Studentships

Funded PhD studentships

We are excited to share a PhD studentship opportunity with our UHI Partner, Institute for Biodiversity and Freshwater Conservation (IBFC), UHI Inverness. 

From Demography to Decision-Making: Developing an Integrated Population Modelling Framework for Scottish Red Deer

Scotland is undergoing rapid landscape transformation driven by ambitious landscape restoration and biodiversity recovery efforts under the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and Climate Change Plan. Sustained woodland expansion is a central pillar of this transformation, with commitments of up to 18,000 hectares of woodland creation per year in order to support the economy, mitigate against climate change, promote health and well-being, and preserve biodiversity. However, high numbers of native red and roe deer limit natural forest regeneration and undermine restoration and replanting efforts. Consequently, explicit targets are in place to increase the national deer cull by 25-30% and achieve average densities of 5-8 deer per km2. Simultaneously, red deer remain economically and culturally significant, supporting rural livelihoods, and is also the most abundant of the two native species of deer in Scotland. This creates a heterogeneous landscape of management objectives that may lead to sink-source dynamics among neighbouring areas. Reconciling competing interests while delivering forest expansion requires a mechanistic understanding of deer population demography, and of how their survival, productivity, and movement respond to management and to landscape context.

Progress against national targets is currently assessed through aerial surveys over open ground and aggregated culling returns. Aerial surveys provide valuable population snapshots. However, they operate on a rotational basis, producing temporally discontinuous and spatially asynchronous data, limiting our ability to study deer population dynamics. Additionally, these surveys are time-consuming and costly and may be phased out in favour of impact-based indicators. Similarly, aggregated culling data obscures the spatial and habitat-specific demographic processes that underpin these dynamics. Therefore, a robust monitoring strategy that enables a more detailed understanding of deer population dynamics needs to consider complementary methods.

This project proposes a PhD programme with a strong quantitative focus that will be centred around three main objectives:

• Leverage existing data archives on deer populations in Scotland, expand them with targeted surveys with an emphasis on forested landscapes, and work towards a spatially structured Integrated Population Model (IPM) to estimate population size alongside key demographic parameters of survival, productivity, and dispersal, and investigate how these vary across landscapes to identify possible sink-source patterns.
• Quantify the relationship between deer removal effort and deer abundance using hierarchical removal models, informed by semi-structured interviews and spatial culling records from focal case-study estates, to enable evidence-based allocation of culling effort relative to management targets.
• Integrate woodland expansion scenarios within the IPM to forecast deer population trajectories under changing habitat conditions and identify thresholds at which culling intensity can be relaxed while maintaining density targets, facilitating reconciliation of competing landscape interests. By integrating long-term, spatially explicit datasets, and habitat-specific surveys within a unified modelling approach, this project will strengthen the evidence base underpinning land-use decision making and environmental governance.

Student Profile

The project is suited to a highly motivated student with a strong quantitative background in ecology, environmental science, or a related discipline. The candidate should have experience with statistical modelling and programming and be enthusiastic about further developing these skills. Willingness to work outdoors, including under challenging weather conditions, and to engage meaningfully with stakeholders and practitioners will be important. Strong written and verbal communication skills, alongside a collaborative and professional mindset, will be essential for working in an applied research context.

This PhD studentship is currently undergoing internal selection. The nominated candidate and project will subsequently compete for funding. If successful, the studentship is fully funded for 3.5 years at the UKRI national rate, including a tax-free stipend (£20,780 pa in 2025/26) paid in monthly instalment, Home rate tuition fees, and a Research Training Support Grant of £1,000 per year. Part-time study is available.

*This opportunity is not open to applicants who require a student route visa. 

Application Deadline: 27th February 2026

Contact Cristian Navarro Waggershauser (Cristian.Waggershauser.ic@uhi.ac.uk) as soon as possible if interested to apply. 

Why UHI?

Spread across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, our distinctive partnership of independent colleges and research institutions is locally based and rooted in communities, but with national and international reach and significance.

Our innovative approach to learning and distinctive research is enriched and inspired by the people, natural environment, economy, culture and heritage of the Highlands and Islands.

Nearly three quarters of the research we submitted for assessment to the UK-wide 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) achieved the two top grades: world leading (4*) and internationally excellent (3*) and situated UHI as one of the UK’s leading modern universities, with an excellent environment for PhD level study.

Our students are exposed to cutting-edge thinking and work alongside world-class researchers. You will be part of a growing postgraduate research student community, guided by subject experts, building knowledge and skills, in a supportive and collaborative research environment.

More information about Research at UHI. 

ECOWILD Studentships

UHI are excited to share these exciting ECOWILD studentships for 2026/27. 

Deadline for applications: January 2026

• Preventing Peatland Stressors – assessing and addressing deer and climate change impacts on peatlands
• Blurring the edges: assessing impacts from the spread of non-native conifers on birds, plants and hydrology in Scottish open blanket bog habitat mosaics
• River’s Edge: Using eDNA to Unravel Multi-Stressor Impacts and Guide Riparian Wetland Restoration
• Birds as Vectors of Plastics, Heavy Metals, and Pesticides in Scottish Wetlands
• Can we predict future climate and compound-stressors for intertidal habitats?

Self-funded opportunities

• Taking ‘forever’ out of ‘forever chemicals’ using biosolid biochar: A ‘circular economy’ approach for more sustainable wastewater treatment

• Threatened Archaeological Heritage in Scottish Island Contexts: Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Strategies

We are still welcoming applications from self-funded students who are interested in pursuing postgraduate research across a wide range of disciplines. If you are considering self-funded study, we encourage you to explore our research areas and connect with potential supervisors to discuss your ideas.

For guidance on how to apply and support available for self-funded students, please visit our Postgraduate Research Admissions page.

For inquiries, please contact us at: gradresearch@uhi.ac.uk

MRes Scholarship

We are excited to share a MRes scholarship opportunity with our UHI Partner, UHI Inverness. 

BARKSHIELD project (applied social sciences / forestry)

Funded MRes project:  Perceptions of adaptation to European Bark Beetle (Ips typographus) outbreaks and post-disturbance management and action by the forestry sector in the UK

Scholarship amount:  MRes home student tuition fees + £1,775 for fieldwork expenses (Total funded amount: £6781). 

Programme: MRes Nature, Landscapes and Society at UHI Inverness

Closing date: March 3, 2026

Interviews: March 12, 2026

*This opportunity is not open to applicants who require a student route visa. 

Project overview

This MRes is part of a larger project funded by Velux Stiftung, “Optimising post-bark beetle disturbance management to promote forest biodiversity and recovery under climate change” (BARKSHIELD).  By integrating both existing and new data, the BARKSHIELD project advances societal readiness for inevitable future outbreaks and optimises strategies for post-bark beetle disturbance management. The MRes works within Work Package 4, which engages with social science methodologies to address stakeholder perceptions about post-disturbance forest management. The UK as a case study is a living example of areas under impending threat of Ips and an industry that could be irrecoverably changed if the main commercial species of Sitka spruce (Picea stitchensis) is widely impacted. Knock-on effects could be felt for decades and across the supply chain.

Within this predominantly social science orientated project there will be the scope and latitude to employ additional skills to create a mixed methods approach that could involve ecological, economic or modelling approaches alongside the main social science element. The project aims to use a combination of expert and land manager interviews, surveys and workshops to develop insights to inform potential action plans and contingencies that can help managers and the forestry sector adapt and prevent continual outbreaks in the coming decades.

The MRes will also have the advantage of linking up with the European and American partners to give greater context, connection and scope to the study – using the project partnership as a route for knowledge exchange and lessons learnt.

The selected candidate will have the opportunity to participate in an in-person knowledge-transfer event organized within the BARKSHIELD project, to be held in Switzerland in early 2027 in connection with the Swiss Forest Lab Science Day. Travel, accommodation, and participation costs will be fully covered.

Essential qualifications, skills and competencies

• Minimum of 2:1 honours degree in social sciences, forestry, or related area
• Keen interest/experience in forest management
• Prior training and/or experience in social research methods
• Familiarity with relevant policy frameworks and guidelines related to forest management
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with ability to communicate sensitively with diverse stakeholders
• Able to undertake independent research and to communicate this research comprehensively and accurately

How to apply? 

Email your application to PGRRecruitment.ic@uhi.ac.uk by 11:59pm UTC on March 3, 2025.  In the subject heading of your email, please include “BARKSHIELD Scholarship Application”

Your application should include: 

• A short cover letter explaining why you are interested in this research project and your suitability for this role
• Your CV. You are also welcome to include a sample of related work.

Suitable candidates will be invited for interview on the afternoon of March 12, 2026.

If you would like more information about this opportunity, please contact Euan Bowditch at euan.bowditch@cfwet.org or Sarah Wagner at sarah.wagner.ic@uhi.ac.uk

Why study with us?

UHI Inverness is one of the largest partners of the University of the Highlands and Islands, a partnership of 12 colleges and research institutions comprising Scotland’s newest university.  UHI Inverness is at the heart of the community. Working closely with businesses and stakeholders, our curriculum and research capacity is designed to meet the ever-evolving needs of industry and support the strengths and ambitions of the region. The Centre for Living Sustainability situated at Inverness Campus aims to amplify the voices of marginalised people in communities across the Highlands and Islands and internationally. It takes an interdisciplinary and creative approach to research and innovation to understand complexity, change and uncertainty.