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Molecular Biology and Environmental Change with a Year in Industry

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B-B,B,C

Where an applicant is taking the EPQ alongside A-levels, the EPQ will be taken into consideration and result in lower A-level grades being required. Socio-economics factors which may have impacted an applicant's education will be taken into consideration and alternative offers may be made to these applicants. Required subjects: Biology plus another science from either Chemistry, Maths or Physics. A Pass is required in the practical element of all Science A-levels taken.

Access to HE Diploma

D:24,M:21

Pass Access to Science HE Diploma with at least 24 level 3 credits at Distinction, including all Biology and Chemistry units at Distinction and the remaining level 3 credits at Merit. Please note that the Access to Higher Education Diploma will only be acceptable if the applicant has had a considerable break from education.

Applicants with the Cambridge Pre-U are strongly encouraged to apply to Royal Holloway. Offers will be made on the basis of equivalent A-Level grades as can be found on the Royal Holloway website.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

We require at least five GCSEs at grade A*-C or 9 - 4 including English and Mathematics.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

30

5,5,5 at Higher Level including Higher Level Biology and a Higher Level in either Chemistry, Maths or Physics, with a minimum of 32 points overall.

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H3,H3,H3,H3,H3

Subjects to include Biology plus another science from either Chemistry, Maths or Physics.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DM

Distinction, Merit in Applied Science and grade B in A-level Chemistry or A-level Biology. A Pass is required in the practical element of all Science A-levels taken.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate (first teaching from September 2016)

D

Plus grades BB in A-level Biology plus another science from either Chemistry, Maths or Physics. A Pass is required in the practical element of all Science A-levels taken.

Scottish Advanced Higher

B,B,B-B,B,C

Subjects to include Biology plus another science from either Chemistry, Maths or Physics.

Scottish Higher

B,B,B,B,B

Subjects to include Biology plus another science from either Chemistry, Maths or Physics.

T Level

M

T-Level should be in a Science Pathway with Merit achieved overall, Merit in the occupation specialism and B in the Core Component.

Requirements are as for A-levels where one non-subject-specified A-level can be replaced by the same grade in the Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate.

UCAS Tariff

112-144

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Molecular biology

Environmental biotechnology

Population growth, global industrialisation, natural hazards, food and resource security and climate change are among the greatest challenges faced in the 21st century, putting life on our planet under unprecedented strain.

BSc Molecular Biology and Environmental Change is a new degree designed to develop a strong scientific understanding of the core concepts of molecular biology and how these can be applied to develop new technologies to tackle the problems caused by environmental change.

Our flexible degree structure will develop your understanding of how biological principles can help develop sustainable solutions to 21st century challenges. Your degree will include core modules that are essential for the degree, plus a wide choice of optional modules to provide opportunities for you to specialise and tailor your degree to your study interests.

You’ll be taught by international research leaders across a broad range of topics, learning to apply and integrate molecular and environmental approaches to address societal challenges related to climate change, including food sustainability, energy production and organism resilience. You’ll also experience the thrill and challenge of an individual research project, designing your own experiments and driving your research forwards in well-equipped laboratories, guided by our expert academics.

Over the course of three years you will develop your technical ability and research skills alongside problem-solving and quantitative analysis, as you learn how to be a bioscientist, from performing experiments, through evaluation of data, to presentation of results in both verbal and written formats.

You will graduate equipped with the specialist knowledge of ground-breaking latest advances and practical skills to tackle the scientific challenges of a rapidly changing world, ideally prepared for a career in your chosen field, or ready to progress into postgraduate study.

You can further enrich your degree by taking an integrated year in industry to gain professional experience. Our year in industry degrees are highly valued by employers and they give you the chance to gain first-hand experience of the world of work and to apply your learning to real-world scenarios. Your year in industry will start at the end of year 2.

- Gain practical skills in molecular biology and molecular genetics to address the problems arising from environmental change

- Choose from a range of optional modules to tailor your degree to your interests

- Develop your technical ability and research skills alongside problem-solving and quantitative analysis, to equip you for a career in industry or research

- Develop practical laboratory and data handling skills.

- Examine the life cycle of flowering plants, their evolution, developmental and functional biology.

- Learn how biological and ecological principles can help develop sustainable solutions to 21st-century problems.

- Join a close-knit and supportive learning community with a high staff-to-student ratio.

Modules

Please refer to our website for information: https://royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/undergraduate/biological-sciences/molecular-biology-and-environmental-change-with-a-year-in-industry/

Assessment methods

You will take 120 credits of modules each year, including those that are mandatory and provide the core for the subject of molecular biology and environmental change and also electives that allow you to diversify your interests around related topics.

Your teaching will be a mixture of lectures, practicals, problem-solving classes and online activities. Laboratory classes form a major part of the first and second year and you will conduct experiments that are integral to molecular biology and applied molecular genetics, developing the technical and analytical skills that are fundamental to being able to develop scientific solutions to the global challenges facing the planet. In your final year you will conduct a research project that will enable you to hone your skills in critical analysis, research planning and development, project and time management, all highly valued, transferable skills.

All students are assigned a personal tutor for advice and support through the duration of their degree programme, with regular small group and individual meetings. Coursework activities spread across the year make up 25-30% of your marks, and include a range of assessments such as online worksheets, reports, quizzes, essays, mock grant applications, creation of leaflets, posters and presentations, and using online data analysis software. Most modules include a written exam assessment, and some include an assessment of practical skills. The final year project is entirely coursework based.

The second and third year outcomes contribute one third and two-thirds of the final degree

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£26,500
per year
International
£26,500
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Royal Holloway, University of London

Department:

Biological Sciences

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

79%
Molecular biology

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Molecular biology, biophysics and biochemistry

Teaching and learning

77%
Staff make the subject interesting
81%
Staff are good at explaining things
76%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
73%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

82%
Library resources
86%
IT resources
86%
Course specific equipment and facilities
71%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

87%
UK students
13%
International students
32%
Male students
68%
Female students
85%
2:1 or above
2%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
A

Biotechnology

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

84%
UK students
16%
International students
80%
Male students
20%
Female students
9%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
C
D

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Molecular biology, biophysics and biochemistry

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,500
low
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education
77%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

20%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
13%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
11%
Natural and social science professionals

Around 2,500 graduates got degrees in this demanding but valuable subject last year. Graduates who want a career in research usually take postgraduate qualifications - over a third of graduates in the subject took this option - but those who want to start work when they graduate have a lot to choose from. Laboratory work and other jobs in the biosciences are popular, as well as in education, but many biochemistry graduates find their way into the finance industry and as a consequence, graduates from these disciplines are particularly likely to get jobs in London and the South East.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Molecular biology, biophysics and biochemistry

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£21k

£21k

£27k

£27k

£31k

£31k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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