The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey offers studentships and scholarships in conjunction with industry to support students through their research.  Details of current studentships and scholarships are listed below:

BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) in Food Security

The University of Surrey is proud to be a BBSRC DTP partner along with the University of Reading, Lancaster University, University of Southampton and Rothamsted Research. The DTP is an exciting new training opportunity providing a number of doctoral (PhD) studentships in the area of Food Security.

A Global Challenge

Food security is one of the most pressing global challenges facing the research community. The challenge is complex: Demand for food is changing because of population growth, changing diets and increasing affluence. Food production is under increasing pressure as natural resources become scarcer, competition for use of land rises, and climate change alters patterns and reliability of production. In these circumstances, meeting the nutrient requirements of the world's population demands an approach which runs from primary production to human nutrition and which includes the environment in which the food is produced.

PhD Training

The DTP will focus on providing training for interdisciplinary bioscientists to help secure the essential niche skills. Food security comprises diverse bioscience challenges; the DTP will also deliver broad bioscience training for flexible careers in a highly topical context. The Food Security DTP is uniquely placed to address these challenges. Our consortium covers the food chain; from interactions between natural and man-made ecosystems through to the nutritional effects of food in humans. The partners have extensive track records in agri-food training and research, and will deliver research training in the essential niche skills that are required to underpin the UKs capability: e.g. plant physiology, plant breeding, agronomy, plant pathology and pest management, soil science, horticulture, agroecology, food technology, diet and health, mathematical modelling and systems biology.

Students will be exposed to the breadth of the food security agenda, thus developing an understanding of how a variety of disciplinary perspectives can complement each other in addressing the challenges which confront our society. The compulsory inclusion of new methods of working in the training programmes of all students will ensure they all have a strong understanding of the potential contributions of modelling, mathematics and data analysis to modern bioscience.

Studentship opportunities

The DTP is offering a range of studentships for study in each of its partner institutions. Details of the individual projects, including how to apply, can be found below:

Requests for further information or queries can be addressed to Dr. Brendan Howlin, Director of the Graduate School (FHMS) or Kathy Udy (Postgraduate Administrator).