MSci Biology / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course description

Our MSci Biology course will enable you to achieve an integrated master's degree while you study for a BSc, giving you significant research experience that will be invaluable for a PhD and a career in research.

The first three years of the course cover a diverse range of topics within the study of living organisms, allowing you to discover areas of interest early on in your degree and choose what you want to focus on. Interdisciplinarity is encouraged, and you will have the opportunity to enrol on courses at the University College for Interdisciplinary Learning in the second and third year.

A highlight of the course is the opportunity to go on a field course in the UK and abroad, travelling to locations chosen for the richness of their flora and fauna.

In Year 4, you will undertake a major research project in one of the University's more than 200 research labs to achieve your undergraduate master's award.

Our course has Advanced Accreditation from the Royal Society of Biology , which recognises academic excellence in the biosciences and highlights degrees that educate the research and development leaders and innovators of the future.

Discover more about biosciences integrated masters.

Special features

A range of study options

This course is available as an integrated master's , with industrial/professional experience , with entrepreneurship or with a modern language .

It is possible to broaden your degree by taking units from the University College , Business and Management for all Programmes or the University Centre for Academic English in exchange for a few units from your degree.

Foundation Year available

You can prepare for the full degree course if you do not have the appropriate qualifications for direct entry by undertaking our foundation course first.

Flexibility to transfer between courses

You can transfer between most of our bioscience courses at the end of your first year or, in some cases, later.

Teaching and learning

You will benefit from a wide range of teaching and learning methods that suit the content and aims of each course unit.

These range from lectures and tutorials to practicals and research projects.

Find out more about how you will learn and see a typical Year 1 timetable on our teaching and learning page.

Coursework and assessment

Assessment methods vary widely to suit the nature of the course unit and each level of study.

  • Lecture units are usually assessed by written exam (multiple choice or essay-based), which are held at the end of an academic semester in either January or May/June.
  • Field courses are usually assessed via oral and written presentations, group work and/or projects.
  • Practical units are usually assessed by experimental report and/or short written assignment and/or written exam.

The proportion of independent study assignments increases during each year of study.

Year 1

Lecture units are usually assessed by e-learning activities during the unit and multiple choice exams at the end of the semester. Year 1 contributes 6% to your overall degree mark.

Year 2

Lecture units are usually assessed by essay-based exam, short note questions, problem sets and other authentic assessments.

Year 2 contributes 19% to your overall degree mark.

Year 3

Lecture units are usually assessed by essay-based exam or extended coursework. Students also take two 'honours' papers: degree programme-specific examinations comprising essays and data-handling problems. On the MSci programme, students take several MSci specific courses, including a group-based practical unit, a literature review and a written research proposal. Year 3 contributes 37.5% to your overall degree mark.

Year 4

The final year is based on a 7-month research project (120 credits), carried out in a research laboratory or fieldstation run by University staff. The project is assessed by a written assignment, a scientific talk, a written report, a poster and presentation and your performance during the project. Year 4 contributes 37.5% to your overall degree mark. In order to progress on the MSci degree, you must fulfil certain progression criteria. Students that do not meet these criteria are transferred to the 3-year BSc.

Course unit details

This course is modular. You will study compulsory course units and choose some optional units.

Most units are assigned 10 credits and you will take 120 credits each year.

Course content for year 1

You will gain a broad introduction to biological sciences, covering key concepts such as:

  • biodiversity and evolution
  • biochemistry and cell biology
  • genetics and molecular biology.

You can choose to go on a field course in the UK or abroad.

Year 1 also provides an introduction to the essential data handling and laboratory skills required for all biological scientists.

Course units for year 1

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Academic Tutorials Year 1 BIOL10000 10 Mandatory
Biochemistry BIOL10212 10 Mandatory
Molecular Biology BIOL10221 10 Mandatory
From Molecules to Cells BIOL10232 10 Mandatory
Introduction to Laboratory Science BIOL10401 10 Mandatory
Biodiversity BIOL10511 10 Mandatory
Genes, Evolution and Development BIOL10521 10 Mandatory
Writing and Referencing Skills (online unit) BIOL10741 0 Mandatory
Health & Safety online course BIOL12000 0 Mandatory
History of Biology BIOL10381 10 Optional
Introduction to Experimental Biology - Molecular & Cellular Biology BIOL10412 10 Optional
Microbes, Humankind and the Environment BIOL10532 10 Optional
Field Course in Animal Behaviour and Diversity BIOL10642 10 Optional
Non-Residential Field Course in Ecology & Behaviour BIOL10662 10 Optional
Body Systems BIOL10811 10 Optional
Excitable Cells: the Foundations of Neuroscience BIOL10832 10 Optional
Chemistry for Bioscientists 1 CHEM10021 10 Optional
Chemistry for Bioscientists 2 CHEM10022 10 Optional
Fundamentals of Chemistry CHEM10111 10 Optional
Science & the Modern World HSTM10221 10 Optional
Bodies in History: An introduction to the History of Medicine HSTM10272 10 Optional
Displaying 10 of 21 course units for year 1

Course content for year 2

You will continue your studies in greater depth and begin to specialise. Enrolment in the University College for Interdisciplinary Learning is encouraged. You will also undertake a Science Communication unit.

In the Research Skills unit, you have the opportunity to carry out techniques that are widely used in current biological science research. Alternatively, you can build on your field work and ecological research skills with a field course.

Course units for year 2

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Academic Tutorials Year 2 BIOL20000 10 Mandatory
Organismal Biology EDM BIOL21051 10 Mandatory
Science Communication BIOL21392 10 Mandatory
Science & Society RSM BIOL20302 10 Optional
Biochemistry RSM BIOL20312 10 Optional
Cellular Biochemistry RSM BIOL20322 10 Optional
Genetics RSM BIOL20332 10 Optional
Microbiology RSM BIOL20342 10 Optional
Molecular Biology RSM BIOL20352 10 Optional
Tropical Ecology & Conservation (RSM Field Course) BIOL20552 10 Optional
Urban Biodiversity & Conservation RSM BIOL20872 10 Optional
Clinical Sciences RSM BIOL20902 10 Optional
Anatomy RSM BIOL20912 10 Optional
Pharmacology RSM BIOL20932 10 Optional
Physiology RSM BIOL20942 10 Optional
Immunology RSM BIOL20952 10 Optional
Developmental Biology RSM BIOL20972 10 Optional
Genome Maintenance & Regulation BIOL21101 10 Optional
Proteins BIOL21111 10 Optional
The Dynamic Cell BIOL21121 10 Optional
Cell Metabolism & Metabolic Control BIOL21132 10 Optional
Cell Membrane Structure & Function BIOL21141 10 Optional
`Omic Technologies & Resources BIOL21152 10 Optional
Principles of Developmental Biology BIOL21172 10 Optional
Fundamentals of Bacteriology BIOL21181 10 Optional
Principles of Infectious Disease BIOL21192 10 Optional
Plants for the Future BIOL21202 10 Optional
Animal Diversity BIOL21221 10 Optional
Fundamentals of Evolutionary Biology BIOL21232 10 Optional
Immunology BIOL21242 10 Optional
Parasitology BIOL21252 10 Optional
Body Systems 2 BIOL21272 10 Optional
Animal Physiology BIOL21281 10 Optional
Human Anatomy & Histology BIOL21291 10 Optional
Membrane Excitability: Ion Channels & Transporters in Action BIOL21321 10 Optional
Motor Systems BIOL21332 10 Optional
Sensory Systems BIOL21341 10 Optional
Molecules and Cells in Human Disease BIOL21351 10 Optional
Haematology BIOL21361 10 Optional
Organismal Genetics BIOL21371 10 Optional
Introduction to Virology BIOL21381 10 Optional
Anatomy of the Special Sense Organs BIOL21402 10 Optional
Alpine Biodiversity & Forest Ecology (RSM Field Course) BIOL21422 10 Optional
Animal Behaviour BIOL21432 10 Optional
How to Make a Brain BIOL21451 10 Optional
Introduction to Cancer BIOL21742 10 Optional
Chemistry of Biomolecules CHEM21162 10 Optional
Environmental Microbiology EART21102 10 Optional
Evolution and Palaeobiology EART22101 10 Optional
Ecology and Conservation EART25001 10 Optional
From Cholera to COVID-19: A Global History of Epidemics HSTM20031 10 Optional
The Crisis of Nature: Issues in Environmental History HSTM20092 10 Optional
Information visions: past, present and future HSTM20282 10 Optional
LEAP BSL Part 1 (A1.1) ULBS50001 10 Optional
LEAP BSL Part 1 Semester 2 (A1.1) ULBS50002 10 Optional
Displaying 10 of 55 course units for year 2

Course content for year 3

You will take two papers and six lecture units specific to biology. 

You will prepare for the papers through tutorials with current BSc students.

The remaining 40 credits will come from the following MSci units:

  • Research Project Proposals (10 credits)
  • Bioinformatics Tools and Resources (10 credits)
  • Experimental Skills (20 credits)

Course units for year 3

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Academic Tutorials Year 3 BIOL30000 0 Mandatory
MSci Experimental Skills Module BIOL33012 20 Mandatory
Bioethics: Contemporary Issues in Science & Biomedicine (E) BIOL31522 10 Optional
MSci Bioinformatics Tools and Resources BIOL33011 10 Optional
MSci Reproducible Data Science BIOL33031 10 Optional
Chemistry of Biological Processes (E) CHEM31812 10 Optional
Dinosaur Palaeobiology EART34001 10 Optional
Primate Evolution and Human Origins EART36202 10 Optional
Green Planet: Plant Ecology and Global Change GEOG31041 20 Optional
Madness and Society HSTM30832 10 Optional
The Nuclear Age: Global Nuclear Threats from Hiroshima to Today HSTM31212 10 Optional
From Sherlock Holmes to CSI: a history of forensic medicine HSTM32011 10 Optional
Climate Change & Society HSTM33201 10 Optional
Displaying 10 of 13 course units for year 3

Course content for year 4

You will undertake a 120-credit research project over a period of six to seven months in research laboratories or a field station run by University staff to complete the work needed for your MSci award.

Course units for year 4

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
MSci Research Project BIOL40010 120 Mandatory

What our students say

The MSci course appealed to me as it gives you so much freedom in selecting and developing your own final-year master's project.

The University has literally hundreds of different research labs working across the whole spectrum of biological disciplines, meaning there is sure to be someone who is working in your area of interest.

Many of the academics here are leaders in their respective fields; the MSci course has given me a unique opportunity to work closely alongside these experts to carefully develop a novel project plan in my third year, and then execute this research over the course of my final year.

Lucy McGowan

Find out more about what it's like to study at Manchester on the  Biology, Medicine and Health Student Blog .

Facilities

Learning facilities

Our modern teaching labs are equipped for a range of biological and biomedical techniques. The following are just a few of the techniques you could undertake during your degree:

  • polymerase chain reaction (PCR);
  • DNA sequencing;
  • gel electrophoresis;
  • spectrophotometry;
  • dissection and histology;
  • electroencephalography (EEG) and electrocardiography (ECG);
  • immunofluorescence microscopy.

Our computing facilities include access to over 200 PCs in dedicated clusters and e-learning tools including online lecture notes, discussion boards, lecture podcasts and quizzes.

You will also have access to the University's other facilities for undergraduate students.

Research facilities

As a final year student, you have the opportunity to undertake a project in the labs of our world-class bioscience researchers.To support our research, we have extensive research facilities equipped with high-quality technology.

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk