On 23 April 2025, Rowan Stanley English successfully defended his PhD with the title 'The North Sea, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean: Using ivory to reveal long-distance trade networks in the early medieval period'.

The assessment committee, comprising of Dr. Sarah Croix (Aarhus University), Prof. James Gerrard (Archaeology Newcastle University), and Prof. Duncan Sayer (University of Central Lancashire), recommended to the PhD school of the Faculty of Arts to award Rowan with the PhD degree.