Plant and Soil Science

Are you interested in the complexity, fragility and potential of plants and soil? Together, plants and soil provide an essential resource for all terrestrial life. This is the only degree programme in the UK that focuses on this important and fascinating world.

Doing a Plant and Soil Science degree at the University of Aberdeen will provide you with both core and advanced understanding of this exciting subject area. The knowledge and skills that you gain could open up a world of career opportunities for you, for instance in playing a vital role in informing the debate on climate change and global food security.

The Plant and Soil Science degree provides many opportunities:
- Fundamental understanding of biology, how organisms work

- Specialist training in plant science, soil science and its applications

- Examining the interactions and interface

- Multi-disciplinary working

- Role of plants in the ecosystem

- Applications of plant biology

- Manipulating plant genomes relates to tolerance and pollutants

- Studying soils across agricultural systems

This degree combines the disciplines of plants and soils, with opportunities to specialise in plant biology at different levels from genes to ecosystems, and in soils from chemistry, microbes to global geography. The University of Aberdeen has a long and, in many ways, unique tradition for teaching and research in Plant and Soil Science, and is home to a large and active group of award-winning staff in this subject.

The degree is taught by a wide range of staff who are active in plant and soil research from the tropics to the Arctic; our teaching is research-led, relevant and exciting. You will have opportunity to collaborate with groups at the James Hutton Institute and SFSA who undertake applied research and policy development work informing national priorities.

Plant and soil students attend at least two residential field courses selected from our range of courses in the Cairngorms and Spain. You will have the opportunity to get involved in our research through summer research assistantships, project work and a compulsory final year research project