All research students undertake taught modules followed by a major research project under the guidance of academic staff in one or more of our Research Pathways, and benefitting from training in our specialist research facilities.

The MRes Biosciences is a one-year programme. All research students undertake taught modules followed by a major research project under the guidance of academic staff in one or more of our Research Pathways, and benefiting from training in our Specialist Research Facilities.

Term 1

Core Science Skills and Research Methods:

• The scientific method
• Experiment design and presentation skills 
• Library and internet resource searching

Literature Review in Biosciences

• Focus on an aspect related to your intended research pathway

Selected module

• Chosen from a range on offer from the College of Science

Terms 2 and 3

Research Project

• An independent piece of research leading to a dissertation written as a scientific research paper

Research Pathways

The entry requirements for the MRes Biosciences is a first or upper second class honours degree in Bioscience or related subject.

We welcome applications by prospective students from around the world and look for evidence of previous study that is equivalent to the entry requirements stated above. The Postgraduate Admissions Office are happy to advise you on whether your qualifications are suitable for entry to the course you would like to study. Please email admissions@swansea.ac.uk for further information.

If English is not your first language you will need an acceptable pass in an approved English Language qualification to make sure you get the full benefit from studying at Swansea. We consider a wide range of qualifications, including the Swansea University English Test, the British Council IELTS test (with a score of at least 6.5 and a minimum of 6.0 in each component). A full list of acceptable English Language tests can be found at:
www.swansea.ac.uk/international/students/requirements/english-requirements

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

Applicants to this programme would normally be expected to meet the minimum entry requirements indicated above. The College/School reserves the right to ask for higher academic grades and qualifications. Admissions decisions take into account not only prior academic qualifications, but also factors including the standard of the research synopsis/proposal submitted by the applicant, their performance at interview (if required), intensity of competition for limited places and relevant professional experience (where appropriate).

For further information, please contact the course co-ordinator,

Dr Andrew King (a.j.king@swansea.ac.uk)

For all EU/International enquiries please contact:

international-science@swansea.ac.uk

+44 (0)1792 295142 

For UK applicants

For International applicants

Annual tuition fees for entry in the academic year 2019/20 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.

Note: The UK/EU fee is indicative pending confirmation from UKRI

If your course starts in January, April or July 2019 please refer to the 2018/19 fee costs 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: It is now possible for some students to study part-time under the Tier 4 visa route. This is dependent on factors relating to the course and your individual situation. It may also be possible to study with us if you are already in the UK under a different visa category. Please visit the University information on Visas and Immigration for further guidance and support.

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

A bench fee of £1000 will be charged. Depending on the project the bench fee will be used for (but is not limited to):

• Incidental costs incurred in the training of research students
• Attendance at relevant training courses, where these are relevant to the research being undertaken by the student
• Provision of non-standard equipment and consumables
• Provision of journals and books where these are not available through the University Library or through inter-library loans
• Attendance at conferences where the student is presenting a talk or poster on their research
• Travel and subsistence associated with research project activities

International students: please visit http://www.swansea.ac.uk/international/students/requirements/

The Biosciences department is always keen to attract high-quality postgraduate students to join our research groups. As an MRes student, 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.

This degree is assessed by a dissertation (research project).

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

“My passion is bees. A lot of zoologists come into the subject wanting to study large, “exciting” animals but once I started watching bees I never looked back. My research on insect pollinators is already making a difference but I want to do so much more.

My undergraduate research helped persuade one council to change its policy on mowing regimes. Now it mows verges less often and sows more wildflowers. For my Masters in Research I am studying how pollinators use wildflower areas in the cities of South Wales.

My dream is to get a PhD and become a research ecologist. I want my findings to influence lawmakers to do more to protect insect pollinators and their habitats."

Elinor Meloy
MRes Biosciences, 2016

Read our student profiles

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

You will receive training to prepare you to become a research scientist that will enable you to successfully pursue a career within biology and ecology. 

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.

All academic staff in Biosciences are active researchers and the department has a thriving research culture. Find out more

The College of Science is offering scholarships for overseas students from China, India and Nigeria. To find out more visit - http://www.swansea.ac.uk/science/postgraduatescholarships/collegeinternationalscholarships/

or

http://www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate/fees-and-funding/