愛丁堡皇家植物園

Study for a Masters at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on a unique programme that is preparing future generations of botanists in skills of increasing demand in the world.

The MSc in Biodiversity and Taxonomy of Plants is a one-year Masters course run jointly by the University of Edinburgh and RBGE. The programme focuses on understanding the diversity of the world of plants and fungi with a strong emphasis on their identification.

Most course work is delivered at the Garden's main site in Edinburgh, close to the plant collections, by world-leading scientists and recognised experts from RBGE and the University of Edinburgh. The School of Biological Scientists at the University is a centre of excellence for research in Plant Sciences and Evolutionary Biology.

Edinburgh, Scotland's capital city, is a historic yet modern and vibrant city in which to live and study and welcomes students from around the world.

Students can also exit with the PGDip award.

Why choose the programme in Edinburgh?

There are few dedicated training courses that equip future experts to address the problems of plant taxonomy using a methodology that satisfies current demands worldwide. With fewer universities offering undergraduate courses in plant systematics, it is important to fill a gap in knowledge transfer and in linking students with the world of plants.

While a diversity of approaches exists to provide teaching and training in plant systematics and classification, these often do not provide a good balance between academic and practical approaches. Where post-graduate courses are on offer, access to either teaching staff or well-documented collections is restricted by imperfect infrastructure (e.g. distance between teaching establishment and collections).

Career opportunities

The majority of students find medium or long term employment in taxonomy, and many continue to PhD studies. Although the programme is not a guarantee for future employment, it has facilitated access to various jobs in the past - at research institutions, councils, conservation agencies etc.

Demand for taxonomic expertise arises from many professional fields, other than systematic research itself. These include among others:

• survey and conservation work in threatened ecosystems
• assessment of plant resources and genetic diversity
• medical and pharmaceutical research and applications
• ethnobotanical research
• agricultural and ecosystem research
• geology and soil sciences