Plant Science

Plant science is a discipline of growing importance. Plants underpin almost every food system on Earth, they are central to the carbon cycle and to the management of our climate, they provide medicines, fibres, fuels and building materials, and they shape every terrestrial ecosystem. Yet they are often overlooked in favour of more charismatic forms of life.

Understanding how plants grow, reproduce, respond to their environment and interact with other organisms is fundamental to addressing food security, biodiversity loss, climate change and the sustainable use of land.

At Edge Hill University, you will develop the key transferable skills and subject-specific knowledge that plant science demands. The programme runs for four years full time, giving you time to progress from foundational biological understanding through increasingly specialised plant-focused content. You will study plant physiology, genetics, ecology, evolution and the molecular biology underpinning plant function, building laboratory and field skills alongside your theoretical understanding.

Plant science connects naturally to broader themes in biological research, and the programme gives you the analytical and practical competencies that science-based careers and further study require.

You will develop skills in experimental design, data analysis, microscopy, field ecology and molecular techniques, building a versatile scientific toolkit. The study of plants also raises important questions about how ecosystems function, how agricultural systems can be made more sustainable, and how climate change is affecting vegetation at every scale from the individual plant to the global biome.

Graduates from plant science programmes move into careers in agricultural research, horticultural science, conservation, environmental consultancy, food science, forestry, botanical gardens and government agencies concerned with land management and biodiversity. The scientific skills developed are also transferable into broader roles in the life sciences sector. Postgraduate study in plant science, ecology, environmental biology or related fields is a common route for those wishing to pursue research or specialist careers in the sector.