JUST: Justice-Based Sustainability Transformations

We are offering a fully funded PhD scholarship in the Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment for one UK candidate in 2025. This 3.5 year scholarship covers UK tuition fees plus a maintenance stipend matching UKRI (£20,780 in 2025/26) per year, subject to satisfactory progress. The position is available from 1st October, 2025. <br /> <br /> This PhD is affiliated to the JUST (Joined-Up Sustainability Transformations) Centre, a new multi-University consortium which brings together the Universities of Leeds, Lancaster, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle with partners in the policy, innovation, business, local government, community and voluntary sectors. JUST seeks to accelerate a just transition through coordinating research into action at all levels of society, to understand what works, where, why, and for whom. This PhD offers an exciting opportunity to join the Leeds-based team of JUST researchers and to collaborate with the wider JUST network, as well as other University of Leeds researchers working on climate justice and related topics.

<p style="margin-bottom:11px">The <a href="https://www.sci.manchester.ac.uk/research/projects/joined-up-sustainability-transformations/">Centre for Joined-Up Sustainability Transformations</a> (JUST) aims to generate innovative, place-based strategies that move communities toward a fairer and democratically renewed low carbon future. JUST will work with communities and organisations in what are often termed “left behind” regions of the North of England to co-produce strategies to both meet climate ambitions and tackle problems caused by socio-economic inequality.</p> <p>This PhD position will be contributing to the overarching research aim of the research centre: to examine what could work to facilitate the development and implementation of joined-up interventions for a just transition to low carbon living. More specifically, your work will contribute to Leeds team’s research by looking at how readiness for Net Zero differs across people and places in the UK and which challenges households, places, and economies encounter in the transition to low-carbon living are most urgent, shared, and transformative.</p> <p>The interdisciplinary research team at Leeds offers the opportunity for a PhD candidate to engage in mixed methods analysis of just transitions to Net Zero. Applicants are encouraged to identify specific research questions, methods and interests within the wider scope of the JUST project identified above. The project will ideally involve both quantitative and qualitative research components though prior experience in both of these is not essential.</p> <p>Project activities may include (though are not restricted to): (1) quantitative analysis of place- and people-based readiness for Net Zero within a specific area in the UK; this may be a practical application of ongoing work at Leeds with the Leeds-based Quantitative team that aims to produce a typology of readiness for Net Zero based on a number of spatial datasets using multivariate regression analysis for panel data; (2) qualitative research into low carbon transitions alongside the Leeds-based Place team based on inclusive, innovative and creative qualitative research methods to engage local communities. There is scope for the applicants to develop their own research focus within these broader activities.</p> <p>The applicant will have an aptitude for quantitative and/or qualitative data analysis and an interest in climate justice and inequality in the context of the United Kingdom. There is a mixed methods component to the JUST research, and we will also offer training in the methods needed to undertake the research. More importantly, we are looking for an applicant who values interdisciplinary and justice-focused approaches to address complex multi-faceted questions.</p> <p>The Leeds-based research team work closely with the other Universities in the Centre (University of Manchester, University of Liverpool etc) and there is an opportunity to network and work directly with them as part of you PhD programme. The core supervision team includes <a href="https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/see/staff/2625/dr-diana-ivanova">Dr. Diana Ivanova</a>, <a href="https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/see/staff/914/dr-pepa-ambrosio-albala">Dr. Pepa Ambrosio Albala</a>, and <a href="https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/see/staff/1567/dr-harriet-thew">Dr. Harriet Thew</a> based at the <a href="https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/sustainability-research-institute">Sustainability Research Institute</a> at the School of Earth and Environment.</p> <p>If you are interested in applying, please contact Dr Diana Ivanova (<a href="mailto:d.ivanova@leeds.ac.uk">d.ivanova@leeds.ac.uk</a>) to arrange a time to have an informal discussion. </p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Below are examples of more relevant publications from the supervisory and Leeds-based JUST team.</p> <p><strong>References</strong></p> <ul> <li>Championing sustainable transformations in the north of England: University of Leeds <a href="https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/faculty/news/article/5841/championing-sustainable-transformations-in-the-north-of-england">press release</a></li> <li>Middlemiss L, Snell C, Morrison E, et al. Conceptualising socially inclusive environmental policy: a just transition to Net Zero. Social Policy and Society. 2023; 22 (4) :<a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/social-policy-and-society/article/conceptualising-socially-inclusive-environmental-policy-a-just-transition-to-net-zero/79A2CC32D129D07ACE4B5C29461C36C3">763-783</a>.</li> <li>Ivanova D, Middlemiss L. Characterizing the energy use of disabled people in the European Union towards inclusion in the energy transition. Nature Energy. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-021-00932-4">https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-021-00932-4</a></li> <li>Hayes T, Walker C, Parsons K, Arya D, Bowman B, Germaine C, Lock R, Langford S, Peacock S and Thew H, 2023. In it together! Cultivating space for intergenerational dialogue, empathy and hope in a climate of uncertainty. Children's Geographies, 21(5), <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14733285.2022.2121915">pp.803-818</a>.</li> <li>Dyer J, Middlemiss L, and Thew H, 2021. Towards just and inclusive community sustainability initiatives: learning from the Mixed Ability movement. justice spatiale-spatial justice, (<a href="https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/177371/">16</a>).</li> <li>Middlemiss L, Ambrosio Albala P, Emmel N, Gillard R, Gilbertson J, Hargreaves T, et al. Energy Research & Social Science 2019 Vol. 55 Pages <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629618310004?via%3Dihub">227-235</a></li> <li>Ambrosio Albala P, Middlemiss L, Owen A, et al (2020). From rational to relational: how energy poor households engage with the British retail energy market. Energy Research and Social Science. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629620303406">101765</a></li> </ul>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px">To apply for this project you will need to make a formal application for research degree study through the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/research-applying/doc/applying-research-degrees">University's website</a>. 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 2025/2026 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 Earth and Environment Full-time’.</li> <li>The project start date for this project is 1 October 2025, please use this as your Proposed Start Date of Research.</li> <li><strong>Please state clearly in the research information section that the research degree you wish to be considered for is<em> JUST: Justice-Based Sustainability Transformations</em> as well as <a href="https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/see/staff/2625/dr-diana-ivanova">Dr. Diana Ivanova</a>, <a href="https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/see/staff/914/dr-pepa-ambrosio-albala">Dr. Pepa Ambrosio Albala</a>,<a href="https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/see/staff/1567/dr-harriet-thew"> Dr. Harriet Thew</a> as your proposed supervisor.</strong></li> </ul> <p>More information on how to apply is available on our website <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/research-applying/doc/applying-research-degrees">here</a>. You will be required to provide a personal statement which outlines your interest in the project you are applying for, why you have chosen it and how your skills map onto the requirements of the project. </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> </ul> <p>If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence that you meet the University's minimum English language requirements (below).</p> <p><em>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.</em></p>

The minimum entry requirements for PhD study is a 2.1 honours Bachelor degree, or equivalent, in a subject relating to your proposed area of research, or a good performance in a Master’s level course in a relevant subject.<br /> <br /> Applicants who are uncertain about the requirements for a particular research degree are advised to contact the PGR Admissions Team prior to making an application.<br />

The minimum English language entry requirement for postgraduate research study in the School of Earth and Environment is an IELTS of 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 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.

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><strong>Information about the Award</strong></p> <ul> <li>We are offering 1 full-time PhD scholarship in the School of Earth and Environment for one UK candidate, covering a maintenance grant matching UKRI maintenance stipend (£20,780 in 2025/26) and UK tuition fees for 3.5 years, subject to satisfactory progress. </li> <li> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">If you are unsure whether you are eligible for UK fees/funding, please see our <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/undergraduate-fees/doc/fee-assessment">fee assessment page</a>.</p> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Duration of the Award</strong></p> <ul> <li>Full-time (3.5 years). The award will be made for one year in the first instance and renewable for a further period of up to two and a half years, subject to satisfactory academic progress.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Other Conditions</strong></p> <ul> <li>Applicants must not have already been awarded or be currently studying for a doctoral degree.</li> <li>Awards must be taken up by 1st October 2025.</li> <li>Applicants will be expected to be available for meetings and fieldwork in Leeds.</li> </ul>

<p>For further information please contact the Postgraduate Research Admissions Team by emailing <a href="mailto:ENV-PGR@leeds.ac.uk">ENV-PGR@leeds.ac.uk</a> or Dr Diana Ivanova (<a href="mailto:d.ivanova@leeds.ac.uk">d.ivanova@leeds.ac.uk</a>).</p>