Newcastle University

Geography MPhil; PhD

MPhil: minimum 12 months full time; minimum 24 months part time
PhD: minimum 36 months full time; minimum 72 months part time

Fees

Fees per academic year 2013-14

UK and EU: full time £4,320 (Social Science/Science) part time £2,160 (Social Science/Science)
International: full time £14,180 (Science); £10,840 (Social Science) part time fees

More information is available about tuition fees and discounts.

Research Areas

MPhil/PhD supervision is offered in both human and physical geography. Research is centred in the following five research clusters:

Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
Aims to deliver world-leading research at the frontiers of knowledge relating to the Earth's surface and the processes that form its structure and drive its function. Our key research themes cover water landscapes, cold regions and tectonically-active environments, geoarchaeology and sustainability, and in all these we study the causes of, and responses to, environmental change over a range of spatial and time scales.  (Dr A Large, Professor A Russell, Dr S Juggins, Dr A S Meriaux, Dr D Passmore).

Quaternary Research Group
Focuses on two related aspects of Quaternary global change: 1) Past changes in the Earth's climate system using a range of palaeoclimatic proxies and 2) Palaeoenvironmental change including palaeoceanography, palaeohydrology and anthropogenic changes. (Professor T Nakagawa, Dr E Pearson, Dr E McClymont, Professor Tony Stevenson, Dr S Juggins, Professor D Maddy, Dr D Passmore, Dr Hiro Yamazaki).

Economic Geographies
Theoretically-informed and politically-engaged research on the production, forms, experiences and impacts of uneven geographies of commodities, people, finance, knowledge and technology. The cluster includes much of the work in the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies, a designated University Research Centre formed in 1977. (Professor T Champion, Professor M Coombes, Dr S Dawley, Professor A Gillespie, Professor J Goddard, Dr A Hughes, Professor N Laurie, Professor N Marshall, Professor A Pike, Professor J Pollard, Mr R Richardson, Professor A Stenning, Professor J Tomaney).

Power, Space, Politics
Our research focuses on the expression of political power across space. We do this at a range of scales, from the international and national to the individual, and with reference to a range of global contexts. Our work is methodologically innovative, and we draw on ethnographic, discourse analytic, participatory and visual methodologies which enable grounded, empirically-informed reflections on the multiple ways in which concepts of power, space and politics intersect. (Dr P Hopkins, Dr A Jeffrey, Professor N Laurie, Dr K Manzo, Professor A Bonnett, Dr N Megoran, Dr A Williams, Professor R Woodward; Dr J Pugh). 

Geographies of Social Change
Explores and extends an applied, critical understanding of cities and urbanism. Ideas about identity, families and households, health, welfare and care, infrastructures and community run through our research and these lead us to connect with issues of gender, race, ethnicity and migration, youth, religion, class, social size and generation. (Professor A Bonnett, Professor T Champion, Professor M Coombes, Dr P Hopkins, Dr H Jarvis, Professor N Laurie, Professor A Nayak, Professor A Stenning, Dr S Tate, Dr J Pugh).

MPhil in Physical Geography

This programme involves advanced study and research into a specific area of physical geography research. You will undertake fieldwork or lab-based research in a specific topic such as: flood impacts on natural and human systems; fluvial geomorphology and sedimentology; glacial outburst floods; glacial geomorphology; volcano-ice interactions; tectonic geomorphology; geoarcheology; past changes in the Earth’s climate system and palaeoenvironmental change (including palaeoceanography, palaeolimnology palaeohydrology and anthropogenic changes). Newcastle physical geographers have active research programmes in countries including UK, Greenland, Iceland, Patagonia, Turkey, USA, Tibet and Japan.

Many of the research opportunities in Geography are interdisciplinary and we are keen to encourage supervision across subject areas. For example there are opportunities for joint supervision with Latin American researchers in the School of Modern Languages.

For more information about staff specialisms please see the School's website.

Research Degree Training and Skills Development

Human Geography is a pathway within the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) North East Doctoral Training Centre. Students can apply for 1+3 (Research Training MA degree plus PhD) or +3 (PhD) grants through this scheme.

We participate in a Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty training programme for research students. This covers quantitative and qualitative research methods, the organisation of PhD research, and library, information and writing skills. We also offer a Science, Agriculture and Engineering Faculty training programme for physical geography students covering fieldwork, scientific research and writing, methods and data analysis.

All students have opportunities to participate in postgraduate research seminars and conferences and many have opportunities to get involved in laboratory demonstrations and other teaching support work. Postgraduate research is conducted in co-operation with a variety of international and national bodies as well as other universities.