MBiol in Biological Sciences draft

Program Overview

Students develop postgraduate-level knowledge and skills through coursework, a major research project, and optional industry placements. The program prepares graduates for careers in industrial or academic research, with employers highly valuing their skills in lab techniques, data handling, and critical analysis. Flexibility and international opportunities allow students to tailor the program to their interests and career aspirations.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The MBiol Biological Sciences is a four-year (or five-year with a sandwich year) undergraduate program designed for students interested in biology and advanced research. The program offers a strong foundation for careers in industrial or academic research. The first three years of the program are identical to the BSc Biological Sciences, with the final year focused on a major research project in either the lab or field. Students will work closely with world-leading academics, exploring topics from genetics to biodiversity. The program aims to equip students with postgraduate-level knowledge and skills in lab techniques, data handling, critical analysis, creativity, and report writing, making them highly sought-after by employers.

Outline:

• Year 1:
• Compulsory Modules:
• Cell Biology and Genetics: Introduces students to cell function, the different types of molecules within cells, cellular organelles, genetics, genes, gene function, and cell division.
• Communicating Science: Focuses on developing communication skills for scientists, including reading, critical thinking, literature searching, reporting, and presentation in various formats.
• Quantitative Skills for Life Sciences: Introduces students to quantitative skills for science, including hypothesis testing, designing scientific investigations, applying mathematical topics, principles and application of statistical methods, using statistical software, and reporting in scientific research.
• Biodiversity: Explores the diversity of life, classification, the theory of evolution, interactions between organisms and their environment, major structures and patterns in plants, animals, and fungi, and the functioning of ecosystems and the biosphere.
• Introduction to Biochemistry A: Introduces students to the chemical principles that underpin cellular functions, including stoichiometry and reactions, chemical bonds and structures, chemical equilibrium and chemical change, and the organic chemistry of cell macromolecules.
• Optional Modules:
• Introduction to Biochemistry B: Builds on the knowledge gained in Introduction to Biochemistry A, covering bioenergetics, cellular metabolism, enzyme kinetics, and protein structure and function.
• Field Course: Identification and Methods: A week-long residential field course in the Cevennes (France), focusing on identification of terrestrial and aquatic flora and fauna, ecological sampling techniques, quantitative description and analysis of group data, and designing field investigations.
• Cell Biology: Investigates molecular cell structures from animals, plants, and fungi through practical experimental laboratory techniques and theoretical research, exploring recent advances in cell biology, such as novel treatments and therapies for diseases.
• Career Development: Provides training in professional career management skills, assisting students in planning and preparing for their future careers, including exploring opportunities within job roles, postgraduate study, or training.
• Interrogating Genomes: Introduces students to computational thinking in biological sciences, enabling them to analyze, interpret, visualize, and present data sets.
Students will use programming skills to tailor bespoke solutions to biological problems.
• Optional Modules:
• Data Carpentry: Focuses on managing ‘big data’ and machine learning techniques for drawing meaningful Biological Science conclusions, introducing students to the fundamentals of programming and analysis across biological, statistical, and computer science elements.
• Animal Developmental Biology: Explores developmental themes based on animal development, including the different stages of embryonic growth, tissue specification, biological mechanisms, and gene regulation.
• Microbiology: Introduces students to the study of bacteria, yeasts, viruses, and protozoa, exploring their structures, metabolism, regulatory signals, replication, and growth.
• The Green Planet: Explores the importance of plants in tackling global issues, such as climate change, sustainability, preserving biodiversity, finding new medicines, and understanding societal inequalities.
• Biochemistry of Cell Function: Explores mammalian tissue cells, including the chemical make-up and nature of compounds involved in cellular processes.
• Threatened Species: Studies the biological realms of global efforts to rescue critically endangered species from extinction, introducing students to the challenges of saving endangered species, the role of the IUCN, captive populations, conservation genetics, and how specific environments are managed.
• Year 3 (Optional Placement Year):
• Optional Modules:
• Industrial Placement: A year-long industry placement, offering students practical experience applying science in a working environment, developing practical skills, and gaining insights into various aspects of working in a scientific environment.
• Work Experience Module: Students spend at least 115 hours in a working environment relevant to their subject, reflecting on their interests and career aspirations.
• Year 4 (Or Year 3 If No Placement):
• Compulsory Modules:
• Research Project: Students pursue a sustained research effort in a specific area of biology, gaining an in-depth understanding of a particular topic through data collection.
• Professional Skills and Techniques: Focuses on the development of professional skills, including advanced microscopy, protein biochemistry, species identification, geographic information systems, entrepreneurship, and science communication.
• Independent Study in Life Sciences: Allows students to choose a topic relevant to their program, immersing themselves in the production of a detailed project plan for their Masters year project/dissertation.
• Optional Modules:
• Advanced Genetics and Genomics: Explores major theoretical and technological advances in Genetics and Genomics, focusing on population history, selection inference, analyzing variation in complex traits, and using comparative genomics and phylogenetics to make connections between evolutionary relationships.
• Advanced Cell Biology and Bio-imaging: Explores research and developmental topics surrounding microscopic cell biology and bio-imaging analysis, focusing on molecular mechanisms at play in the cell biology of mammals, yeast, and plants.
• Advanced Topics in Wildlife Conservation: Studies strategies behind conserving wildlife, identifying key concepts that support formulating solutions for protecting biodiversity, and focusing on core conservation issues, controversies, and alternative approaches.
• Animal Neurobiology and Behaviour: Explores the neurobiological mechanisms underlying behaviour in animals, including memory acquisition, learning and cognition, perception, and consciousness.
• Evolution and Animal Development: Explores the evolutionary significance of animals and patterns of diversity at various timescales and levels of the evolutionary journey, investigating how altering expression patterns in a set of toolkit genes can give rise to morphological variation.
• Molecular Biology of Cancer: Introduces students to the fundamentals of cancerous cells at a molecular level, exploring the nature and causes of cancer with emphasis on the underlying biological mechanisms.
• Science and Humanity: Examines the impact of science on all aspects of our lives, setting that influence in its social and historical context, addressing alternative views of the world, and considering environmental philosophy.
• Work Experience: A supervised work-based learning experience, offering students the opportunity to spend a minimum of 60 hours in a working environment relevant to their career path, gaining key skills in reflective practice and professional development.
• Year 5 (Or Year 4 If No Placement):
• Compulsory Modules:
• Research Practice Project: A period of research practice in a professional working environment, augmenting and developing skills and competencies delivered by the degree program.
• Optional Modules:
• Introductory Bioinformatics: Focuses on genetic and population genetic concepts that form the basis of genome analysis, involving students in computing practical lessons using a series of bioinformatics tools.
• Advanced Molecular Techniques: Refreshes and advances knowledge of basic concepts in molecular biology, considering how these study areas point to different ‘omics’ of modern research.
• Genome Science: Introduces students to the ins and outs of genome sequencing, delving into current trends of high-throughput genome sequencing methods and strategies for sequence assembly.
• Ecology for Conservation: Introduces theory and methods for habitat and species conservation and monitoring.
• Taxonomy and Identification: Develops taxonomic skills through practical studies in the field and the use of collections and appropriate taxonomic tools.
• Independent Study: Students create a written piece on a topic of their choice relevant to their program of study, extending learning achieved earlier in modules.

Assessment:

Assessment methods include:

• Reviews of relevant literature
• Laboratory and field notebooks
• Scientific reports
• Posters
• Oral presentations
Formative feedback is used to support learning.

Teaching:

• Learning is through applying theory in practical settings, either in the lab or the field, developing research and employment skills.
Graduates are highly prized by employers as they bring valuable skills to the workplace. Popular industries for bioscientists include:
• Biopharmaceuticals
• Bioscience, biotechnology, and healthcare
• Environmental agencies
• Environmental consultancies
• Food and drink industries
• Horticulture
• Government or charity-funded laboratories
• Universities and research institutes
Graduate employers have included biotechnology firms including start-ups, various hospitals, and conservation organizations. Some continue onto PhDs, including internally funded PhDs.

Other:

• The program offers flexibility, allowing students to tailor the course to suit their interests by choosing from a broad range of modules, starting with a foundation year if needed, taking a year in industry, or switching to the BSc at any time.
• The university has strong industry links, with partners from large multinational organizations to small and medium-sized enterprises, including university spin-out companies.
• Students can participate in international exchanges, immersing themselves in a new place and culture.
• Free language courses are available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many courses.
• Students may be able to go on a European or international study exchange while at Brookes.
• The program includes a residential field course in the Cevennes (France) at the end of the first year.

2023 / 24 Home (UK) full time £ 9,250 Home (UK) part time £1,155 per single module Home (UK) sandwich (placement) £1,500 International full time £16,100 International sandwich (placement) £1,500 2024 / 25 Home (UK) full time £ 9,250 Home (UK) part time £1,155 per single module Home (UK) sandwich (placement) £1,600 International full time £16,900 International sandwich (placement) £1,600 Tuition fee installments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.