Agricultural Science and Technology Doctor of Philosophy - PhD

Programme Overview
Lincoln's MPhil/PhD in Agricultural Science and Technology offers prospective students advanced research opportunities in transdisciplinary research combining studies on agriculture, people, and technology. The programme brings together the opportunity to study scientific, technological, and social innovations and how they can be developed, applied and reimagined to address global agricultural challenges at local or international scales.

This personal development opportunity provides a comprehensive mixture of both theory, knowledge and skill development. Depending on the research areas of focus this could include, but is not limited to, crop phenotyping, precision agriculture, agri-robotics, applications of AI across the food production system, regenerative agriculture, weed science, soil and water, natural resource management, sustainable agroforestry systems, controlled environment agriculture, food systems, governance, and socio-political aspects of resilient, sustainable agriculture, and wider food production.

Graduates from this programme are well placed to embark on diverse career paths in either academia, research organisations, the agri-food industry, technology providers and start-ups, non-governmental organisations in food systems, land use and conservation, government departments, and the private sector in plant breeding and food production industries, to name a few. This programme offers the opportunity for a personal learning journey to develop the knowledge, skills and critical mindset needed for taking a leading role in a thriving agriculture and food sector now, and in the future.

How You Study
Over the course of your PhD, you will be expected to complete an original piece of research that makes a substantial contribution to the existing scholarship on and knowledge of the subject under scrutiny. You will be guided throughout this process by a team of well-published supervisors, from whom you will receive feedback and advice. Your PhD project might cross disciplinary boundaries and focus on multiple subject areas. In such cases, we will support you by allocating supervisors in relevant fields.

Students are required to produce appropriate written work which will be submitted to their supervisors for feedback and to agree on the next stage of work. Due to the nature of postgraduate research programmes, a significant amount of time will be spent on independent study and research. Students will meet regularly with their academic supervisor(s), but the regularity of these meetings will vary depending on individual requirements, subject area, and the stage of the programme.

Why Lincoln?
The Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology (LIAT) is a leading UK research organisation recognised for its world-leading multi-disciplinary research and collaboration with key academic and industrial partners in the agricultural sector – the largest industry in Lincolnshire.

The rapid growth of the institute benefits from strategic UK government funding granted to establish Lincoln as the national centre for excellence in agri-food technology. This includes significant grants from Research England to fund the Lincoln Agri-robotics Centre and from EPSRC for the Centre of Doctoral Training in Agri-food Robotics. LIAT has a growing reputation in crop and soil science research with access to an excellent 400 ha research farm at the Riseholme campus constituting arable, livestock, woodland and watercourses.

The team is actively working towards net-zero agriculture, and reducing chemical inputs in farming through precision agriculture and non-chemical weed control. Crop phenotyping, soil and irrigation management, and selective harvesting of strawberries are just some of the examples demonstrating the LIAT’s offering of practical sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions for improving farming practices.