Present
Xiaoxun Qiu, University of Cambridge.
Murray Fallk, University of Cambridge.
Theodore Tallent, Science Po/University of Cambridge.
Past
Zhiwu Wei, University of Cambridge (PhD awarded in 2024). First placement: Leverhulme Fellowship, University of Cambridge. Selected as 2025 RSA Early Career Keynote Speaker, winner of the 2025 RSAI Dissertation Award.
Qiumeng Li, University of Cambridge (PhD awarded in 2024). First placement: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Maire Carroline Magante, GSSI (PhD awarded in 2020).
Paola Proietti, GSSI (PhD awarded in 2019). First placement: European Commission JRC.
Future
I consider supervising potential PhD students with interests very close to my current research agenda.
You can read more about my current research agenda in other sections of this website but, to summarise, it is primarily focused on understanding the links between spatial inequality, politics, and individual behaviour. I am particularly keen on applications addressing spatial inequality from political economy, political science, and psychology perspectives. I work on neither the geography of innovation nor housing, unless these topics are analysed in a way that relates to political geography, spatial inequality and/or identity politics.
Please get in touch with a fully-fledged research proposal, where you clearly outline: (i) the relevance of your proposed topic, (ii) your specific research questions to tackle, (iii) your overall approach to address each of your specific questions, (iv) the data you would use and the specific empirical methods, (v) the feasibility of your idea. Sharing your CV will be good, but PhD applications are ultimately judged on their research potential and feasibility.
I particularly welcome students who seek to combine theoretically-grounded ideas with rigorous empirical analysis. While most of my PhD students have pursued quantitative research, I am also open to supervising projects that use mixed-methods and qualitative research, especially as part of a co-supervisory team. Please however note that I do not have the skills to supervise post-structuralist and purely constructivist approaches to research.
Davide Luca 