Urban China (Ref: SSH26-SF-GYE)

About the Project

The Department of Geography and Environment at Loughborough University is the birthplace of the world-leading Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) research network and home to the multi-million pound Centre for Sustainable Transitions: Energy, Environment and Resilience (STEER) and Cities research group.

Placed in the Top 50 in the latest QS World Rankings, the Department of Geography and Environment was ranked 3rd in the UK for research impact and 8th for the excellence of our research environment in the most recent UK Research Excellence Framework.

We lead international research on cities and globalization, accelerating the transition to inclusive, sustainable and resilient systems for cities and regions around the world. We have extensive experience of supervising doctoral research on Urban China and welcome proposals for doctoral research in any area relating to this.

Invitations are invited from PhD candidates with ideas for projects relating to GaWC research featuring the theme of Urban China. This could include topics such as:

• Global cities and city networks in China
• City cluster, megaregions (chéng shì qún) and polycentric urban regions (PURs) in China
• Comparative urban research involving China and Chinese cities
• Urban-rural-regional policy and spatial planning in China (e.g. China’s National Urbanization Plan)
• Urban analytics to solve challenges relating to urban China
• The financialization of urban China
• Geographies of knowledge sharing, business networks and production networks, digital business models and professional mobility in China
• The place of creative and cultural industries in urban China
• Gentrification and studentification in urban China
• Infrastructure development in urban China
• Urban adaptation, climate resilience and environmental governance in urban China
• Governance models and policies supporting just and sustainable urban futures in China
• Planning urban, regional and rural futures in China
• The urbanization of rural China

This PhD project is suited to applicants who are looking to apply for funding via the Loughborough University-China Scholarship Council or who are able to self-fund.

Supervisor

• Prof John Harrison (j.harrison@lboro.ac.uk)

Tuition fees for 2026-27 entry

• UK fee - £5,238 Full-time degree per annum
• International fee - £23,100 Full-time degree per annum

Fees for the 2026-27 academic year apply to projects starting in October 2026, February 2027 and July 2027.

UK tuition fees for 2026/27 are currently to be confirmed pending the release of the UKRI recommended rates. Once published, these rates will be subject to formal approval by the University before being confirmed.

Opportunity Details

• Target Start Date: October 2026
• Full time or part time available.
• Open to UK and international applicants.

How to Apply

We welcome discussions with interested candidates.

• Step 1: Interested applicants should first contact Prof. John Harrison (j.harrison@lboro.ac.uk) to discuss your research interests and funding options.
• Step 2: Applicants are then strongly encouraged to contact potential supervisors with a CV, academic transcripts, and confirmation of funding sources or planned funding sources.
• Step 3: following any informal discussion, applicants are invited to make a formal application on the Loughborough Website.