This programme offers an expansion of our already successful MSc Biotechnology into industrial biotechnology and business management. It is jointly run with Adam Smith Business School.
There are two semesters of taught material and a summer session working on a project or dissertation. September entry students start with management courses and January entry students with biotechnology courses.
Semester 1
You will be based in the Adam Smith Business School, developing knowledge and skills in management principles and techniques. We offer an applied approach, with an emphasis on an informed critical evaluation of information, and the subsequent application of concepts and tools to the core areas of business and management.
Core courses
Semester 2
You will study biotechnology courses, which aim to enhance your understanding of using biological processes, organisms, or systems to manufacture products intended to improve the quality of human life. These courses will provide training in state-of-the-art biotechnology applications what have resulted in ground-breaking developments in the areas of medicine, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food production, environmental clean-up and protection and industrial processes.
Core course
Optional courses
Project or dissertation
If you are studying for an MSc you will undertake individual project in the summer period (May–August). This will give you an opportunity to apply and consolidate the course material and enhance your ability to do independent work, as well as present results in the most appropriate format. Project options are closely linked to staff research interests.
The aims of the courses are to
This programme will prepare you for a career in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industrial sectors or for entry into PhD programmes.
This is a multidisciplinary degree that brings together aspects of chemistry, biology and cell biology. The modules are carefully tailored to cover the knowledge in key fields such as:
This degree produces graduates with a critical, analytical and flexible approach to problem solving, enhancing laboratory and professional competence and enabling students to work independently and use their initiative in solving the diverse problems they encounter.
The programme helps you to obtain a creative attitude to the development and manufacture of biotechnology products. The intention is that skills and knowledge can be more readily transferred to professional activities.
The aims of the programme are:
Year 1
Students are required to study the following compulsory courses.
Students are required to choose 1 course from this list of options.
Students are assessed through:
This programme involves a series of lectures, seminars and workshops. Case studies will provide you with exposure to up-to-date problems and enhance your problem solving and team-work in a way that simulates an industrial setting. A research project in a well equipped department led by staff with a diversity of research experience will give you the opportunity to carry out novel research and enhance your practical skills, analytical thinking and independence.
Biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, intellectual property industry (IP), academics, bio-informatics/IT, health services, research and higher degrees (PhD).
This research course focuses on advanced concepts and technologies related to the molecular basis of plant and microbe functions.
The backbone of the MRes in Molecular Plant and Microbial Sciences is a 12-month period of research starting in the first week of October.
It consists of two research projects performed in research groups focusing on plant genetic engineering, plant development, plant molecular biology, proteomics, plant biochemistry, plant-microbe interactions, transcriptomics and bioinformatics.
Career opportunities continue to expand as the potential of plant biotechnology is realised by employers, research companies and governments. A high proportion of our graduates are expected to enter further research leading to a PhD degree. There may be opportunities to join one of the Research Council-funded institutes, which develop and monitor a range of aspects of plant biotechnology.
Some graduates may gain employment in the food industry and agrochemical companies, which are increasingly focused on modern approaches to plant breeding. New developments in biofuels research offer future employment opportunities.
For full information on this course, including how to apply, see: http://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/pg/life-sciences/molecular-plant-microbial-sciences/
If you have any enquiries you can contact our team at: [email protected]
Genetics at University of Aberdeen is taught at the heart of a very large teaching hospital at Foresterhill. This gives you access to experts within a wide variety of areas including bioinformatics, mendelian genetics, applied statistics and immunogenetics. The MSc degree in Genetics will take you through a wide-ranging curriculum describing some of the latest advances in genetics. You understand how diversity influences clinical outcomes, transplants, infections, autoimmune disease, cancer, immunodeficiency and human reproduction. We have the best support services in the UK to ensure you have guidance from the start.
Graduates from this programme can go on to work in hospital and research laboratories, projects at national and international level to understand health issues, training, scientific publishing, civil service, regulatory areas, government agencies and as consultants to regulators.
Semester 1
Optional
Semester 2
Semester 3
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
Find out about fees
*Please be advised that some programmes have different tuition fees from those listed above and that some programmes also have additional costs.
View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page
Find out more about:
Find out more about living in Aberdeen and living costs
Whether you are a new graduate or already employed and seeking to further your career prospects, this course offers a solid career development path. You can also choose this course if you wish to pursue research in biotechnology at PhD level.
Biotechnology is the application of biological processes and is underpinned by • cell biology • molecular biology • bioinformatics • structural biology. It encompasses a wide range of technologies for modifying living organisms or their products according to human needs.
Applications of biotechnology span medicine, technology and engineering.
Important biotechnological advances including
You gain
The course is led by academics who are actively involved in biotechnology research and its application to the manipulation of proteins, DNA, mammalian cells and plants. Staff also have expertise in the use of nanoparticles in drug delivery and the manipulation of microbes in industrial and environmental biotechnology.
You are supported throughout your studies by an academic advisor who will help you develop your study and personal skills.
What is biotechnology
Biotechnology is the basis for the production of current leading biopharmaceuticals and has already provided us with the 'clot-busting' drug, tissue plasminogen activator for the treatment of thrombosis and myocardial infarction. It also holds the promise of new treatments for neurodegeneration and cancer through recombinant antibodies.
Genetically modified plants have improved crop yields and are able to grow in a changing environment. Manipulation of cellular organisms through gene editing methods have also yielded a greater understanding of many disease states and have allowed us to understand how life itself functions.
You begin your studies focusing on the fundamentals of advanced cell biology and molecular biology before specialising in both molecular and plant biotechnology. Practical skills are developed throughout the course and you gain experience in molecular biology techniques such as PCR and sub cloning alongside tissue culture.
Core to the program is the practical module where you gain experience in a range of techniques used in the determination of transcription and translational levels, for example.
All practicals are supported by experienced academic staff, skilled in the latest biotechnological techniques.
Research and statistical skills are developed throughout the program. Towards the end of the program you apply your skills on a two month research project into a current biotechnological application. Employability skills are developed throughout the course in two modules.
The masters (MSc) award is achieved by successfully completing 180 credits.
The postgraduate certificate (PgCert) is achieved by successfully completing 60 credits.
The postgraduate diploma (PgDip) is achieved by successfully completing 120 credits.
Core modules:
Optional modules :
As students progress through the course they are exposed to a wide range of teaching and learning activities. The assessment strategy of the postgraduate course considers diverse assessment methods. Some modules offer dedicated formative feedback to aid skills development with assessments going through several rounds of formative tutor and peer feedback. Summative assessment methods are diverse, with examinations present in theory-based modules to test independent knowledge and data analysis. Several modules are entirely coursework-based, with a portfolio of skills such laboratory practical's and research proposals generated throughout the course forming the summative tasks. In all cases, the assessment criteria for all assessed assignments are made available to student prior to submission.
The course is suitable for people wishing to develop their knowledge of molecular and cell biotechnology and its application to solving health and industrial problems.
You can find career opportunities in areas such as
Students on this course have gone on to roles including experimental officers in contract research, research and development in scientists, diagnostics specialists and applications specialists. Many of our graduates also go on to study for PhDs and continue as academic lecturers.
Your programme of study
If you want to make a difference to life itself and you come from a biological or molecular science discipline or similar subject area you have a great opportunity to gain more knowledge of reproduction, genomic technologies, diseases and all major areas that affect reproduction.. The university offers one of the best medical schools in the UK and there are an impressive number of graduates who have developed world class innovations that made a difference to all of us who studied or taught at Aberdeen, or started their own spin out companies as a result of studying demand lead areas of the wider medical sciences. The Scottish Government also sees the need for highly qualified professionals in many of its innovation centres around the medical sciences to drive new discoveries, customised treatments and a step change in medical sciences. You could join this impressive range of people - past, present and future.
The reasons for infertility can be complex and you are guided by a mix of discipline expertise to identify best practice and understand the reproductive health area. You gain essential knowledge and the latest thinking from research driven teaching to understand embryonic and foetal development, in vitro fertilisation and genomic technologies, disease and defects and treatments. Guidance and support comes from known academics and clinicians in the discipline and you can go on to enjoy a PhD, become a research scientist or expert with a specialist set of skills. As far as careers are concerned there are wide ranging opportunities available in universities, institutes, publishing and patent offices, outreach and diagnostics to pursue on top of your own research, interest and blue sky thinking to develop your career where you want it to go.
Courses listed for the programme
Semester 1
Compulsory
Optional
Semester 2
Compulsory
Optional
Genome- Enabled Medicine
Semester 3
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
Why study at Aberdeen?
Where you study
International Student Fees 2017/2018
Find out more from the programme page
*Please be advised that some programmes have different tuition fees from those listed above and that some programmes also have additional costs.
Scholarships
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Living in Aberdeen
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Find out more about living in Aberdeen and living costs
