Key information
- Award
- PhD
- Closing date
- Monday, 5 January 2026
IAPETUS2 will support at least 13 funded postgraduate studentships at one of their partner organisations in 2026.
All doctoral research projects are supervised by mixed teams of world-leading researchers, with members of staff from across our partner organizations involved in each.
Heriot-Watt led studentships are listed below
Please click on the links to find out more about each project. Prospective candidates are encouraged to contact the primary supervisor for more information, if required.
- Assessing the Hydro ecological Impacts of Climate-Driven Extreme Events on UK Rivers
Ref: IAP-24-115
Supervisor: Dr Sandhya Patidar
- Protection of Seabed Carbon in Shelf Sediment
Ref: IAP-25-115
Supervisor: Dr Marija Sciberras
- Investigating the organic matter reactivity continuum in UK Coastal Shelf Seas
Ref: IAP-25-116
Supervisor: Dr Ryan Pereira
- Reactive Fracturing and Carbonation Dynamics in Mafic and Ultramafic Rocks under CO₂ Storage Conditions
Ref: IAP-25-117
Supervisor: Prof. Andreas Busch
- How Earthquakes Become Tsunamis: Investigating Rupture Propagation into Subduction Zone Accretionary Prisms
Ref: IAP-25-118
Supervisor: Dr Alexis Cartwright-Taylor
- Resilient Coastal Communities: Nature-based Solutions to Mitigate Compound Flood Risks
Ref: IAP-25-119
Supervisor: Prof. QingPing Zou
- Sustainability in creel fisheries
Ref: IAP-25-120
Supervisor: Dr Kristine Cerbule
- Designing Resilient Landscapes: Integrating Nature-based Solutions and Flood Defences into Catchments
Ref: IAP-25-121
Supervisor: Dr Ian Pattison
- Sundaland Reimagined: The Reconstruction of a Lost Cenozoic Continent
Ref: IAP-25-122
Supervisor: Dr Amy Gough
Entry requirements
Candidate criteria
All applicants need to meet NERC’s eligibility criteria to be considered for an Iapetus studentship and these are detailed in the current UKRI studentship terms and conditions.
For International Students, UKRI only pay the home fees, so please check with the host organization (University) making the award about their policy on the differential between home and international fees.
Any of our studentships can be part-time if that mode of study is more appropriate for your circumstances. (International students should check the terms of the visa to see if this is possible).
Applicants may only apply to one Iapetus project in any given year. Where applicants submit more than one application, only the final application submitted before the deadline will be considered.
Iapetus is looking for candidates with the following qualities and backgrounds:
- A first or 2:1 undergraduate degree, or have relevant comparable experience – we welcome applications from those with non-traditional routes to PhD study; &
- Potential to carry out excellent research, as demonstrated by individuals with a passion to follow a career pathway in environmental research or applications.
Applications and enquiries
How to Apply
Find out how to apply for 2025/26 studentships.
All prospective students need to complete the online IAPETUS2 form.
Applications must be submitted by Monday 5 January 2026 at 12:00.
Please note: if you are an international applicant, you will need to contact the primary supervisor of your chosen project by no later than Monday 8th December 2025, because only international applicants sponsored by a primary supervisor may apply to Iapetus.
If you are shortlisted you will be contacted by IAPETUS by 30 January 2026 and invited to submit a full application to Heriot Watt.
Funding information
Iapetus postgraduate studentships are tenable for up to 3.5 years and provide the following package of financial support:
- A tax-free maintenance grant set at the UK Research Council’s national rate, which in 2025/26 is £20,780;
- Payment of tuition fees at the Home rate (some of our partners have funding available for the additional fees charged to international students. Please get in touch with the primary supervisor of the project to learn more);
- Access to extensive research support funding; &
- Support for an external placement of up to six months.
Part-time award-holders are funded for seven years and receive a maintenance grant at 50% of the full-time rate.
Why Heriot-Watt
We're the top university in Scotland for graduate outcomes which means that more of our graduates are employed or in postgraduate education than any other institution in the country and we ranked 5th in the UK.
We're also rated number one in the UK for CEO or MD roles, meaning more of our graduates go on to become CEOs or MDs than any other university in the whole of the UK. On top of that, we have beautiful campuses, across the globe, so you'll get a truly international education. Our Edinburgh Campus is home to Oriam, Scotland's National Sports Performance Centre combined with plenty of wellbeing resources, prioritising fitness and mental health for all students. Our Global Research Institutes look at solving real world issues such as climate change and saving our oceans as well as working on the next medical technological breakthrough and the future of AI and robots.