plant PhD Projects, Programs & Scholarships

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Projects are available in the following areas. Stress responses in crops and sustainable biomass production and processing. The project aims at elucidating several aspects of the control of plant defences and to identify environmentally friendly forms of plant protectants, leading to enhanced crop yields.

Plant genetics and molecular biology - dissecting the role of receptor-like kinases

University of Sheffield
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences

Dr L Smith

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

My group is interested in understanding aspects of basic plant biology, primarily through the application of molecular biology and genetics.

From start to finish: roles for the N-end rule pathway of protein degradation in plant development and stress-response

University of Birmingham
School of Biosciences

Research Group: BBSRC MIBTP

Dr D Gibbs

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

In order to effectively co-ordinate their growth and development, plants need to be able to respond to changes in their environment, whether it is adapting to the seasons or coping with stresses.

PhD in Plant Environmental Physiology

University of Sheffield
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences

Prof C P Osborne

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Supervisor – Professor Colin Osborne, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. We invite applications for a PhD in the area of plant environmental physiology.

Will rising CO2 concentrations save plants from drought stress? Plant ecophysiological responses in a Free Air CO2 Enrichment experiment

University of Tasmania
School of Biological Sciences

Prof M Hovenden, Dr M De Kauwe

Application Deadline: 31 October 2019

Funding Type

PhD Type

Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project has funding attached, subject to eligibility criteria. Applications for the project are welcome from all suitably qualified candidates, but its funding may be restricted to a limited set of nationalities. You should check the project and department details for more information.

This project presents a rare opportunity to work in one of the world’s few Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) experiments, a cutting-edge global change manipulation experiment, located in southern Tasmania, Australia.

Elucidating infection at the plant-microbe interphase on a cellular, molecular and structural level to improve crop resistance and support food security

University of Sheffield
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences

Dr C Voigt

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Achieving food security is one of the most important global challenges. Crop production and yield has been increasingly threatened by plant pathogens in a rapidly changing environment.

Plant Stem Cell formation

University of Freiburg
Genetics Institute

Prof T Laux

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project has funding attached, subject to eligibility criteria. Applications for the project are welcome from all suitably qualified candidates, but its funding may be restricted to a limited set of nationalities. You should check the project and department details for more information.

We are seeking highly motivated candidates for a newly funded PhD position in plant embryo development. The goal is to investigate how the stem cells of the shoot meristem are formed during embryo development.

Engineering The Rice Leaf for Improved Photosynthesis

University of Sheffield
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences

Prof A Fleming

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Improving photosynthetic efficiency has been identified as one of the few remaining traits for exploitation if we are to achieve the significant increases in crop yield required to feed the projected 9 billion world population by 2050.

Mechanisms and genetics of dormancy release in raspberry.

The James Hutton Institute
Postgraduate Training

Dr J Graham, Dr R Hancock, Prof D Stewart

Application Deadline: 4 October 2019

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

Staff in Cell and Molecular Sciences at The James Hutton Institute have a distinguished track record of research in plant and crop science, including genetic and genomic analysis.

Towards more sustainable use of phosphorus in UK grasslands considering soil-plant interactions

The University of Manchester
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Dr V Niasar, Prof D Johnson, Dr S Lee

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

This ambitious project will lead to a major shift in how soil phosphorus (P), is managed in UK grasslands.