Studying for a PhD

Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway has an active and expanding research programme based on the following three research centres:

• Biomedical Sciences (BMS)
• Plant Molecular Science (PMS)
• Ecology Evolution and Behaviour (EEB)

We provide a stimulating environment for research training, and currently have a lively community of some 50 research students from many countries. The Department offers a two-year MPhil and a three-year PhD, both by research. We also have a one-year MSc programme combining research and formal instruction.

Applicants should have, or expect to be awarded, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree or MSc in an appropriate biological discipline. 

For further information about postgraduate research please contact Dr Laurence Bindschedler

We have funded Studentships available! Please see the links below:

Haustoria-omics with proteomics, transcriptomics, and gene silencing, to understand fungal pathogenicity and plant resistance during powdery mildew disease in food crops at Royal Holloway, University of London on FindAPhD.com

Vegetable seed priming: Improving seed quality with novel seed treatments at Royal Holloway, University of London on FindAPhD.com

Developing unbiased fluxomics tools to identify and validate novel therapeutic agents in models of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). at Royal Holloway, University of London on FindAPhD.com

Effects of forest diversity on aquatic-terrestrial linkages and processes at Royal Holloway, University of London on FindAPhD.com

Stranger danger: do individuals within a group preferentially extract movement information from familiar individuals, and how do they recognise them? at Royal Holloway, University of London on FindAPhD.com

Manipulating the plant phyllosphere microbiome for plant and environmental health. at Royal Holloway, University of London on FindAPhD.com

Universal repair of ataxia telangiectasia mutations by CRISPR genome editing at Royal Holloway, University of London on FindAPhD.com

The evolution of mutualistic interactions and of aggregated dispersal at Royal Holloway, University of London on FindAPhD.com

Fully funded PhD positions in our department are available through two doctoral programmes:

For research falling under the Natural Environment Research Council Remit:
The London NERC DTP https://london-nerc-dtp.org/

Potential projects with Royal Holloway supervisors can be found listed here, and supervisors and students are also encouraged to develop project proposals together.

For research falling under the Biology and Biotechnology Research Council Remit:
The London Interdisciplinary Doctoral Programme (LIDo) https://www.lido-dtp.ac.uk/

Indicative projects are available here, but new LIDo projects are submitted by supervisors each year after the new cohort has been accepted.

If you are interested in a funded Royal Holloway PhD through either route, please email the supervisor that you would like to work with to discuss project ideas. General enquiries about DTP-funded PhDs in our department can be addressed to elli.leadbeater@rhul.ac.uk

Research projects and supervisors

All members of academic staff can accept suitably qualified PhD students who we select for our studentships, or who have alternative means of support. To learn more about the research interests and activities of our staff, please visit the staff directory for Biomedical Sciences, Plant Molecular Science and Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour where you will be able to see a brief description of their research. Once you have identified a potential supervisor, email them to discuss possible projects, your suitability and if they have space in their lab to accommodate you.

Funding options

Our current Self-funded projects can also be found below.

Project information