Sustainability

At Newcastle, we have a range of scientists, engineers, medical scientists and social scientists who are at the forefront of research that addresses some of the key sustainability issues facing the world today. Led by the Newcastle Institute for Research on Sustainability (NIReS) under the banner ‘enough, for all, forever’, the role of the institute is to bring together leading experts to deliver practical solutions to global problems such as future energy needs, water management, food security and protection for the environment.

The Institute is committed to promoting and supporting collaborative research and works directly with a diverse range of partners including global organisations and businesses, national and local government, research-based companies and non-governmental organisations. Our researchers and academics are actively leading the transformation of Newcastle into one of the world’s most sustainable urban centres.

Returning society to within sustainable limits will require a collective global effort. However, given the complexity of technology, the intricacies of modern society and the reality of human nature, the task is undeniably a challenging one. Our role as a University, as a leader of creative thinking and technology, is to grasp this challenge and endeavour to find solutions and actions with profound and lasting impacts.

Based in academic units across campus, this work focuses on finding and delivering real-world, achievable solutions to some of the most significant challenges facing mankind. Already recognised as a major centre for research into sustainable science and technology, projects such as the deep geothermal borehole in the heart of Newcastle’s City Centre and the launch of a full-scale anaerobic digester at the University’s Cockle Park Farm are just two of the home-grown projects that have put us firmly on the international map.

As a postgraduate student at Newcastle studying in a sustainability-related subject, you have an exciting opportunity to be part of this transformation and for your studies to benefit from the international scientific and technological advances being made both within the region and across the global sustainability spectrum. At Master’s level we offer a full range of programmes and many of our courses can either be taken full time in one year, or as a range of flexible part-time modules that can fit around the schedules of professionals who are already working in industry.

A number of our Masters’ programmes cover a range of sustainability-related subjects and are taught in collaboration with academic units across campus.

We can supervise MPhil and PhD projects across the University in topics from our main areas of research, which include: marine, terrestrial, water, energy, transport, food, products and processes, health and environment, justice and governance, and urban and rural economy. As a research student you will have a dedicated supervisory team who will provide advice and guidance throughout your studies. You will also participate in a comprehensive research training and development programme.

Depending on your chosen topic, your research may include industrial placements, or time at other universities in Europe or other continents.

We receive funding for a limited number of PhD studentships and these opportunities can be found on our funding database when they become available.

Postgraduate degrees in this subject area: