Agriculture and Food Security

Entry requirements

A UK 2:1 honours degree or its international equivalent in a related subject.

Months of entry

January, April, September, October

Course content

Our mission is to provide world-leading research and training in support of global food and environmental security, sustainable rural development, and animal and human wellbeing. Improving the effectiveness and sustainability of agri-food systems is vital to tackling the challenges of global population growth, rapid urbanisation, food and environmental security, and diet and health.

These challenges occur in low and middle income countries, as well as industrialised nations. Achieving sustainable, healthy diets underpins many of the Sustainable Development Goals – especially those concerned with hunger, poverty, health, gender equality, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.

We welcome applicants whose research interests are aligned to address one or more of these challenges, and that holds the potential to develop and translate scientific advances into policy and practice.

The University of Edinburgh, with Scotland’s Rural College, ranked first in the UK for Research Power in Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science in the last Research Excellence Framework, REF2014 (Times Higher Education, Overall Ranking of Institutions). The Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security builds on this strength in research excellence, and graduate student research has a central role in achieving this.

Our Global Academy encompasses research addressing global food and environmental security, sustainable rural development, and animal and human wellbeing. Our current specific expertise spans human, livestock, crop and soil nutrition and health; environmental and agri-food systems; crop and livestock production systems; climate smart agriculture; agricultural and natural resource economics; development; data science and mathematical modelling; the science-policy interface; food and land rights and law.

Most of our research is multidisciplinary in its approach, and we collaborate with other Schools and groups across the University of Edinburgh, and with a wide range of national and international partners.