SCRI has a thriving postgraduate study programme which offers a broad range of training opportunities for students from across the UK and around the world. The primary aim of postgraduate training is to equip the individual with a wide range of modern scientific skills whilst developing technical and intellectual competence that can be applied in a range of scientific careers.

The unique research environment at SCRI covers the full scope of plant and environmental studies from fundamental to more applied aspects. The research therefore has an impact on the academic science base, commercial companies and policy makers. The breadth of research enables postgraduate students to be exposed to a broad range of plant, crop and environmental science which helps to place their own more focussed research into context.

Delivery of postgraduate training and personal development is monitored and supported to ensure that each individual student achieves the highest standards of intellectual flexibility, whilst presenting a comprehensive range of scientific and transferable skills demanded of today’s trained scientists.

Applications

PhD Studentships at SCRI and the University of Dundee Division of Plant Sciences, based at SCRI, are advertised on FindAPhD.com. Look for details on FindAPhD.com.

University links

Students at SCRI are registered at a number of UK universities depending on sources of funding and the necessary scientific skills and knowledge of university supervisors. However a significant proportion is locally registered at the University of Dundee with whom SCRI has established a partnership. The University of Dundee Division of Plant Sciences is located on the SCRI campus.

The relationship with the University of Dundee also includes a special arrangement whereby all postgraduate students at SCRI, independent of the university where they are registered, have access to and can use the facilities available at the University of Dundee, including English language tuition, training courses, library, scientific facilities and counselling.

MRes course

A new one year MRes course, Crops for the Future, based on the established partnership between the Scottish Crop Research Institute and the University of Dundee, College of Life Sciences is being offered for students who intend to make a research career in crop plants.

It would particularly suit students who intend careers in the breeding, pathology and biotechnology of crop plants, including environmentally friendly methods of controlling crop pests. It would be an excellent background for entry to PhD research in most aspects of crop science.

The course is based on 11 taught course units, together with a series of case studies where particular course aspects are covered from a detailed practical viewpoint. In addition to contemporary crop science, there will be a strong emphasis on aspects of ecology and environmental biology relevant to sustainable agriculture in the 21st Century.

Teaching will be delivered by our international leaders in this scientific area and our colleagues in industry and other institutions. The course places considerable emphasis on training in research skills and is thus fundamentally different from an MSc, where the object is to primarily increase the student’s knowledge. Therefore, a key component of our course is a full-time research project for the last four months of the course in a top research laboratory at our institution.

This course is suitable for either UK or overseas students who have obtained a good first degree in any life science or closely related discipline, or for gifted physical science graduates who wish to move into this highly topical area of applied biology. For further information please contact PGAdmin@scri.ac.uk.

Joint Studentship Programme

A major new feature of SCRI’s postgraduate training is the creation of a new Joint Studentship Programme with UK universities aimed at developing new collaborative links and interactions with university groups across the country, and, in particular, with Scottish universities, which will eventually host up to 30 jointly funded students.

The programme represents a major investment in training scientists of the future to play key roles in developing the science required to meet major challenges such as global warming and loss of biodiversity and provides exciting opportunities to broaden SCRI’s existing science base.

As well as students funded under the Joint Studentship Programme, SCRI has students funded through a diverse mix of grants, contracts and studentships and enquires are welcomed from overseas applicants funded by their own government schemes.

Enquiries about postgraduate study at SCRI should be sent to PGAdmin@scri.ac.uk.