Natural Sciences (with placement year)

All around us the world faces complex problems that increasingly require scientists to adopt a multidisciplinary approach in the search for solutions.

When facing issues such as climate change, supporting the health of our ageing population, and developing new materials or technologies, governments and organisations from every sector need graduates that can effectively communicate expert insights from a range of scientific disciplines to develop effective solutions.

Our BSc Natural Sciences degree is designed to meet this need and will equip you with vital skills and experiences sought after by employers. Key features include:

Flexibility to choose from a number of study pathways* – combining physical sciences such as chemistry, biosciences, mathematics, geography, physics and materials
Develop essential transferable skills such communication skills, time management, problem solving, consultancy skills, and working in groups
Placement year opportunities – enabling you to test drive a career and stand out to employers
Final year interdisciplinary research project
Accredited by the Society for Natural Sciences

• Pathway combinations are dependent on prior qualifications and in-course attainment.

Final Year project
You will be taught by academic staff who are internationally renowned experts in their respective fields and active in interdisciplinary research. You will be mentored to work independently and across the disciplines, conducting your own research project.

Placement year options
BSc Natural Sciences carries the option of a placement year. By choosing to spend a year on placement, you will be adding value to your degree by gaining hands-on industry experience in a real work setting.

Not only will you be going back to study having advanced your knowledge of the area you are interested in and picked up transferable interpersonal skills, you will have gained experience to help you stand out from the crowd in the competitive graduate market.

What's the difference between MSci and BSc?
The Natural Sciences BSc (Hons) degree course equips you for employment in scientific and other sectors, while our MSci course (4 year or 5 year sandwich) will prepare you for research work in industry or PhD research.

The MSci provides more in-depth/complex teaching of the subject as the course progresses. You can upgrade to the MSci version of the course providing that you meet certain attainment throughout the degree.

For a full list of areas studied, see the 'What You'll Study' section of the course page on our website.

Depending on the nature of the material, some modules are assessed by a mixture of coursework and examination.

Some modules may be assessed for example 25% coursework and 75% examination, whilst other modules are assessed by 100% coursework or 100% by examination. Coursework is based on a variety of tasks including individual essays, projects, laboratory work, contribution in tutorials, group work and presentations.