Global Methane Politics

One full home scholarship on methane politics is available in the School of Politics and International Studies in 2026/27. This scholarship covers home fees plus maintenance matching UKRI rates.<br /> <br /> This fully funded PhD position provides an exciting opportunity to pursue research on international climate politics, as part of an international and interdisciplinary team working on the politics of methane emissions and methane emissions reduction efforts. The scholarship is open to applications relating to any aspect of methane politics.

<p>We are offering one fully-funded PhD scholarship in the School of Politics and International Studies, starting 1 October 2026. The scholarship is for 3.5 years, and will cover UK home tuition fees plus a maintenance stipend matching UKRI rates (£21,805 in 2026/27), subject to satisfactory progress.We are offering one fully-funded PhD scholarship in the School of Politics and International Studies, starting 1 October 2026. The scholarship is for 3.5 years, and will cover UK home tuition fees plus a maintenance stipend matching UKRI rates (£21,805 in 2026/27), subject to satisfactory progress.</p> <p>The successful candidate will join and become an integral part of the Global Methane Politics project (METHPOL), a five-year European Research Council-funded project led by <a href="https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/politics/staff/2557/professor-jan-selby">Professor Jan Selby</a> in the School of Politics and International Studies at Leeds. The overall objectives of this project are to contribute to global climate change research and practice by exploring 1) the distinctive political dynamics and challenges associated with methane emissions and methane emission reduction efforts; and 2) why methane emissions are proving so hard to control, despite their acknowledged importance as a short-term climate forcer and the abundance of low-cost technical mitigation solutions. The project will involve research across all the major methane emitting sectors – including livestock, oil and gas, solid waste, coal, and wastewater – and in more than a dozen countries spanning global North and South, and every continent. The project adopts a broadly political ecology theoretical approach, and will involve research at many different scales, from international policy arenas right down to the level of individual mines, farms and treatment plants where methane is emitted and governed in practice. The project will principally make use of qualitative methods, especially documentary analysis, interviews and observations.</p> <p>Within this overall context, this scholarship is open to proposals relating to any aspect of methane politics. Proposals may:</p> <ul> <li>Focus on any of the project’s five core sectors (livestock, oil and gas, solid waste, coal, and wastewater), or on other important sources of methane emissions (e.g. rice farming), or may be cross-sectoral in approach.</li> <li>Relate to any particular country (or countries) and any particular scale(s).</li> <li>Employ any theoretical or methodological approach, so long as broadly compatible with the overall aims of the METHPOL project.</li> </ul> <p>The successful candidate will be embedded in a dynamic interdisciplinary team in Leeds’ School of Politics and International Studies, and will play a key role in designing and delivering the METHPOL project. They will be inducted into the project alongside other members of the project team (the PI, three post-doctoral research fellows, one other PhD researcher, and project administrator) during the first year of their PhD studies, including through training and group learning on the technical aspects of methane emissions and their mitigation. With support from their supervisors and other members of the project team, they will then design PhD projects which are original but also compatible with the overall approach of the METHPOL project. They will undertake extensive primary research (including, where appropriate to the candidate’s project, extensive international fieldwork), which will be fully covered by project funds. They will collaborate, both during and after completing their fieldwork, with other team members to compare across sites, scales and sectors, and to explore the broader implications of these sectoral and comparative findings for global methane and climate research and practice.</p> <p>The successful candidate will be included in decision-making about the strategic direction of the project, and will have opportunities to lead particular elements of it. They will attend national and international conferences, fully covered by project funds; will co-author project publications; and will engage widely with policymaker and practitioner communities. In addition, the successful candidate will be able to join the <a href="https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/politics">School of Politics and International Studies’</a> large Climate Politics Group, as well as the <a href="https://climate.leeds.ac.uk/">Priestley Centre for Climate Futures,</a> Leeds’ cross-university centre for research on climate change; and other cross-university research groups, as appropriate to their project (e.g. <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/energy">Energy Leeds</a>, or the<a href="https://eps.leeds.ac.uk/civil-engineering-water-public-health-environmental-engineering"> WASH and climate team</a> in the School of Civil Engineering).</p> <p>The successful candidate will have a strong interest in climate and environmental politics. They will also likely have studied Politics, International Relations, Geography, Environmental Studies or a cognate social science discipline at undergraduate and/or masters level.</p> <p>The PhD project will be lead-supervised by Jan Selby, as the project’s Principal investigator. The successful candidate will also be allocated a secondary supervisor – who will be decided after the selection process has been completed.</p> <p>Anthropogenic methane emissions are both a hugely important aspect of the climate crisis, and under-studied. This PhD scholarship represents a fantastic opportunity to do cutting-edge research on them, as part of a collective endeavour that could have very significant research and policy implications.</p> <p><strong>Selection Process</strong></p> <ul> <li>Applications will be evaluated on academic merit, and a shortlist of candidates will be produced for each PhD position. Shortlisted candidates will then be invited to an online interview (to take place during late April or early May 2026). </li> <li>Decisions will be made after the interviews, on the basis of the written application plus interview performance. </li> <li>Selection will be made on the basis of the following criteria:</li> </ul> <ol type="a"> <li>Academic record, experience and potential; </li> <li>Any relevant non-academic experience; </li> <li>The quality of the applicant’s proposed approach to their PhD project;</li> <li>The applicant’s skills and competences (in theory, methods, language skills, etc.) for undertaking their proposed research;</li> <li>The fit between the applicant’s proposal and the overall aims of the METHPOL project; and</li> <li>The ability to work both independently, and as part of a team.</li> </ol> <p><strong>Other Conditions</strong></p> <ul> <li>Candidates who have previously been awarded a PhD or are currently registered on a PhD are excluded from applying. Those who were previously studying for a PhD but did not complete may be considered.</li> <li>Awards must be taken up by 1 October 2026.</li> <li>Applicants must live within a reasonable distance of the University of Leeds whilst in receipt of this scholarship.</li> <li>Please be aware that any expenses related to the relocation of international students to the UK (visa, insurance, NHS fees, flights, etc) would be their responsibility and is not covered by this award</li> </ul>

<p>To apply for this project you will need to make a formal application for research degree study through the University's website. You will need to create a login ID with a username and PIN.</p> <ul> <li>For ‘Application type’ please select ‘Research Degrees – Research Postgraduate’.</li> <li>The admission year for this project is 2026/2027 Academic Year.</li> <li>You will need to select your ‘Planned Course of Study’ from a drop-down menu. For this project, scroll down and select ‘PhD Politics and International Studies Full-time’</li> <li>The project start date for this project is 1 October 2026, please use this as your Proposed Start Date of Research.</li> <li>Please state clearly in the research information section that the research degree you wish to be considered for is ‘Global Methane Politics’ as well as Professor Jan Selby as your proposed supervisor.</li> <li>You are required to provide a personal statement outlining your proposal for a PhD project on some aspect of methane politics, which should include information about 1) your proposed substantive focus, research questions and/or hypotheses; 2) your proposed theoretical and/or methodological approach; 3) the countries and/or sites which you propose to make the focus of your PhD project; and 4) how your skills and experiences make you well-suited to undertaking the proposed research. This personal statement should be a maximum of 3 pages in length.</li> </ul> <p>Please note that, as this scholarship funding is alligned with a specific project, candidates are not required to include a research proposal as part of their application.</p> <p>More information on how to apply is available on our website <a href="http://www.leeds.ac.uk/research-applying/doc/applying-research-degrees">here.</a></p> <p>You will also need to provide the following documents:</p> <ul> <li>certificates and transcripts of any academic qualifications</li> <li>English language qualification certificates, if applicable</li> <li>a copy of your CV </li> <li>visa and immigration documents, if applicable</li> <li>If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence that you meet the University's minimum English language requirements (below).</li> </ul> <p>As an international research-intensive university, we welcome students from all walks of life and from across the world. We foster an inclusive environment where all can flourish and prosper, and we are proud of our strong commitment to student education. Across all Faculties we are dedicated to diversifying our community and we welcome the unique contributions that individuals can bring, and particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to Black, Asian, people who belong to a minority ethnic community, people who identify as LGBT+ and people with disabilities. Applicants will always be selected based on merit and ability.</p>

Applicants to research degree programmes should normally have at least a first class or an upper second class British Bachelors Honours degree (or equivalent) in an appropriate discipline. The criteria for entry for some research degrees may be higher, for example, several faculties, also require a Masters degree. Applicants are advised to check with the relevant School prior to making an application. Applicants who are uncertain about the requirements for a particular research degree are advised to contact the School or Graduate School prior to making an application.

The minimum English language entry requirement for research postgraduate research study is an IELTS of 6.5 overall with at least 6.0 in each component (reading, writing, listening and speaking) or equivalent. The test must be dated within two years of the start date of the course in order to be valid. Some schools and faculties have a higher requirement.

<p>For further information please contact the Admissions Office: <a href="mailto:applypgr.socialsciences@leeds.ac.uk?subject=Global%20Methane%20Politics%20Project">applypgr.socialsciences@leeds.ac.uk</a></p>