The UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is recruiting 1,200 PhD students in environmental sciences. Grants of about £82,000 (US$130,000) will be paid over 3 or 4 years from 2014, as part of a £100-million government investment. Students will train with businesses, policy-makers or non-profit groups that might offer use of facilities or specialist training, or provide volunteer thesis examiners. One-third of recipients will conduct non-academic research, which could include working for an oil and gas company to find environmentally sustainable ways to extract resources, says Kirsty Grainger, NERC's head of skills and careers. “The student gets first-hand experience in the real world,” she says.