Plant and Fungal Taxonomy Diversity and Conservation MSc

This MSc course is delivered in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and you will be based there for some of your teaching. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew was founded in 1759, and has the largest and most diverse collections of plant and fungal specimens and associated biodiversity databases in the world. The combination of extensive specimen collections, databases, and scientific research conducted on a global scale is unique, and means that Kew plays a leading role in facilitating greater access to basic plant information, underpinning science and conserving activities worldwide.

This course delivers vital training to fill that skill shortage. The course will provide training in plant and fungal identification skills, in combination with a thorough grounding in molecular systematics, evolutionary biology, and conservation policy, theory and practice. This programme involves an exciting fieldwork module based at Kew's Conservation Centre based in Madagascar, a biodiversity hotspot, where you will be immersed in research and conservation efforts. Other taught modules will be based at Queen Mary, Mile End campus.

Our new MSc will directly address the skills gap in taxonomy and systematics identified by the Natural Environmental Research Council and Living with Environmental Change in their 2012 report Most Wanted II. Postgraduate and Professional Skills Needs in the Environment Sector. We will train a new generation of taxonomists in cross-disciplinary skills with many applications in academia, government, industry, consultancy and non-governmental organisations.