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.
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.
This Masters in Biotechnology programme provides you with an advanced practical knowledge of biotechnology and molecular genetic technologies underpinning modern biotechnology and how they can be applied to solve real world problems. The programme offers training in a broad range of topics including environmental biotechnology, synthetic biology, plant engineering, stem cell therapies and vaccine development.
The programme is made up of five teaching modules and a dissertation project. Each module explores different aspects of biotechnology. The dissertation allows you to specialise the degree through a chosen field of research. You will undertake this project with the support and guidance of your chosen academic expert.
The aims of these five course are to
This programme will prepare you for a career in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industrial sectors or for entry into PhD programmes.
Your programme of study
If you prefer a laboratory to develop your interests whilst gaining first class knowledge in the latest innovation areas UK wide and globally and you want to be involved in research in the pursuit of knowledge or innovation this programme allows you to work with bioscience researchers from the Institute of Medical Sciences or Rowett Institute to grow your interests. You have the best of both worlds as you study elective courses in molecular medicine, genome-enabled medicine, bioinformatics, cardiovascular sciences, genetics, immunology and microbiology. This is a fantastic range of disciplines to provide a basis to your own research, each one providing the potential for blue sky thinking, research and innovation in one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK. You study in one of the largest European medical campuses complete with regional hospital, specialist care and clinicians on site.
Your learning is self directed but you are supported by practicals and tutorials and your research is lead by your own ideas and proposal along with a supervisor who can best support your interest area. Careers onwards from your studies can be anything from research and laboratory work, spin out company formation from your own innovation, continuation on to PhD, diagnostics or joining one of the many high growth companies forming across the UK and beyond.
Courses listed for the programme
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
Why study at Aberdeen?
Where you study
International Student Fees 2017/2018
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*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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The MRes Medical Sciences give you a fully immersive experience to extend your knowledge and research interests across the full spectrum of medical science areas but with emphasis on pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications and areas post graduation. If you enjoy working in a laboratory, want to discover something new and you want to apply your new knowledge either to spin out company formation, new discoveries and patented innovations or research and academia the MRes is a great starting point.
Your research is augmented by optional courses to further your knowledge across Bioinformatics, Molecular Genetics, Microbiology, Immunology, Drug Metabolism and Toxicology, Small Molecule Drug Discovery, and Biotechnology. Wherever your research takes you in terms of interests these subject areas are in demand within current industry in the disciplines involved and new company formations. Biotechnology and Pharmacology have benefited from major digital revolutions, technological advances, applications, tools and techniques to rapid prototyping, upscaling and ability to commercialise research which can benefit health markets.
Across the UK and internationally there is a push in an already growing market and some exciting new ways of customising discoveries and connecting to the digital world. There has never been a better time to innovate and research. If you want to know more about what is going on in Scotland, the rest of the UK and internationally read more about the Scottish Innovation Centers and Catapult UK as a start. The university is involved in all Scottish Innovation centres and is ranked in the top 10 for spin out company formation, many of the companies starting from researchers like you.
Health Sciences have been researched and taught at Aberdeen since the Middle Ages when Bishop Elphinstone, the founder of the university and ahead of his time concentrated on setting up a centre of excellence and new discovery at Kings College and Marischal College. Currently the health campus is one of the largest in Europe offering a fully immersive mix of research students, staff, clinical practitioners and a live hospital setting with several Institutes and Centres all contained at Foresterhill. You can also experience events and conferences held at the campus and see first hand new technological applications, innovations and more.
You are learning by research and this is further supported by the following course modules:
Optional
International Student Fees 2017/2018
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.
Scholarships
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
This course provides strong scientific training in many issues at the forefront of modern biotechnology, as well as the professional skills that you will need to work in the field.
Course content is well balanced across the areas of biology, biomedicine, biochemistry and molecular biology, and covers topics such as green and medical biotechnology, genomics and bioinformatics, microbiology and proteomics; you will be taught by specialists in these fields. You will also have the opportunity to study a module in Bioscience with Enterprise that has been uniquely developed to allow you to advance your business skills along with core scientific skills.
You will be supervised by expert staff who are actively engaged in international research programmes. Teaching is by:
Assessment is by a combination of written examinations, oral presentations, coursework, laboratory reports and submission of the dissertation.There are eight taught 15 credit modules each of which have only one assessment (100%). Each exam is 2 hours.
The School is home to state-of-the-art laboratories with dedicated research labs for your research project. The University has invested £3m in the world-class teaching facility equipped with the latest technologies, which has been specially designed to promote an excellent student teaching experience.
The Bodmer Lab is a bright, modern space and has been designed with interconnecting walls which can be easily configured into two, three or four separate laboratories, for maximum flexibility and occupancy. An AV system allows the lecturer to be linked visually and audibly with some or all of the interconnected labs.
A new Translational Medicine Lab will be opened in mid-2017.
This course is particularly suited to those who wish to pursue a career in the biotechnological or pharmaceutical industries, which are priority areas in both the UK and abroad. However, this course will also equip you to pursue careers in hospital laboratories and research institutes, or to continue to a PhD programme.
Certain modules include industrial site visits and research projects may be carried out at other institutions (recently Universities in Bremen or France and the Cancer Research UK Manchester institute). We also invite visiting lecturers to share their expertise on the subject areas.
After completion of this course you may wish to specialise in a chosen subject area in one of the School’s two main research centres: Ecosystems and Environment Research Centre (EER) or Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).
