ERC SEACHANGE Synergy Project
The Department of Archaeology is inviting applications for a three-year funded PhD studentship to commence from January 2025. For eligible students the studentship will cover Home fees plus an annual tax-free stipend of £19237 per year of full-time study.
This studentship is part of the European Research Council (ERC) funded Synergy project ‘SEACHANGE: Quantifying the impact of major cultural transitions on marine ecosystem functioning and biodiversity’ (2020-2027).
SEACHANGE aims to quantify the impacts on marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning across major Holocene cultural transitions using novel and conventional proxies from marine sediment sequences, bivalve mollusc sclerochronologies and archaeological midden remains.
This studentship will focus on the application of compounds specific isotopes to amino acids extracted from human, terrestrial animal and fish remains from coastal sites in Southern Brazil. The main aim is to evaluate human diet and animal ecology across the region as a result of changes in indigenous Brazilian culture prior to western influence, and as a result of western colonial influence after AD 1500.
You will develop new approaches to reconstruct past ecologies based on stable isotope analysis of collagen extracted from osseous remains from a range of sites across the study region. Many of the collagen samples are already in-hand and held by the partner organisation in Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) as part of the TRADITION ERC project. You will work within the BioArCh research centre using the isotope facilities with support from the local technical team. There will be opportunities to spend short secondments at the UAB working with Andre Colonese and liaising with stakeholders in Brazil.
- The award will cover funding for a home tuition fee and a stipend until completion of the SEACHANGE project on the 30/09/2027. The shortfall (3 months) will need to be funded separately.
- The award pays tuition fees up to the value of the full-time home UKRI rate for PhD degrees. Research Councils UK Indicative Fee Level for 2024/2025 is £4,786
- The award pays full maintenance for all students both home and international students. The UKRI National Minimum Doctoral Stipend for 2024/2025 is £19,237
- The student’s analytical and travel costs will be covered by the SEACHANGE project until the end of the project on 30/09/2027.
- The successful candidate will be expected to join the SEACHANGE team and participate in network events including international travel.
Open to International (including EU) and UK (home) students.
Open to students in the Department of Archaeology.
Open to International (including EU) and UK (home) students.
Open to students in the Department of Archaeology.
This studentship is open to both Home and International applicants.
To be classed as a home student, candidates must meet the following criteria:
- Be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or
- Have settled status, or
- Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
- Have indefinite leave to remain or enter
Further guidance can be found here.
International students are eligible to receive the full award for maintenance, as are home students. They themselves will need to pay the difference between what the project provides to the university for tuition and the charge made by the university for tuition fees for international students studying for a doctoral degree in Archaeology. This difference for 2024/25 is £17,414 per year.
Application deadline: Monday 2 December 2024, 5pm GMT
You'll complete an online application for a PhD in Archaeology. In your project proposal, you should prepare a statement which includes:
- A short outline of relevant literature - circa 200 words
- A short statement of how you will respond to the project brief (including some ideas around methods, your approach to the collections and how you will use it to address the research questions) - circa 500 words
- A project timeline, in the form of a Gantt chart or similar
Interviews will take place online shortly after the deadline has closed.
For further information about this project, please Oliver Craig (oliver.craig@york.ac.uk)