Fully Funded PhD in Animal Welfare Genetics and Genomics for Positive Social Behaviour in Pigs Queen's University Belfast in United Kingdom

Queen’s University Belfast is advertising a fully funded PhD opportunity in animal welfare genetics and genomics, focused on improving farm animal welfare through breeding for positive social behaviour in pigs.

The project sits at the intersection of biology, agriculture, veterinary science, statistics, and environmental science. It will use state-of-the-art genetic and genomic approaches to study the heritability of positive and negative social behaviours, genetic correlations among behavioural traits, and links between behaviour and production traits. The work is designed to inform future breeding strategies and has direct relevance to pig welfare, efficiency, and sustainability.

The PhD is a partnership between Queen’s University Belfast, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), and Pig Improvement Company (PIC) - Europe. The project uses unique datasets combining detailed behavioural observations with pedigree and genomic data from genotyped pigs. The supervisor named in the post is Professor Gareth Arnott.

Funding: The studentship is fully funded through a DfE scholarship and covers tuition fees plus a stipend for living expenses. It is a CAST/CASE partnership. The opportunity is open to Home candidates only; international applicants will not be considered.

Deadline: 19 June 2026. Start date: 1 October 2026.

How to apply: Use the Queen’s application link provided in the post and submit your application before the deadline. For more information, contact [email protected].