Joining the lab
Opportunities to work with the Dynamic Peatlands lab at NTU.
Undergraduates
The Final Year Project (FYP), Environmental Earth Systems Science Research course (ES3008) and Undergraduate Research Experience on Campus (URECA) programmes allow you to gain course credits through a research project in the lab. Please email Alex Cobb (alexander.cobb@ntu.edu.sg) if you are interested. Work Study Scheme (WSS) jobs may also be available.PhD scholarships
Peatland morphology, hydrology and land change
Are you fascinated by how peatlands form and how they are impacted by changes in drainage networks? By how peatland growth unfolds in space and time? Do you want to apply insights about hydrogeomorphic processes in wetlands to halt or reverse greenhouse gas emissions in these vital ecosystems?
Alex Cobb’s lab in the Asian School of the Environment at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore is seeking two motivated candidates who would like to pursue a PhD in morphology, hydrology, land change or carbon balance and dynamics of peatlands.
Benefits
- Students are funded for the four-year duration of their PhD.
- Funding is also available for field work and conferences.
- The Asian School of the Environment is a dynamic and growing school that integrates earth and environmental life science, ecology, engineering and technology, humanities, and the social sciences to address environmental challenges.
- Our research training environment features some of the most advanced environmental research infrastructure in Southeast Asia.
- Nanyang Technological University is a large (>35,000 student) university with offerings across the sciences and humanities that is ranked 12th globally in the QS World University Rankings, and 1st amongst the world’s best young universities.
- Singapore is a modern and vibrant multicultural city-state within easy traveling distance of the fascinating ecosystems of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
- Our group forms partnerships with other academics, NGOs, and private industry to develop opportunities for real-world impact and a future career.
Apply
Candidates from all backgrounds and geographic regions are encouraged to apply. Please email Alex Cobb (alexander.cobb@ntu.edu.sg) with a CV and a brief cover letter describing what you hope to get out of your PhD, your relevant skills and experience, and how your interests are a good fit to our group.Timeline
Applications to the Asian School of the Environment PhD programme for August 2026 are due by 31 January 2025, or, for intake in January 2027, by 31 July 2026. Further details on the admissions process are provided in the NTU Research Programmes Admission Guide and the ASE Phd programme overview.Other opportunities
Additional PhD scholarships are available at NTU: the NTU Office for Graduate Admissions maintains a list of Graduate Scholarships, and the Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme offers scholarships as well.Master by Research
ASE now offers a Master by Research degree. If you are interested in a research project in the lab in fulfilment of the degree, please email Alex Cobb (alexander.cobb@ntu.edu.sg) with a CV and a brief cover letter describing what you hope to get out of the Master by Research programme, your relevant skills and experience, and how your interests are a good fit to our group. Applications to the programme for August 2026 are due by 31 January 2025, or, for intake in January 2027, by 31 July 2026.Postdocs
There are several competitive funding sources available to pursue a postdoctoral position in the lab:- NTU Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship
- NTU Institute of Science and Technology for Humanity Postdoctoral Fellowship
- NTU School of Social Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship: Requires a collaborator from the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
- The Wallenberg Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowships at NTU Singapore: Open to early-career scientists with degrees from Swedish universities.
- SG Academies ASEAN Fellowship Program: For ASEAN researchers to conduct postdoctoral research in a Singaporean research institute.