PhD students at RBGE

RBGE hosts around 20 PhD students working on topics across the range of the Garden’s interests – from biogeography, conservation and genomics to floras and horticulture. The students make use of the exceptional Living Collections, the Herbarium, Library and laboratories.

Getting a place

PhD students based at RBGE are registered at a range of universities worldwide and across the UK, and follow the entry requirements and assessment procedures of the university they are registered with. Supervisors at the degree-awarding university may be very involved in the project, or may take a more back seat role. RBGE staff should be able to advise on university partners for self-designed projects. If you have an idea of what you would like to work on, contact a staff member to discuss the project. PhDs at RBGE are also listed at https://www.findaphd.com/.

Information on funding for prospective University of Edinburgh students can be found here. RBGE students from overseas are often are funded by scholarships from their home countries, but many of our students are registered at the University of Edinburgh through their Doctoral training Programs (E4 and EastBio) or Darwin Fellowships.

Lucia Campos: I joined RBGE in spring 2016 for an MSc internship in the Kidner lab. Before then, I had only been familiarised with research on model plant species, and I wanted to apply genetic studies on non-model, more interesting plant groups. I found out about the research done at RBGE and in Dr. Kidner's lab and I instantly became curious about the evolutionary history of Begonia. During my first five months here, I did a small QTL study on epidermal cells using a Begonia mapping population and their genetic map. I applied to do a PhD in the same lab because I loved the working environment (and the plant collections!). During my PhD at RBGE and the University of Edinburgh (2016-2020) I researched the role of repetitive and transposable DNA in the evolution of the genus Begonia. RBGE is a brilliant place study plant diversity and evolution, with a great scientific environment to learn from many world-leading plant experts, and working here has definitely had a great impact on my career. Currently, my work is still associated to the scientific team at RBGE as I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh and the Darwin Tree of Life project.