MSc PLANT GENETICS AND CROP IMPROVEMENT
MSC PLANT GENETICS AND CROP IMPROVEMENT
One of the greatest challenges facing humanity is sustainable food production for a rapidly increasing global population. Achieving this will depend, amongst other things, on our ability to expedite the production of new higher yielding crop varieties that are better adapted to a changing climate, and which will require fewer inputs, such as fertilisers and other chemicals.
You’re ready to specialise in plant genetics and crop improvement at the John Innes Centre (JIC), a ground-breaking institute for research on plant and microbial sciences. With this expert, cutting-edge training, you’ll have the perfect grounding to move onto a PhD, or alternatively into a career within the plant breeding industry.
This MSc enables you to explore the theoretical basis of plant breeding and statistics, plant genetics, genomics and bioinformatics, while at the same time gaining valuable practical experience. You will also receive training in key transferable skills. Alongside your taught modules, you’ll also complete a laboratory-based research project (worth 60 credits), giving you the opportunity to work alongside world-leading scientists at JIC, The Sainsbury Laboratory, the Earlham Institute, or possibly with an industry partner.
The JIC, which is based in the Norwich Research Park, is one of the world’s leading research institutes in plant genetics and crop improvement. So, there are few better places to study this topic within a world-class teaching and research environment.
About
Our one-year MSc in Plant Genetics and Crop Improvement is perfect training if you plan to study for a further degree in plant genetics, or alternatively, a career in plant breeding and crop improvement. It’s a unique opportunity to study plant molecular genetics and its potential applications in the 21st century, within an environment of academic and research excellence.
JIC is one of the world’s leading research institutes in plant genetics and crop improvement. This means you’ll benefit from teaching by research staff at JIC, and a number of leading plant breeding and plant biotechnology companies within the UK.
In your taught modules, you’ll cover subjects including plant molecular genetics and biotechnology, target traits for crop improvement, and plant breeding with statistics – as well as learning key transferable skills such as laboratory research and communication skills. An important element of the course is the substantial six-month laboratory-based research project that you’ll conduct under the supervision of a senior scientist. As part of this you’ll submit a dissertation and present a seminar on your research project. We offer research projects in the following key areas:
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Crop plant genetics
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Plant biotechnology and crop improvement
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Plant genome organisation
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Plant-microbe interactions
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Cell and developmental biology
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Plant gene function
In recent years, the career prospects for students with a postgraduate degree in plant genetics and crop improvement have been very good, often leading to a PhD or employment within the UK plant breeding industry.

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Important Information
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the courses listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the regular review of course programmes. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes, there will normally be prior consultation of students and others. Changes may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will inform students.After the Course
You’ll graduate from this prestigious course well prepared for a career in plant breeding and crop improvement, or further PhD study in this area. Having studied at one of the world’s leading research centres in this field, it’s no wonder that our most recent graduates have achieved great success in finding employment or academic research positions.
Career destinations
A degree at UEA will prepare you for a wide variety of careers. We've been ranked 1st for Job Prospects by StudentCrowd in 2022.
Examples of careers that you could enter include:
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PhD research
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Plant breeding
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Crop improvement/Agronomy

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Assessment for Year 1
We will assess your learning through a diverse set of assessment types depending on the module and learning objectives. These include formal exams, laboratory reports, coursework assignments, presentations and problem-based learning sessions. In addition, your research dissertation and seminar presentation will form a significant part of the course assessment.
Assessment for Year 1
We will assess your learning through a diverse set of assessment types depending on the module and learning objectives. These include formal exams, laboratory reports, coursework assignments, presentations and problem-based learning sessions. In addition, your research dissertation and seminar presentation will form a significant part of the course assessment.
Important Information
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring and review of modules. Where this activity leads to significant change to a programme and modules, the University will endeavour to consult with affected students. The University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. Availability of optional modules may be restricted owing to timetabling, lack of demand, or limited places. Where this is the case, you will be asked to make alternative module choices and you will be supported during this process.Entry Requirements
Degree classification
Bachelors degree 2.1 or equivalentDegree subject
Biological Sciences or Plant Biology. Employment experience with a plant breeding company or related research experience would be advantageous.Additional entry requirements
Applicants are required to submit two references with their application - at least one of these must be related to your most recent academic study.
Students for whom english is a foreign language
We welcome applications from students whose first language is not English. To ensure such students benefit from postgraduate study, we require evidence of proficiency in English. Our usual entry requirements are as follows:
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IELTS: 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in two components only, with 6.0 in the other two)
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PTE (Pearson): 64 (minimum 59 in two components only with 64 in the other two)
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
Other tests, including Cambridge English exams and the Trinity Integrated Skills in English are also accepted by the university. The full list of accepted tests can be found here: Accepted English Language Tests
INTO UEA also run pre-sessional courses which can be taken prior to the start of your course. For further information and to see if you qualify please contact intopre-sessional@uea.ac.uk.
Intakes
This course is open to UK, EU and International applicants. The annual intake for this course is in September each year.

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Fees and Funding
Tuition fees for the Academic Year 2023/24 are:
UK Students: £12,250 (full time) (includes £1000 bench fee). We also offer a limited number of scholarships to UK students worth between £4.5K-£5K. Further details of these scholarships, and the eligibility criteria, can be found at the following links –
- The Chadacre Trust Scholarship
- The Clan Trust Scholarship
- The Ranworth Trust Scholarship
- The Lugden Hill Trust
- The Morley Agricultural Foundation Trust Scholarship
If you choose to study part-time, the fee per annum will be half the annual fee for that year, or a pro-rata fee for the module credit you are taking (only available for Home students).
International Students: we are pleased to announce that for the academic year 2023-24 self-funded international students will qualify for a John Innes Centre M.Sc Scholarship (John Innes Centre International Student Scholarships - Fees and Funding (uea.ac.uk)). These scholarships will be awarded in the form of a tuition fee discount; eligible students will pay a tuition fee of £12,250 instead of the normal international student rate of £23,500 (includes £1000 bench fee).
We estimate living expenses at £1,023 per month.
Further Information on tuition fees can be found here.
Course related costs
Please see Additional Course Fees for details of course-related costs.

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How to Apply
Applications for Postgraduate Taught programmes at the University of East Anglia should be made directly to the University.
To apply please use our online application form.
FURTHER INFORMATION
If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances prior to applying please do contact us:
Postgraduate Admissions Office
Tel: +44 (0)1603 591515
Email: admissions@uea.ac.uk
International candidates are also encouraged to access the International Students section of our website.

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