as RTSG) of £9,000 for the duration of your PhD.

Where training is compulsory, most costs will be covered by QUADRAT (some but not all subsistence will be included – variable depending on the training/field course).

We typically offer 20 NERC-funded studentships annually. This breaks down to 5 studentships per partner school. Our funding covers 6 intakes of students in total (120 students total).  

A maximum of 30% of each intake can be allocated to international candidates – in a typical intake of 20 students, this equates to a maximum of 6 places for international candidates. This cap is enforced by NERC/UKRI who fund the QUADRAT DTP.

A ‘competition funded’ project means that we advertise more project titles than there are available studentships. What this means in practice is that we interview for all of the advertised projects, and the strongest candidates are recruited – the strongest candidates therefore dictate which projects are successful.

We do this for inclusivity. By advertising more projects, we offer a really wide variety of PhD opportunities for prospective applicants, therefore giving more candidates the opportunity to apply for a project in the subject area they are interested in, and more candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their strengths.

The alternative model is ‘directly funded’ projects which in practice would mean we choose 20 project titles to advertise. This mechanism excludes strong candidates who do not have an interest in the subject areas advertised.

Studentships are 42 months (3.5 years) or part-time equivalent (min. 50%).  

The PhD studentships can be full of part time. If you are interested in a part time studentship this must be agreed in advance with the QUADRAT DTP Coordinator and the project supervisor. Some projects are more suited to part-time study than others depending on content, so it is important to discuss this with the project supervisor.

Full time: 42 months (3.5 years)

Part time: up to 84 months (7 years)

Student applications must be submitted by TBC for entry in October 2024.

Projects will be listed on the QUADRAT website and on FindaPhD.com. Please see our website for detailed information about how to apply. Remember, you can apply for a maximum of 2 projects. Don’t wait for the deadline, please apply as early as you can.

You must submit the QUADRAT application form and your supporting documents and 2 references. It is your responsibility to ensure all documents are submitted by the relevant deadline. Late and incomplete applications will not be considered.

The QUADRAT application is a single stage process. You are required to complete the QUADRAT application form and submit your supporting documentation. All complete and eligible applications will be reviewed by the project supervisor. If you have any queries about the content of the project, please direct these to the project supervisor.

The DTP is funded by NERC which follows Research Councils UK’s harmonised postgraduate terms and conditions regarding student eligibility. UK and international candidates are eligible to apply. See our website for more details, the important points are quoted below:

To be classed as a Home student, you must:

• be a UK National (meeting residency requirements),
  OR
• have settled status in the UK (meeting residency requirements),
  OR
• have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements),
  OR
• have indefinite leave to remain or enter into the UK

January 2022 update: Republic of Ireland (ROI) candidates will now be considered to have a home fee status for entry in October 2022. Please be advised that the same residency requirements apply provided these candidates have lived either in the UK or ROI for at least 3 consecutive years immediately prior to the start date of the studentship. We cannot yet confirm fee status for ROI candidates beyond the 2022/23 academic year.

If you have further questions regarding eligibility please contact quadrat@abdn.ac.uk.

You must have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least 3 years immediately prior to the start of the studentship (01 October 2022). UK Nationals who have temporarily been abroad to study during this period will still be eligible for home fee status.

Republic of Ireland (ROI) candidates will now be considered to have home fee status for entry in October 2022. Please be advised that the same residency requirements apply provided these candidates have lived either in the UK or ROI for at least 3 consecutive years immediately prior to the start date of the studentship. We cannot yet confirm fee status for ROI candidates beyond the 2022/23 academic year.

Applicants who do not meet the above criteria will be classed as an international fee-paying student.

Yes, you are more than welcome to reapply in a subsequent year.

No, you need a minimum of a bachelor’s degree with honours to apply (or international equivalent) for these studentships. Candidates are expected to achieve a minimum of a 2.1 at undergraduate level and as such, any offer made will be conditional upon you achieving and evidencing this.

Please note that there is strong competition for our studentships and many of the applicants will already have a master’s degree.

No, we do not offer an MRes option or follow the 1+3 model. Our studentships are 3.5 years entirely at PhD level.

You can apply for up to 2 projects, if applying for two projects, please submit 2 separate applications. You will be interviewed for a maximum of 1 project.

All of our projects are advertised on our Find a PhD page and on our website. The word limit on Find a PhD is restricted so you will find additional supplementary information on our website so please make sure you read both adverts carefully before applying.

Yes, you can apply to multiple programmes / funding sources however you can only hold one offer of PhD study.

Students will be registered and based in the institution and school of their lead supervisor.

If a project has a partner organisation, students will have the opportunity to work at the partner sites – the length of which depends on the project and the partner organisation.

Yes, both Aberdeen University and Queen’s University Belfast will accept relevant work experience in place of the required academic requirements. The school PGR administrator will be able to advise regarding these requirements. School contacts can be found here: https://www.quadrat.ac.uk/contact/

Yes, we would always recommend making contact and discussing the project with the supervisor before you apply. The student-supervisor relationship is very important and it is vital that you communicate as much as possible so that you can establish what it would be like to work together for 42 months.

A good place to start is our Find a PhD page and our list of projects. Once you have narrowed down and area of interest, you can contact the project supervisor and discuss the project and your suitability for it in more detail before deciding whether or not to apply.

No – QUADRAT asked instead for a cover letter. This should ideally be 1-1.5 A4 pages in length and should briefly outline your relevant experience and why you think you are a good fit for the project. It should be addressed to the primary supervisor of the project you are applying for.

If you submit 2 applications, please also submit 2 cover letters – these should be project specific and should be addressed to the Primary Supervisor.

You can request or download (from your student portal) a provisional or interim transcript which details all of your courses and grades to date but is still an official document. Please ask your school admin team for information about how to obtain this at your institution. Once your studies are complete we would require a final copy of this document.

An academic CV concentrates on your academic career and work experience which is relevant to your degree discipline. This should include your educational history including relevant modules and projects, internships, placements etc. please keep your CV to a maximum of 2 pages including 2 referee contact details.

There is no clear answer for this – it is very much dependent on the project you are applying for, and the applicant pool in any given year. This will be determined by the supervisory team reviewing your application.

We would recommend you focus on:

• demonstrating your research experience,
• highlighting relevant and transferrable skills (skills can also come from extra-curricular activities as well as from your education e.g. leadership, project management, teamwork),
• internships and placements,
• academic references are very important

Yes, your references should ideally be academic since this gives us the best idea of your suitability for PhD study in this academic subject area. We cannot accept personal or character references. Relevant employment references can be submitted if appropriate academic referees cannot be provided, but they must be relevant to the PhD project you are applying to.

You can either submit these with your application, or ask your referees to send your reference directly to quadrat-admissions@abdn.ac.uk

References should be dated and recent and on institutional letter headed paper – references that have not been written recently may not be accepted.

No, we will not contact your referees – we expect you to submit complete references with your application, not just referee contact details. You need to request a reference from your referee well in advance of the deadline. It is your responsibility to make sure your references have been submitted by the relevant deadline.

You can either submit these with your application, or ask your referees to send your reference directly to quadrat-admissions@abdn.ac.uk

References should be dated and recent and on institutional letter headed paper – references that have not been written recently may not be accepted.

No, we would not be able to accept a reference from the project supervisor themselves. Please seek out alternative referees in this case.

Yes, within reason. QUADRAT funding comes from NERC and UKRI who have a very specific scientific remit. All of our projects must fit with those remits and they go through a rigorous review process before being advertised. Any changes to a project would have to be submitted to QUADRAT and approved by the management board.