Natural Sciences

Natural Sciences offers a highly distinctive curriculum by combining modules taught by different departments. This will expose you to diverse scientific perspectives, knowledge, and techniques. You will learn to think flexibly, collaborate with peers across different fields of study, and develop the confidence to work at the boundaries between subjects.

By studying a specialism within Natural Sciences you will gain a level of subject expertise that is comparable to students who study within a single department, whilst you will also see how ideas from different disciplines can be combined. When you start your course you will choose a combination of three scientific disciplines. You will continue to study these throughout the first year, before choosing a specialism from within the subject areas that you selected. The specialisms are interdisciplinary study combinations designed to reflect contemporary scientific research and career opportunities. Your choice of specialism will act as a focal point around which your core curriculum is organised. Within each specialism you will study core content alongside a range of optional modules. Some choices may relate very closely to the title of your specialism, whilst others are included to provide additional breadth.

By your third year you will be equipped to complete a supervised interdisciplinary research project in an area relating to your specialism, alongside a range of advanced level taught modules.

The Natural Sciences degree programme is offered as a three-year BSc or a four-year MSci. The first three years of the two courses are identical, and (subject to academic requirements) you may switch between them at any time.

Many students choose a BSc degree as a foundation for a career outside academic research. However, it also provides a strong basis for further study at Master’s level.

The fourth year of the MSci allows you to further develop your scientific knowledge and research skills by undertaking a major research project and taught modules at a higher level (master’s level). The MSci is a higher level of qualification than the BSc, providing a more advanced preparation for careers or further research such as PhD study. Progression to the final year of the MSci requires a consistent performance at 2:1 level or higher, and students who do not meet this requirement will be transferred to the BSc.

The Natural Sciences programme offers some students the opportunity to study abroad. If your application is successful you will complete an additional year of studies between the second and third years of your degree programme.