Improved support for PhD students
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The Scottish Forestry Trust is delighted to announce an 8% increase in funding awarded to postgraduate students currently undertaking doctoral research in many of the key issues affecting forestry in the United Kingdom.
In a move that mirrors the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) announcement earlier in the year to increase the minimum stipend paid to PhD students to £20,780 (an increase of 8%), Trustees of The Scottish Forestry Trust committed an additional 8% of funding to doctoral research projects currently supported by the Trust. This uplift in funding will be backdated to funding instalments scheduled after 1 January 2026.
Dr Helen McKay OBE FICFor CEnv, Chair of the Trust’s Projects and Research Committee, explained, “The Scottish Forestry Trust is dedicated to making a meaningful contribution to the knowledge and skills needed to support forestry in an ever-changing environment. We recognise that supporting students is essential - not only to build expertise, but also to nurture a capable and resilient workforce able to meet the growing complexity of forestry policy, practice, and research. We are fully committed to supporting the students funded by the Trust and helping them succeed in their development.”
Professor Alistair Jump, Deputy Principal (Research) and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Stirling, welcomed this news, “The Scottish Forestry Trust plays a vital role in co-funding a range of PhD studentships, training the next generation of researchers in forest sciences across the UK. This announcement of improved PhD support from the Trust to match the previously announced changes by UKRI is great news. It will ensure that such co-funding arrangements remain competitive and continue to deliver for the sector.”
The Scottish Forestry Trust, along with ongoing support from Scottish Forestry (on behalf of Forestry Commission and Natural Resources Wales), offers a Bursary Fund which supports PhD and Masters research carried out in the UK.
The Trust currently supports 10 doctoral research projects in the UK, ranging from studies as diverse as ‘Sitka spruce colonisation at the treeline in Scotland’ to ‘Modelling forest disease and its carbon budget.’