MSc Biotechnology

The Biotechnology MSc within the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) provides you with key skills, specialist knowledge and essential training for a career in industrial or academic bioscience. Increasingly, biotechnology companies are recruiting Master’s students with specialised skills to perform jobs previously the reserve of Doctorate level scientists.

At the end of the course you will be able to meet the challenges of biotechnology, demonstrate critical thinking and solve problems, exploit opportunities, and know how ideas can be turned into viable businesses or a successful grant application.

Overview

Why study Biotechnology at IBERS?

You want specialist experience and knowledge in biotechnology research and commercial application to give you a competitive edge in the job market and underpin your successful career.

IBERS has the credentials to deliver these goals.

With 360 members of staff, 1350 undergraduate students and more than 150 postgraduate students IBERS is the largest Institute within Aberystwyth University. Our excellence in teaching was recognised by outstanding scores in the National Student Satisfaction Survey (2016), with three courses recording 100% student satisfaction and a further 10 scoring above the national average. The latest employability data shows that 92% of IBERS graduates were in work or further study six months after leaving Aberystwyth University.

IBERS is internationally-recognised for research excellence and works to provide solutions to global challenges such as food security, sustainable bioenergy, and the impacts of climate change. IBERS hosts 2 National bioscience facilities: The National Plant Phenomics Centre –a state of the art automated plant growth facility that allows the high throughput evaluation of growth and morphology in defined environments, and the BEACON Centre of Excellence for Biorefining - a £20 million partnership between Aberystwyth, Bangor and Swansea Universities set up to help Welsh businesses develop new ways of converting biomass feedstocks and waste streams into products for the pharmaceutical, chemicals, fuel and cosmetic industries.

IBERS has a track record of working with academic and industrial partners to develop and translate innovative bioscience research into solutions that help mitigate the impacts of climate change, animal and plant disease, and deliver renewable energy and food and water security. The economic and social impact of IBERS research was recognised in 2011when the institute won the national BBSRC Excellence With Impact Award.

Our Staff

The majority of teaching staff at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences are qualified to PhD level and are research active. Vocational courses also have staff whose background lies within industry. The Institute has a large number of research only staff with whom students may have contact.

Teaching & Learning

IBERS offers excellent core and specialist MSc training in Biotechnology. The course structure was developed to provide students with both a breadth and specialism of skills making them more competitive in the jobs market. The course includes 20 credit modules on Frontiers in Bioscience, Current Topics in Biotechnology, Research Methods in the Biosciences, Biotechnology for Business, Crop Biotechnology, and Bioconversion and Biorefiningy that provide a strong grounding in key areas of biotechnology science. In the 60 credit Dissertation module you to apply these skills to a research topic you have been guided to propose and you will specialise in a particular aspect of biotechnology research of your choosing, often in collaboration with external organisations.