Key information:
- Grade: University of Edinburgh grade 03 (pro rata salary based on £23,414 per annuum), paid monthly
- Contract: Full time, fixed term (35 hours per week for 6-8 weeks, depending on project), including annual leave, which must be taken during the placement.
- Timing: Placements will take place during the summer vacation period (16th June - 29th August 2025)
- Location: In and around Edinburgh (see individual project details for more information). Students must be physically located in the UK for the entire placement. There are no additional funds available for relocation.
- Final report - Students will be required to complete an online report at the end of the placement.
- Projects - 11 projects available. Applicants may apply for one project only.
Eligibility criteria
To apply, you must:
- Be enrolled in your first undergraduate degree (including integrated Masters) at a UK Higher Education Institution, studying any science discipline. Students in any year of study (including first year) are eligible.
- Note: Final-year students are only eligible if they will still hold student status at the start of the placement. If you graduate during the placement, you are still eligible, provided you were enrolled at the start.
- Be eligible for future NERC PhD funding. This includes:
- UK citizens who have lived in the UK for at least the past 3 years
- EU citizens with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
- Non-EU citizens with Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)
- International or EU students already studying in the UK on a Tier 4 or Student Route visa, valid at least until September 2025.
Important notes regarding eligibility of international students not in the UK
REPs do not meet the requirements for visa sponsorship. Therefore, international students not currently living and studying in the UK or without an appropriate UK visa are not eligible.
Application Process
Application deadline: Wednesday 14th May 2025 (midnight)
Submit the following by email to: Please submit the following documents by email to: e5dtp.info@ed.ac.uk
- A Cover letter outlining your motivation and clearly stating which project you are applying for (you may apply for one project only)
- A recent CV
- Reference from your Personal Tutor, Advisor, or another suitable person. This can be emailed separately by the referee if preferred to e5dtp.info@ed.ac.uk
- An interim academic transcript, if available
- Equality and Diversity Monitoring form (mandatory)
- Optional: Widening Participation (WP) Form if you identify as being from an under-represented group and would like this to be considered
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Widening Participation
Through the REPs scheme, NERC aims to address both demographic and diversity-related challenges in the environmental sciences, as well as specific skills gaps.
Applicants from under-represented groups are encouraged to complete the optional WP form. WP forms are reviewed only by the REP panel and not shared with project supervisors.
The REP panel may choose to prioritise applicants from under-represented groups, in line with NERC guidance.
All applicants must complete the Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form to support our reporting obligations to NERC. This form is not used in the selection process.
Selection Process
- Eligibility Check: All applications are screened for eligibility and completeness.
- Supervisor Shortlisting: Supervisors review eligible applications and may nominate up to three candidates per project (WP and EDI forms are not shared with them).
- Panel Review: The REP panel evaluates shortlisted candidates in a single pool, using the following criteria:
- Academic performance
- Fit to project
- Demonstrated interest in environmental science
The panel will also consider WP forms where provided.
The top four ranked candidates will be offered placements (or the next-highest ranked applicants where there is overlap). A reserve list will be maintained.
Successful applicants and project supervisors will be notified by 2nd June 2025. The earliest placements will begin 16th June 2025.
Available Projects
You can view the full list of available projects below. Please read each description carefully, particularly the person specification. If you have questions about a specific project, feel free to contact the named supervisor.
| Number | Project title | Primary supervisor | Link to Job Description |
| 1 | What makes a parasite superspreader? | Amy Pedersen School of Biological Sciences | Project 1 |
| 2 | How do diet and development affect individual startle response of frog Xenopus tropicalis? | Patrick Walsh School of Biological Sciences | Project 02 |
| 3 | What can honey bees tell us about heavy metal pollution? A lab and desk-based research project. | James Watt School of GeoSciences | Project 03 |
| 4 | The Highland Boundary Fault: conducting geophysical fieldwork and developing outreach materials to better understand this important geological boundary | Karen Lythgoe School of GeoSciences | Project 04 |
| 5 | Understanding the role of plant traits in the recovery and restoration of disturbed Southeast Asian forests | Lindsay F Banin UKCEH | Project 05 |
| 6 | Scots pine resilience to abiotic stress | Annika Perry UKCEH | Project 06 |
| 7 | Changes in atmospheric nitrogen deposition in the UK between 1960 and 2020 | Yuanlin Wang UKCEH | Project 07 |
| 8 | What happened in the core in 2010? | Frederik Dahl Madsen School of GeoSciences | Project 08 |
| 9 | Investigating the cytotoxicity of nanoplastics on bacterial populations under varied exposure conditions using fluorescence-based techniques | Santiago Romero-Vargas Castrillon School of Engineering | Project 09 |
| 10 | Influence of glacier inventories on area coverage, ice thickness and volume estimates in Antarctic Peripheral Glaciers and Ice caps | Beatriz Recinos Rivas School of GeoSciences | Project 10 |
| 11 | Generating the first 3D of the rooting system of the fossil plant Rhynia gwynne-vaughanii and their relationship with mineral soils. | Alexander Hetherington School of Biological Sciences | Project 11 |
Contact: for general queries, please email e5dtp.info@ed.ac.uk