MSc and PhD Graduate Student Opportunities in plant-soil interactions, nutrient cycling, and nature-based solutions to climate change in agroecosystems
School of the Environment, Trent University
Fully funded MSc and PhD positions are available to start between September 2025 and May 2026. Successful applicants will lead exciting new research projects at Trent Experimental Farm and on working farms in the Peterborough area and the Greater Toronto Area.
Graduate student researchers will be contributing to two large multi-institution, multi-year research projects that are aimed at evaluating sustainable agriculture practices in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in rural, peri-urban, and urban environments. As part of these large-scale integrated research projects, there will be ample opportunities for professional skill building and networking, as students will be collaborating with our partners in the federal government, NGOs, farming organizations, and research groups at other universities and colleges across southern Ontario. Graduate student researchers will be trained on and use a range of soil, plant, and gas exchange sampling and analytical techniques; becoming proficient in the use of exciting instruments that are housed in our lab, such as a portable photosynthesis and fluorescence system, portable trace gas analyser, continuous flow analyser (spectrophotometer), and belowground imaging technologies (e.g., ground penetrating radar, root system imaging of rhizoboxes).
Prospective students with an interest in agri-environmental sciences, plant and soil science, and biogeochemistry are encouraged to contact Dr. Kira Borden (kiraborden@trentu.ca) and visit the lab website. Please send your CV, copy of transcripts, and names of two references.
