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Doctoral Student Training Programme

In 2017, DurhamARCTIC received a major grant from the Leverhulme Trust to support the Interdisciplinary Understanding for a Changing Arctic Doctoral Student Training Programme (Leverhulme grant DS-2017-070). Between 2018 and 2023, the DurhamARCTIC Doctoral Student Training Programme has supported 15 doctoral students at Durham University, each of whom pursued a research project that contributes to and benefits from a blend of disciplinary expertise and interdisciplinary enquiry. 

DurhamARCTIC students with Leverhulme Trust funding were enrolled in department-based doctoral programmes and received the benefits normally provided to fund doctoral students in their respective department (office / lab space, membership in research clusters, access to university professional development resources, etc.). In addition, during their three years of support, DurhamARCTIC students received a number of additional benefits, including: 

  • Cross-disciplinary supervision (every DurhamARCTIC student's supervision committee included one member of academic staff from outside one's home department) 
  • A funded three-month placement at a relevant Arctic institution 
  • Dedicated funds for research expenses and conference attendance 
  • Two conferences (spring/summer schools) featuring prominent keynote speakers, postgraduate involvement from outside Durham, and workshops incorporating interdisciplinary collaborative exercises that has lead to the development of  publications 
  • Interdisciplinary colloquia featuring student research presentations, guest speakers (from Durham and beyond), field trips, and other events 
  • Automatic enrolment in Ustinov College, Durham's dedicated postgraduate-only college 

Students entered the programme in three cohorts, beginning in 20182019, and 2020. 

Funding from the Leverhulme Trust concluded in December 2023. Therefore, DurhamARCTIC is no longer recruiting students for the Interdisciplinary Understanding for a Changing Arctic Doctoral Student Training Programme.