Current PhD opportunities

PhD studentships

We have 3 openings for a fully funded PhD studentship in our school (Open-Oxford-Cambridge DTP, ILESLA, Faculty Funded studentship). Each application process is different. Please see below for details on each opportunity. 

Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP

Applications are invited for a fully-funded Collaborative Doctoral Award at The Open University, in partnership with British Taekwondo.

Exploring women’s experiential narratives in martial arts and combat sports

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BBSRC-NERC funded ‘Interdisciplinary Life and Environmental Science Landscape Award’ (ILESLA) PhD studentship opportunities 

The Open University has partnered with University of Oxford (lead university), Oxford Brookes University, The Pirbright Institute, Diamond Light Source, and ISIS Neutron and Muon Source to launch the BBSRC-NERC funded Interdisciplinary Life and Environmental Science Landscape Award (ILESLA). This ambitious doctoral training programme will prepare a new generation of creative, collaborative, and entrepreneurial researchers who are equipped to meet the complex, cross-disciplinary challenges the world faces.  

The primary aim of ILESLA is to cultivate researchers capable of developing innovative solutions to challenges in and at the intersection of biological and environmental sciences, focusing on five interconnected themes: 

• Climate and Earth; Advancing understanding of climate and earth systems. 
• Biodiversity and Sustainability; Sustainable approaches to support food, feed and energy security, manufacturing and biodiversity. 
• Animal and Human Health; Innovative approaches to understand and support animal and human health. 
• Rules of Life; Frontier science addressing fundamental questions about biological organisms and ecosystems. 
• Transformative Technologies; Development of tools and technologies underpinning biological and environmental research. 

You can view a full list of research topics within each theme here

This exciting award is expected to fund at least ten new PhD students at The Open University, across five intakes (2025 – 2029) and to fund students registered at the University of Oxford or Oxford Brookes University who will be co-supervised by researchers at The Open University. Recruitment will be annual.

If you wish to conduct your PhD work primarily at The Open University, you should apply following the procedure outlined here.

The application deadline for October 2025 entry is Wednesday 29th January 2025 at 12:00 midday UK time.

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STEM FACULTY-FUNDED STUDENTSHIP

Computational modelling of the interactions between therapeutics and metals in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases