MSc Bioinformatics and Systems Biology

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Please apply via our online application form.

Due to the high demand for this course, we operate a staged admissions process (see below). We reserve the right to close applications at any stage if the course is full, so we recommend that you apply as early as possible.

Your application must be complete to be considered. For non-UK educated students, you need to provide evidence of English language ability for your application to be considered complete. We cannot provide a decision without this.

Applications with any missing supporting documents will only be given a decision in the stage during which the outstanding documents are received. For example, if you submit your application in stage 1 but your references are not received until stage 3, you will be considered as a stage 3 applicant.

We cannot prioritise any applications nor can we provide any decisions prior to the published stage deadlines as this is not fair to other applicants in each stage. If you require a decision by a particular date, such as, for a scholarship application, it is your responsibility to ensure your application is submitted and completed in enough time for you to receive your decision, in line with the decision deadlines below.

If we make you an offer, you will have 4 weeks to reply. Offers not replied to within 4 weeks will be withdrawn so that a place can be offered to another candidate.

• Stage 1: Application completed by 8 Dec 2024; decision by 7 Feb 2025.
• Stage 2: Application completed by 23 Mar 2025; decision by 25 Apr 2025.
• Stage 3: Application completed by 25 May 2025; decision by 27 Jun 2025.
• Stage 4: Application completed by 27 Jul 2025; decision by 29 Aug 2025.

Please note we give preference to applicants with grades above our minimum entry requirements.

Whilst we aim to give you a decision on your application by the deadline date, in some instances due to the competition for places and the volume of applications received, it may be necessary to roll your application forward to the next deadline date. If this is the case we will let you know after the initial deadline has passed.

We require the following documents before we can consider your application:

• Transcript of your studies to date.
• Degree certificate (if you have already graduated).
• Personal statement or statement of purpose.
• Curriculum vitae (CV).
• Evidence of English language ability.
• An academic reference. You will be required to provide the name and contact details of two referees during completion of the application form.

Your referees will be contacted directly and asked to provide a letter of reference. When providing referee details, you must ensure the email addresses are accurate and official, typically ending with an institutional domain. We do not accept references provided from a personal email address, eg Hotmail or Gmail.

If any of the supporting documents are not in English, you must also provide us with official or certified English translations.

If English is not your first language, we require proof of your English language ability. If you have already taken an English language qualification, please include your certificate with your application. We cannot provide an initial decision on an application without seeing some evidence of a good level of English language ability. If you do not provide this when you apply, your application will remain on hold until evidence is received. 

Our MSc Bioinformatics and Systems Biology course looks at two concepts that complement each other and reflect the skills currently sought by employers in academia and industry.

Bioinformatics is changing as high throughput biological data collection becomes more systems-oriented, with employers seeking people who can work across both disciplines.

Enormous success has been achieved in bioinformatics, such as in defining homologous families of sequences at the DNA, RNA and protein levels. However, our appreciation of function is changing rapidly as experimental analysis scales up to cellular and organismal viewpoints.

At these levels, we are interested in the properties of a network of interacting components as a system, as well as the components themselves.

Our MSc reflects these exciting developments, providing an integrated programme taught by researchers at the forefront of fields spanning bioinformatics, genomics and systems biology.

You will gain theoretical and practical knowledge of methods to analyse and interpret the data generated by modern biology. This involves the appreciation of biochemistry and molecular biology, together with IT and computer science techniques that will prepare you for multidisciplinary careers in research.

PhD with integrated master's

If you're planning to undertake a PhD after your master's, our Integrated PhD programme will enable you to combine your postgraduate taught course with a related PhD project in biology, medicine or health.

This course aims to:

• provide a biological background to the data types of genomics, proteomics and metabolomics;
• develop the computational and analytical understanding and skills necessary for processing biological data;
• demonstrate applications and worked examples in the fields of bioinformatics and systems biology, integrating with student involvement through project work.

Learn from researchers at the forefront of fields spanning bioinformatics, genomics and systems biology.

Research experience

We use a range of teaching and learning methods, including lectures, practicals, group discussions and e-learning.

We provide experience of carrying out two substantive research projects, including the planning, execution and communication of original scientific research.

Find out more by visiting the postgraduate teaching and learning page.

The most useful part was the feedback from my supervisor during the whole project, they provided me with prompt and precise insights to develop the experiment and the dissertation as well. In technical terms, programming skills in Python and mathematical models were the most useful topics I used.

In the project, ample time was given to specialise in a single topic. It was also great to be able to choose from a wide variety of topics when selecting a project.

I enjoyed the flexibility and in parts the ability to make my own goals.

(Anonymous student feedback)

Our graduates acquire a wide range of subject-specific and transferable skills and extensive research experience.

The combination of systems biology and bioinformatics addressed in this course reflects the current skills sought in academic and industrial (eg pharmaceutical) settings.

Around half of each class find PhD positions straight after the MSc, while others find positions in the biosciences, health data and IT industries, or build upon their training to enter careers in biology and IT.