Overview

Through the ethos of research-led teaching, our MSc in Advanced Biological Sciences will provide you with an innovative and rewarding experience within an excellent environment of state-of-the-art research laboratories, cutting-edge provision for proteomics, genomics, advanced genome sequencing and analysis, a cell imaging suite, transgenic plants facility and an NMR centre for protein structure analysis.

The School has developed bespoke pathways to MSc awards across all of its research areas, affording applicants the opportunity to develop their own postgraduate degree programmes. These new programmes can therefore be based around your particular areas of interest. The title of your degree award will reflect your pathway of choice, which in turn reflects the research interest of the research grouping, for example, MSc Advanced Biological Sciences (Molecular Oncology).

You will be able to choose from a series of taught modules to ensure that you develop the correct academic background and skills to excel in research. You will also be offered a flexible but guided programme of study, which will enable you to develop your leadership, information technology and professional skills.

Pathways include:

• Advanced Biological Sciences (Animal Sciences)
• Advanced Biological Sciences (Cell Signalling)
• Advanced Biological Sciences (Evolution and Behaviour)

The pathways on offer are under review and therefore subject to change, please contact the programme director for more information before you apply.

Projects

Research projects offered in previous years include:

• Combining species-specific and site-specific conservation: towards a more integrated conservation effort
• Interference interactions between Staphylococcus aureus and other members of the nasal microflora
• Preparation of recombinant S100P protein for interaction studies
• Investigating the activity of potential malarial therapeutics
• From mate choice to partner preference
• MCL-1 as a regulator of apoptosis in myeloid cell lines
• Using experimental evolution to test diffuse coevolution theory in host-symbiont interactions.

Career prospects

Past graduates of the School of Life Sciences have continued their academic careers as research assistants or pursued further study leading to a PhD. Graduates have also developed careers in conservation or qualified to immediately go into industries. There is a demand currently for graduates with specialisations in science or computing to enter the teaching profession. Commercial sectors such as the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agriculture industries will be possible employers of graduates, especially with the anticipated increases in the use of next-generation sequencing and the corresponding data analysis that will be required.