Program Overview

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Natural Sciences BSc

Overview

The Natural Sciences BSc program at the University of Nottingham is a degree program that allows students to study more than one science subject for the duration of their degree. In the first year, students study three subjects, building a strong foundation and experiencing what these are like at university, before selecting the two that most interest them to continue to degree level.

Why Choose This Course?

• Tailor your degree: flexibility to choose subjects and modules that match your academic interests and career goals.
• Enhance your degree: Nottingham provides a range of opportunities to enrich your studies like studying abroad, work placements, or a year in computer science to expand your skills and boost your employability.
• Become an interdisciplinary scientist: Natural Sciences modules enhance your interdisciplinarity while strengthening key skills like communication, teamwork, and problem solving, preparing you to tackle complex challenges and excel in diverse fields.
• Broad horizons: Natural Sciences graduates possess strong knowledge, practical skills, technical proficiency, and adaptability, preparing them for a range of careers in clinical science, environmental fields, pharmaceuticals, energy, and more.
• Strong community: connect with students across years and the alumni network. Actively engage in the course community through roles in representation, mentoring, and the student society, while gaining valuable skills and experience.
• Degree quality: accredited by the Society for Natural Sciences; recognised as ‘offering outstanding interdisciplinary science education’.
• Research-led teaching: Nottingham’s research beacons use interdisciplinary approaches to tackle global challenges. This research directly informs your studies, with academics bringing the latest developments into the classroom.

What You Will Study

You will study modules from each of the subjects in their chosen stream, gaining comprehensive theoretical and practical knowledge. You will learn alongside students from single-subject degrees, so the quality of the teaching and the depth of study is the same, but you have a broader scope across multiple disciplines.

Course-Specific Modules

Course-specific modules from the first to the third year are designed to foster a strong cohort identity and guide your academic development, encouraging you to understand theories and ideas from different areas of science and explore how they work together. A highlight of the course is the synoptic project, where you work on a collaborative group project with students from other streams. You will bring your individual expertise to the project and find new ways to apply the knowledge from your learning in previous years.

Careers

You will graduate with the knowledge and technical skills to take a broad scientific approach to help tackle today's complex problems. During the masters year you gain specialist experience in a professional research environment through an independent research project. This is good preparation for research job roles within industry, or if you are considering a PhD.

Job Prospects

Approximately a third pursue careers in the science sector, taking up roles in chemical, medical or physical labs, in offices and in the field working as analysts, scientists or engineers. About a third of graduates apply their skills to another sector working at some of the top graduate employers in the country in finance, management, sales, logistics and the civil service.

Further Study

The remainder go on to further study doing a masters or PhD in a science specialism they wish to focus on. An understanding of the ideas and approaches across science and how the disciplines fit together is a strong background for further study.

Average Starting Salary and Career Progression

86.40% of undergraduates from the Faculty of Science secured employment or further study within 15 months of graduation. The average annual salary for these graduates was £27,834.

Entry Requirements

• A*AA
• IB score: 36 points overall, or 34 points plus Extended Essay grade A or IB Higher Level Certificates 7,6,6, or 6,6,6 plus Extended Essay grade A
• IELTS: 6.5 (no less than 6.0 in any element)
• High school qualifications: Check our country-specific information for guidance on qualifications from your country
• A level: A*AA, including at least two sciences, usually from biology, chemistry, maths or physics but the specific combination of subjects required depends on your chosen stream
• Cambridge Pre-U qualifications can replace A levels in required subjects
• Excluded subjects: General studies, Critical thinking, CIE Global Perspectives, CIE Thinking skills and Citizenship Studies are not accepted
• Additional entry requirements: A*AA or AAA including an A in the EPQ or Level 3 Core Maths

Alternative Qualifications

We recognise that applicants have a wealth of different experiences and follow a variety of pathways into higher education. Consequently we treat all applicants with alternative qualifications (besides A levels and the International Baccalaureate) on an individual basis, and we gladly accept students with a whole range of less conventional qualifications including:

• Access to HE Diploma
• Advanced Diploma
• BTEC HND/HNC
• BTEC Extended Diploma

RQF BTEC Nationals

All applications are assessed on an individual basis to ensure sufficient science has been studied. We will consider the following:

• RQF Level 3 BTEC National Extended Diploma D*DD
• RQF Level 3 BTEC National Diploma D*D + A level grade A
• RRQF Level 3 BTEC National Extended Certificate grade D plus A level grades A*A

Access to HE Diploma

All applications are assessed on an individual basis to ensure sufficient science has been studied. We will consider the following:

• Access to HE Diploma 42 graded Level 3 credits at Distinction and 3 graded Level 3 credits at Merit including acceptable science credits

Contextual Offers

We make contextual offers to students who may have experienced barriers that have restricted progress at school or college. Our standard contextual offer is usually one grade lower than the advertised entry requirements, and our enhanced contextual offer is usually two grades lower than the advertised entry requirements. To qualify for a contextual offer, you must have Home/UK fee status and meet specific criteria – check if you’re eligible.

Tuition Fees

• £9,535* (UK undergraduate students)
• £30,750 per year (International students)

Additional Costs

• Printing: Due to our commitment to sustainability, we don’t print lecture notes but these are available digitally.
• Books: You will be able to access all of the books you’ll need through our libraries, but you may wish to purchase your own copies of books you use often. If you do most books cost around £20-£50.
• Equipment: If your subject stream requires you to work in the laboratory (eg Biology and Chemistry), your tuition fees will cover the cost of a protective lab coat and safety goggles. if you lose these, you are responsible for the cost of replacing them (around £25).
• Field trips: Depending on which subjects you choose there are optional field modules in Earth Science and Ecosystems and Environment which may incur a cost. These range from £30-50 for UK-based day trips to as much as £400 for overseas residential trips.
• Other costs: Students will be responsible for the cost of hire of their gown for graduation (around £50) and may need to pay for additional guest tickets.

Scholarships and Bursaries

• International students: We offer a range of international undergraduate scholarships for high-achieving international scholars who can put their Nottingham degree to great use in their careers.
• Home students: Over one third of our UK students receive our means-tested core bursary, worth up to £1,000 a year. Full details can be found on our financial support pages.

Course Structure

• Year one: You will study equal amounts of three subjects from your chosen stream, gaining fundamental understanding of these disciplines alongside relevant practical and academic skills.
• Year two: You will choose any two of your first-year subjects to study in greater depth.
• Year three: You will deepen your knowledge in your two chosen subjects studying them at a more advanced level. With increased flexibility through optional modules, you can explore your personal interests and specialise further in each subject to tailor the degree towards what you want to do next.

Teaching Methods

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Tutorials
• Problem classes
• Workshops
• Computer labs
• Laboratory sessions
• Field work
• Independent study

Assessment Methods

• Problem sheets
• Essays
• Oral presentations
• Practical reports
• Coursework
• Group project
• Written exam
• Poster presentation
• Lab reports

Contact Time and Study Hours

You'll study 120 credits a year, typically through 10, 20 or 40 credit modules. One credit equates to approximately 10 hours of work split between formal contact time, self-study, revision and assessment. The number of formal contact hours varies depending on the subjects you are studying, but you will typically spend between 18 and 23 hours in your first year in the following classes:

• 10 to 12 hours per week of lectures
• 2 hours per week of skills workshops
• 3 hours per week in problem classes or workshops (subject dependent)
• 4-8 hours per week in laboratory classes/field work (subject dependent)
• 1-2 hours per week in tutorials (subject dependent)

There are additional study group sessions which are optional, but provide some structure to learning outside of formal classes, and the remainder of your time is spent on independent study.

Campus

University Park Campus covers 300 acres, with green spaces, wildlife, period buildings and modern facilities. It is one of the UK's most beautiful and sustainable campuses, winning a national Green Flag award every year since 2003.