Swansea is a research-led University and the Department makes a significant contribution, meaning that as a Postgraduate Biosciences Student you will benefit from the knowledge and skills of internationally renowned academics.

The Department is involved in several major research initiatives including:

• The investment in the Sustainable Expansion of the Applied Coastal and Marine Sectors (SEACAMS) – Project to expand the commercial marine sector in Wales by increasing collaborative research projects between business and universities
• Algal Biotechnology for Wales Knowledge Transfer Centre – Based at CSAR provides businesses with advice on microalgal biotechnologies and access to industry-focussed research and technological development
• EnAlgae – Energetic Algae aims to reduce the CO2 emissions and dependency on unsustainable energy sources in North West Europe
• Ecojel – Managing the opportunities and detrimental impacts of jellyfish in the Irish Sea
• LRCI Marine, Low Carbon Research Institute – A collaboration of all the leading academic marine institutions in Wales undertaking independent research to underpin the creation of a sustainable marine sector in Wales
• The WISE programme (Welsh Institutes for Sustainable Environments) – Making the impact of their products and processes more environmentally sustainable

Current Research Pathways

We invite applications from highly motivated and suitably qualified candidates to undertake postgraduate research in the Department of Biosciences. We normally require a minimum of a 2:1 degree or equivalent, or an appropriate Master's degree with Merit.

International students:  please visit our International pages for information on entry requirements for your country:  Africa, South Asia, East Asia, Europe and Russia, Middle East, North America, South America, South East Asia.  If your country is not listed within these regions, please contact international-science@swansea.ac.uk

If you are interested in applying for either a PhD or MPhil, you should make contact with a potential Supervisor. You can browse our current research areas and potential supervisors research pages, to discover the fields of expertise in the Department and who best to make contact with, depending on your research interests.

You are also welcome to contact the Biosciences Research Degrees Coordinator, Dr Andrew King, or Research Degrees Admissions Tutor, Dr Ines Fürtbauer, with any queries. 

Once you have identified a project and supervisor, you can submit your application via the Admissions Office if you are a Home applicant. If you are an EU or Overseas applicant, you should submit your application via the International Admissions Office. Note that applications that do not have evidence of discussions with potential Supervisors will be returned.

Annual tuition fees for entry in the academic year 2016/17 are as follows:

Tuition fees for years of study after your first year are subject to an increase of 3%.

You can find further information on fees and how to pay on our tuition fees page.

You may be eligible for funding to help support your study. To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's scholarships and bursaries page.

International students and part-time study: If you require a Tier 4 student visa you must be studying full-time. If you are in the UK under a different visa category, it may be possible for you to study part-time. Please see our part-time study and visas page for more information.

Current students: You can find further information of your fee costs on our tuition fees page.

The tuition fees for the PhD or MPhil Biological Sciences do not cover costs incurred personally by the student such as the purchase of books or stationery, printing or photocopying costs.

A bench fee may be charged on top of your tuition fee to cover specialist equipment or laboratory costs required for your research. If a bench fee is to be charged, the amount will be determined by your supervisor and included in your Offer of Study.

International students:  please visit our International pages for information on entry requirements for your country:  Africa, South Asia, East Asia, Europe and Russia, Middle East, North America, South America, South East Asia.  If your country is not listed within these regions, please contact international-science@swansea.ac.uk

The Biosciences department is always keen to attract high-quality postgraduate students to join our research groups. As an MPhil (2 years) or PhD (3 years) student you will be guided by internationally leading researchers and will carry out a large individual research project.

You will be fully integrated into one of our established research groups and participate in research activities such as seminars, workshops, laboratories, and field work.

PhD: A thesis of no more than 100,000 words is submitted, which demonstrates original research that contributes significantly to the subject area, and assessment in the form of an oral examination (viva).

MPhil: A thesis of no more than 60,000 words is submitted, which demonstrates original research that contributes significantly to the subject area, and assessment in the form of an oral examination (viva). In some cases, there may be opportunities for students to continue onto a PhD.

Biosciences at Swansea has a good relationship with a wide range of external partners, including SMEs, Government Agencies, Local Government, UK and overseas research institutes and universities. More

A custom-designed £12.5 million coastal research vessel and the £2 million unique Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research (CSAR) with a 750 m² controlled environment building, plus separate primary quarantine facilities, ozone-sterilised water intake and discharge, centralised 12-27^oC programmable air and mixed fresh/salt water supply, light intensity and photoperiod regimes. 

The newly built £1.35 million Swansea Lab for Animal Movement (SLAM), incorporates an electronic wall (3x4 m) linked to a high-speed computer cluster for processing and visualising spatiotemporal movement and population data. SLAM also designs and produces state-of-the-art animal tags to study organism movement and environmental interactions. 

Theoretical/mathematical research uses advanced university computing facilities that includes high-end graphics workstations, high-speed network links and the Blue Ice supercomputer located at the Mike Barnsley Centre for Climatic Change Research. 

Several dedicated Bioscience labs housed within our grade 2 listed Wallace Building recently benefitted from a £4.2 million renovation programme, providing world-class research facilities that includes a specialist molecular ecology lab and a dedicated arthropod facility. More

The results of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 show that Biosciences at Swansea are ranked 7th in the UK and TOP in Wales.  93.8% of our research outputs were regarded as world-leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*) and Swansea Biosciences had the highest percentage of publications judged ‘world-leading’ in the sector. This is a great achievement for the Department, for the College of Science and indeed for Swansea University.

Many of the teaching team within the Department of Biosciences are actively involved in biodiversity conservation and work closely with many conservation organisations, local and national government to conserve habitats and species throughout Britain and abroad.

Research groups include:

• Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research (CSAR)
• Swansea Moving Animal Research Team (SLAM)
• Swansea Ecology Research Team (SERT)
• Swansea National Products (SNaP)