Program Overview

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Overview

The interdisciplinary pathway in Sustainable Futures seeks to produce a new generation of researchers who can address the pressing social issues of sustainability in the context of global environmental change.

Sustainability research asks how ecosystems and human wellbeing can be maintained and enhanced in the long term, given rising populations, limited natural resources and a fragile environment. The field, with its clear applied focus and strong strategic future-directed policy implications, has social sciences at its heart.

The programme requires a broad interdisciplinary approach and an understanding of economics, law, the politics and psychology of sustainability, and the geography and demographics of those affected. We therefore deliberately expose students to a broad range of material to help them appreciate and understand interconnected perspectives and to provide them with skills to work effectively across disciplines. We welcome students from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds.

Students will normally be registered in the school of their first supervisor. This may not be the school that processes your application.

Key Information

Programme Duration

• Up to four years full-time; up to eight years part-time.

Start Date

• September 2025

Application Deadline

• The closing date for a September start date is 1 June 2025.

Delivery Method

• On-Campus

Location

• Clifton

Awards Available

• PhD

Programme Structure

PhD students will follow the structure of the School of their primary supervisor and attend any mandatory units as required by this, unless they are exempted from individual units after applying for Recognised Prior Learning. ESRC/SWDTP-students may be required to take additional credits as determined by SWDTP.

World-Leading Research

• 5th: The University of Bristol is ranked fifth for research in the UK (Times Higher Education).
• 94%: 94% of our research assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent.

Entry Requirements

• A minimum of an upper second class honours degree from a social sciences or law discipline, and a master's qualification, achieving at least a merit (or equivalent) with appropriate research training.
• See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website.

Admissions Statement

Read the programme admissions statement for important information on entry requirements, the application process and supporting documents required.

English Language Requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to reach the requirements outlined in our profile level B.

Fees and Funding

Home Students

• Full-time: £4,850 per year
• Part-time: £2,425 per year

Overseas Students

• Full-time: £21,300 per year

Fees are subject to an annual review. For programmes that last longer than one year, please budget for up to an 8% increase in fees each year.

Alumni Discount

University of Bristol students and graduates can benefit from a 25% reduction in tuition fees for postgraduate study. Check your eligibility for an alumni discount.

Funding and Scholarships

The Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences has an allocation of MSc/MRes + PhD and PhD only ESRC scholarships. The PhD in Sustainable Futures falls under the SWDTP pathway "Climate Change, Sustainability and Society" and the PhD can be combined with MSc/MRes degrees under this pathway within the Faculty. The length of these scholarships will be dependent on training needs and can vary, with the shortest generally being 3 years 6 months (for PhD only).

Career Prospects

The PhD in Sustainable Futures offers useful preparation for related careers in the public, private or civic sectors, as well as in academia.

Meet Our Supervisors

The following list shows potential supervisors for this programme. Visit their profiles for details of their research and expertise.

• Professor Foluke Adebisi
• Professor Rutvica Andrijasevic
• Professor Jonathan Beaverstock
• Dr Oscar Berglund
• Professor Lois Bibbings
• Dr Assaf Bondy
• Mr Matthew Burton
• Professor Patrick Capps
• Dr Jiaxi Chen
• Professor John Coggon
• Professor Stuart Cooper
• Dr Katie Cruz
• Dr Christian Delev
• Dr Alix Dietzel
• Dr Ashley Dodsworth
• Dr Sebnem Eroglu-Hawksworth
• Professor David M Evans
• Dr Eldin Fahmy
• Professor Alberto Franco
• Professor Clair Gammage
• Dr Patricia Gaya
• Professor Aisha K Gill
• Dr Dan Godshaw
• Professor David Gordon
• Dr Tigist Grieve
• Dr Tracy Helliwell
• Dr Eleanore Hickman
• Professor Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne
• Professor Paul Howard-Jones
• Dr Ilias Ioannou
• Dr Vaclav Janecek
• Dr Eva Janeckova
• Dr Esther Kang
• Professor Gernot Klantschnig
• Professor Adriana Korczak
• Dr Rachael Lamb
• Dr Bai Li
• Dr Ming Luo
• Dr Anita Mangan
• Professor Greg Messenger
• Dr Jule Mulder
• Professor Rachel Murray
• Professor Daniel Neyland
• Dr Jack Nicholls
• Professor Tonia Novitz
• Dr Dan O'Hare
• Professor Chukwumerije Okereke
• Dr Temitope Onifade
• Dr Jessica Paddock
• Dr Joshua Paine
• Mr Francisco Palma Carvajal
• Dr Hannah Parrott
• Dr Marii Paskov
• Dr Caryn Peiffer
• Dr Roxana Pessoa Cavalcanti
• Professor Gavin Phillipson
• Professor Margherita Pieraccini
• Dr Katharina Richter
• Miss Caoimhe Ring
• Dr Sahar Shah
• Dr Robert Sharples
• Ann Singleton
• Dr Jonatan Sodergren
• Professor Dale Southerton
• Dr Fiona Spotswood
• Dr Nikolaos Stylos
• Dr Clare Torrible
• Dr Trivik Verma
• Dr Katherine Wade
• Dr Nicola Warren-Lee
• Dr Lucy Wenham
• Dr Thomas West
• Dr Sarah Zaghloul
• Dr Liyi Zheng

Research Groups

The pathway draws on expertise from the schools, institutes and research centres at the Universities of Bristol, Bath, Exeter and The University of the West of England (UWE).

University of Bristol

• University of Bristol Law School and its research Centre for Environmental Law and Sustainability
• School for Policy Studies
• Global Insecurities Centre
• The Cabot Institute (which draws together environmental research from across the University).

University of Bath

• Department of Psychology
• Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment
• Water Innovation and Research Centre
• Centre for Research in Education and the Environment
• Centre for the Analysis of Social Policy.

University of Exeter

• Human Geography
  • Climate and Society
  • Energy Policy
  • Governance, Ethics and Social Justice
• Law
• Centre for Energy and the Environment
• Centre for Rural Policy Research
• Climate Change and Sustainable Futures research theme.

The University of the West of England

• Centre for Transport and Society
• Centre for Sustainable Planning and Environments
• WHO Collaborating Centre for Healthy Urban Environments.

Key Research Interests

You will have two supervisors from different disciplinary perspectives. Your supervisors convene joint meetings regularly and attend an annual one-day workshop for all pathway students.