PhD studentship opportunity at University of Edinburgh, linked to the new phase of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC).

The School of Social and Political Science (SPS) at the University of Edinburgh is offering a 3-year PhD studentship on ‘Analysing interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity in whole systems energy research’. The studentship will analyse interdisciplinary research practice and outcomes and will be embedded in UKERC’s research programme – providing a unique opportunity to study interdisciplinary energy research ‘in the making’.

This is a fully funded PhD studentship (covering stipend and fees), available to UK/Home fee status applicants only. The application deadline is Thursday 30th January 2025 with a start date of September 2025, or earlier.

The successful applicant will be supervised by Dr Mark Winskel and Dr Jessica Britton.

The aim of this studentship is to analyse interdisciplinary research practice and outcomes in UKERC. Under the supervision of Dr Winskel and Dr Britton, the awardee will be embedded in UKERC5’s evolving whole system research programme – providing a unique opportunity to study interdisciplinary energy research ‘in the making’.

The PhD research will include case studies of interdisciplinary research projects drawn from UKERC’s research portfolio, including the research theme on equity, affordability and economic impacts being led by Dr Britton. Together, the case studies will offer varied combinations of disciplinary diversity, knowledge integration and transdisciplinarity (i.e. the significant involvement of non-academic stakeholders in the research process) (Winskel, 2018). As well as the recently launched Phase 5 programme (2024-29), the cases may also be drawn from the UKERC Phase 4 programme (2019-24).

Alongside detailed empirical analysis of UKERC’s research, the studentship will seek to advance conceptual understanding of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary energy research, and generate useful insights for interdisciplinary research leaders, funders and assessors.

The PhD will entail collaboration with partners across the UKERC consortium and close working with supervisors to define the scope, research questions and methods. A detailed PhD project proposal will be developed after the award of the studentship, reflecting the interests and expertise of the successful candidate, but it is likely to entail the following aspects:

  • Participating in relevant national and international meetings, workshops and conferences, including UKERC general meetings and annual assemblies, and other interdisciplinary research initiatives in the UK. International participation is likely to include events organised by the Global Alliance for Inter- and Trans-disciplinarity (ITD Alliance) and the Sustainability Transitions Research Network (STRN), among others. 
  • Reviewing the international research literature on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and knowledge integration, particularly in energy research
  • Developing a detailed research proposal (including background, research questions, literature review, methods, ethics)
  • Developing and submitting a University of Edinburgh SPS research ethics application 
  • Identifying 4-6 case studies of interdisciplinary research projects from within the UKERC programme. 
  • Applying relevant case study research methods, likely to include document analysis, semi-structured interviews, facilitated group discussions and possibly survey methods.
  • Analysing and writing-up case studies, including qualitative thematic analysis using appropriate software. 
  • Writing and submitting a PhD thesis. Written analysis is also likely to include co-authored papers with supervisors.


For further details and how to apply, see: https://edin.ac/4fXtid7


Informal enquiries can be emailed to: [email protected].