Lancaster Environment Centre

Application Procedure

If you would like to apply to one of our Postgraduate Programmes then please use the Postgraduate Online Application Service. However if you are applying to a Funded PhD or Masters by Research please apply as per the instructions on the relevant advert and read the section on Funded PhD and Masters by Research below.

Along with the completed application form you will need to submit the following before we can consider your application:

• Transcripts and certificates of your first degree and any relevant courses that you have completed. If you have not yet completed your undergraduate degree, please enclose a transcript of studies to date.
• Two references.
• For those for whom English is not their first language, applicants should also enclose copies of any English language test results (IELTS (Overall 6.5, with 6 in each component), TOEFL (IBT 93), Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (C) or a recent English GCSE (C)) and an English translation (if applicable) of degree transcripts and certificates.
• We also recommend that you complete the personnel statement section of the application form as it will help us understand why you wish to study your chosen course. For example, please include why you are applying to that course, what you hope to gain from it and how it will be of benefit to you in the future and any other relevant information.
• Current Lancaster University students may use our Fast Track application route on the MyLancaster admissions portal; these applicants will not need to provide their Lancaster degree transcript and only need to provide the name of one referee.

Masters by Research (MSc-R) and PhD

Funded Applications

Please note the application procedure for the majority of Funded PhDs and Masters By Research is not via the postgraduate online application service, but make sure you check the application details of the relevant PhD advert before applying.

Instead please send a CV and a covering letter outlining your background and suitability for the project, along with two references (download the reference form) to Andy Harrod, Lancaster Environment Centre, Postgraduate Admissions.

It is important and helpful that you ensure references are submitted by the relevant closing date or as soon as possible afterwards.

Self funded Applications

Self funded applications can be made at anytime of the year for a Masters by Research or PhD.

Applicants for a Masters by Research or PhD require a 2:1 or above or a 2:2 and a Masters (or equivalent) in an appropriate subject. Students with a less conventional background will be considered, particularly with relevant work experience.

For self funded applications you need to provide a research proposal and a copy of your CV. If you do not have a research proposal please submit a personal statement detailing your research expertise and experience, area(s) of research interest and other relevant information. It will greatly speed your application if you specify with whom you would like to work with.

Your research proposal should include the following:

• What research area are you interested in (e.g. ecology, bioremediation, climatology, human geography).
• Which research question(s) interest you specifically (e.g. what is the impact of climate change on butterfly distributions?).
• Who within the Lancaster Environment Centre appears to best qualified to supervise your Masters by Research or PhD?
• What methods do you envisage using in your studies (e.g. field studies in Guatamala; LC-MS analysis of hormones; mathematical models of volcano eruptions).
• What hypotheses do you envisage testing (e.g. soil phosphorus levels limit the spatial distribution of conifers in New Zealand; VOCs exhibit diurnal patterns).
• Plus other information you think might be relevant.