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School of History and Geography

EPA funded PhDs

PhD Position DCU Water Institute | School of History and Geography | Dublin City University 

We invite applications for a PhD fellowship at the School of History and Geography at DCU.

About the project:

‘Catchment communities - an interdisciplinary ecosystem for citizen science’ (Catchment communities) is an EPA-funded project which aims to create a framework - a set of tools and protocols to ensure the success of citizen science projects for water quality monitoring which can be rolled out to a national scale. These tools and protocols will be available to the wider community of researchers who use citizen science methodologies, and can be used as a framework for a National Citizen Science Programme for water monitoring.

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires European countries to monitor water quality on a catchment scale, measuring the biological quality elements, the physio-chemical quality elements, the priority substances and the hydromorphology to give an overall indication of the status of the water bodies within the catchment. If Ireland is to fulfil its obligations under the Water Framework Directive, it needs to engage citizens in the monitoring, reporting and safeguarding of water within catchments, both to fill gaps in reporting, and to involve communities in restoring water quality within catchments. 

As part of the 3rd River Basin Management Plan (RBMP), it is proposed that the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) provide support for the development of a National Citizen Science Programme for the monitoring of water quality (DHLGH, 2021).

Catchment Communities IECS aims to address these gaps to create a framework for a National Citizen Science Programme for water monitoring, which includes protocols and guidelines for effective consultation with communities. The project has interdisciplinarity at its core, with analytical science, anthropology, science communications, hydrology, fluvial geomorphology and citizen science integrated to create a project to develop a framework for a national citizen science programme, which includes parameters to understand and influence community practices and local environmental policy.

More about the position:

The PhD student’s project is expected to fit within the aims and framework of the “Catchment communities” project, and will be focused on developing the citizen science hydromorphology framework. As part of the PhD project, the candidate will develop an integrated CS methodology for the physical characteristics of a river (geomorphology, hydromorphology and including integration of macroinvertebrate monitoring). This will include exploring the integration of CSSI data into a centralised system, and investigate links between CSSI scores and hydromorphology. The project is groundbreaking, as it will involve the first development of a CS methodology for hydromorphology in Ireland, and the development of a training framework for this.

The candidate will form part of a multidisciplinary team, to deliver the objectives of this project. It is desirable to demonstrate strong interdisciplinary and creative thinking, as well as strong field research skills in fluvial geomorphology, and have a knowledge of Irish geomorphology. The candidate should ideally have a clean driving licence.

Residence in the Republic of Ireland, and within commuting distance from Dublin, is expected during the appointment, and it is expected that the post will involve travel to the communities engaging with the project, as well as occasional travel overseas for training and research purposes.

About the School of History and Geography

Dublin City University (DCU) is a leading innovative European University, proud to be one of the world’s leading Young Universities. DCU is known as Ireland’s University of Impact, with a mission to‘transform lives and societies’ and focuses on addressing global challenges in collaboration with keynational and international partners and stakeholders.DCU has over 20,000 students in five faculties spread across three academic campuses in the Glasnevin-Drumcondra area of North Dublin. Thanks to its innovative approach to teaching an learning, the University offers a ‘transformative student experience’ that helps to develop highly sought-after graduates. DCU is currently No. 1 in Ireland for Graduate Employment Rate, and forgraduate income (CSO).

The School of History and Geography is located on DCU’s St Patrick’s Campus in Drumcondra, and is a leading centre of research on Ireland – its geography, history and landscape. The coming together of these subject areas has resulted in a school that is unique in Ireland in its interdisciplinary range and research potential, and is currently home to a lively body of PhD research students.

Candidate skillset: 

The candidate should have a Master’s degree in a relevant field of study with an emphasis on hydrology or fluvial geomorphology.  

Essential requirements include  

  • MA or MSc in geography, environmental science or earth science, with an emphasis on hydrology or fluvial geomorphology
  • Strong field research skills in fluvial geomorphology
  • Knowledge of Irish geomorphology
  • Strong understanding of community engagement
  • Very good GIS skills (ideally using ArcGIS)

The ideal candidate would also have: 

  • Ability to work in a team-based environment
  • Motivated and proactive attitude, willing to take ownership and initiative in all work assignments 
  • Excellent analysis and problem-solving skills. 
  • Ability to produce relevant documentation. 
  • Excellent communication skills, verbal and written (English) 
  • Creative thinking 
  • Clean driving licence and access to vehicle

Informal queries about this position should be sent to Susan.Hegarty@dcu.ie

Application process: 

Interested applicants are requested to submit (in pdf format):

  • A Curriculum Vitae including relevant publications and the name and contact details of at least 2 referees 
  • A cover letter (maximum 2 pages) explaining why you think you would be the best candidate for the position.  

Applications should be emailed to historyandgeography@dcu.ie. Applications should be received by the closing date of 12th June 2025. Only applications submitted using this form will be accepted. Online video interviews will be conducted as part of the process of evaluation, with the provisional date set for 24th June 2025.

This is a 4 year fully funded PhD position, with a PhD scholarship of €25,000 per year. Additionally, PhD fees are paid. Please note that if a student commences later than September 2025, for visa or other reasons, and subsequently enters into Year 5, the fifth year of fees will not be covered.

All scholarship awards are on the condition that you meet DCU entry requirements, that your qualifications are supported by relevant documentation and that you complete an application via the DCU application system.

The successful candidate will be required to apply formally to be admitted as PhD students by the University. They may also need to show proficiency in the English language. 

Please direct any queries to Dr Susan Hegarty (susan.hegarty@dcu.ie).