Master of Science (Hons) in Natural Sciences

at University of Bath United Kingdom

Study life on all scales to find out where your interests lie, on this flexible and wide-ranging course.

Biology encompasses the study of life from molecules to ecosystems. It's an exciting area of study that has a significant impact on our daily lives and is vital to solving some of the world’s biggest challenges.

You'll gain a broad foundation of skills across areas such as evolution, ecology, biodiversity, genetics, cell biology and microbiology, equipping you with the knowledge for a range of careers in the biosciences and beyond.

Tailor to your interests

As the most flexible of our biosciences courses, from year two you'll get to choose from a wide variety of units. This gives you the option to either maintain breadth or specialise in specific areas, such as developmental biology, genomics, neuroscience, cancer biology or microbiology.

To keep your options open further, you'll even have the flexibility to switch between our biology and biochemistry courses after the first year.

Placement Year

Going on placement gives you the opportunity to apply your skills and knowledge to a year working professionally. You’ll be employed full-time in a role to match your future career ambitions, broadening your experience and transferable skills. This could give you a competitive edge when applying for graduate jobs.

There is a wide range of placement opportunities available each year, from working in marketing for a pharmaceutical company to a lab-based role at a world-renowned research institute. We have links with some of industry's leading companies. Recent employers include Lilly, Field Studies Council, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Oxford Gene Technology, AstraZeneca, Genesys and LifeArc.

Learn practical and theoretical skills across all areas of chemistry, ready to tackle major challenges in a range of careers.

From addressing climate change, to developing new pharmaceuticals or tackling food security, chemistry is vital in modern day society.

This course has the broadest range of subjects of all our chemistry courses. In the first two years, you’ll study an introduction to all areas of chemistry, gaining the practical and theoretical skills needed to design experiments and test hypotheses. This includes understanding the theories of chemical behaviour and how they're applied.

Develop a deep understanding of the fundamental principles of physics, expand your knowledge with flexible options and get involved in our high-level research.

This is our broadest physics degree and gives you the opportunity to explore a wide range of areas in physics, from the nanoscale to the most energetic processes in the Universe.

As well as gaining a deep knowledge and understanding of physics, you’ll graduate with strong experimental, mathematical and computational expertise. You’ll gain powerful problem-solving, analytical and critical thinking skills, preparing you for careers in physics and many other fields as well.

Become an innovative computing professional with the skills needed for a career in the fast-growing field of AI.

This course is for you if you’re keen to learn about current Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, specialising in this field from the start of your degree whilst still gaining a broad grounding in computer science. AI is becoming an ever more important part of a wide range of sectors from medicine to marketing, so this course will help prepare you for continued demand in the job market.

You'll gain the skills and knowledge to apply the latest AI technologies and methods to a wide range of problems, studying topics such as machine learning, algorithms and complexity, and visual computing.

Tailor to your interests

In the first year, you’ll learn the basics of computer science, including mathematics and programming skills, along with an introduction to the theory and practice of AI. In the second year, you’ll continue to develop your AI skills, with a focus on machine learning. In the final year, you’ll choose optional units alongside an individual project in a specific area of AI. You can specialise in areas such as robotics, natural language processing, intelligent agents or computer vision. You’ll regularly meet with an academic who’s an expert in your chosen field.

Develop the skills to resolve complex economic issues. Learn economic theories, methods and applications, and become acquainted with chosen specialist areas.

In this course, you’ll study the foundations of economic theory and its applications to real-world problems. You’ll explore the connections between the economy as a whole, its main sectors (such as businesses, the financial sector, government, for example) and the decisions of individuals.

You’ll learn how to apply economic principles and methods to policy issues. You’ll develop your knowledge of institutions to understand how economic decisions and policies are made.

Your first year is concerned with key concepts in microeconomic and macroeconomic theory. You’ll further your skills in core mathematics, statistics and data analysis. In Year 2, you’ll build on this through intermediate study of economic theory. The study of econometrics will enable you to estimate and forecast economic relationships. The final year will teach you advanced economic theory. A selection of optional units will enable you to tailor your expertise to your personal interests and career aspirations.

Placement Year

Taking a placement in your third year enables you to use the theory you have learnt in a practical context. You will learn about an organisation and its area of work in the UK or overseas. This is an excellent opportunity to test potential career paths. Sometimes permanent jobs are offered to our students. You’ll develop skills such as teamwork, planning, problem solving, decision making and project management.

Employers value a year of professional work and you’ll gain an advantage in the job market. Sometimes it is possible for you to acquire additional professional qualifications, particularly in accountancy, whilst on placement.

Year abroad

On this course you'll combine a work placement with studying at a university overseas. Broaden your horizons and experience another culture whilst studying a course that complements your studies at Bath.

Study abroad locations include the National University of Singapore and Stellenbosch University (South Africa), as well as others. We seek to further expand on these. Study abroad opportunities are limited and are subject to availability at our partner institutions.

Develop the skills to resolve complex economic issues. Learn economic theories, methods and applications, and become acquainted with chosen specialist areas.

In this course, you’ll study the foundations of economic theory and its applications to real-world problems. You’ll explore the connections between the economy as a whole, its main sectors (such as businesses, the financial sector, government, for example) and the decisions of individuals.

You’ll learn how to apply economic principles and methods to policy issues. You’ll develop your knowledge of institutions to understand how economic decisions and policies are made.

Your first year is concerned with key concepts in microeconomic and macroeconomic theory. You’ll further your skills in core mathematics, statistics and data analysis. In Year 2, you’ll build on this through intermediate study of economic theory. The study of econometrics will enable you to estimate and forecast economic relationships. The final year will teach you advanced economic theory. A selection of optional units will enable you to tailor your expertise to your personal interests and career aspirations.

Placement Year

Taking a placement in your third year enables you to use the theory you have learnt in a practical context. You will learn about an organisation and its area of work in the UK or overseas. This is an excellent opportunity to test potential career paths. Sometimes permanent jobs are offered to our students. You’ll develop skills such as teamwork, planning, problem solving, decision making and project management.

Employers value a year of professional work and you’ll gain an advantage in the job market. Sometimes it is possible for you to acquire additional professional qualifications, particularly in accountancy, whilst on placement.

Prepare yourself for a career in specialist language work including translation, editing and précis-writing.

If you're interested in working as a professional linguist or working with the written word to provide translations and specialised language services, this course is an excellent option.

With a growing demand for highly trained speakers of English in the UK and abroad, this specialist master's will equip you to set up your own freelance business or work in-house for an international organisation or language service provider.

Unlike other courses of its kind, ours covers a wide variety of skills, including editing, revision, précis-writing and proofreading. Employers and agencies have told us they’re looking for these services, so having the right skills will place you in a strong position for securing work. You'll have the opportunity to gain skills in public service and commercial interpreting, and you will learn about setting up your own translation business.

In some cases, we can arrange external translation training. This may be in international organisations, such as the EU and UN, or an independent translation agency, and will give you first-hand experience of the workplace and valuable contacts for building your career.

The course is taught by qualified tutors. While some have worked for international organisations, others have developed their careers as freelance linguists. All bring extensive experience to the classroom to give students invaluable advice.

Mathematics enables us to reason logically, to understand structure and to formulate scientific principles, whether from the physical, life or social sciences.

Choose this course to gain specialist knowledge in pure mathematics, applied mathematics and/or statistics.

Tailor to your interests

At the start of the course, you’ll gain a broad education in pure and applied mathematics, including programming and statistics. You’ll have the freedom to study a broader mathematical pathway or specialise in your favourite subject areas, enhancing your analytical thinking and appreciation of the beauty of mathematics.

All of our courses are flexible and allow for a wide choice of units after year one. You may be able to switch courses during the first year.

Placement Year

Going on placement gives you the opportunity to apply your skills and knowledge to a year working professionally. You’ll be employed full-time in a role to match your future career ambitions, broadening your experience and transferable skills. This could give you a competitive edge when applying for graduate jobs.

We have links with some of the industry’s leading companies. Recent placement employers include BAE Systems, EY, Office of National Statistics, JP Morgan and Deloitte.

Develop practical and technical skills to design and engineer the built environment. Use integrated and creative solutions to engineer a sustainable future.

Our course is for students who want to ask difficult questions about the future of civil engineering. You’ll push the boundaries of design and construction to generate new ideas for our infrastructure and cities. Your knowledge will enable you to integrate energy, sustainability and environmental design.

In your first two years, you will learn the foundations of materials, geotechnics, structures and digital design. You will develop the fundamental engineering design skills and attributes, including ingenuity and communication skills, that are essential for exploring aspects of infrastructure and the built environment in later years.

Our courses draw on the strengths of a joint department with architecture, offering a different experience from most universities. Cross-disciplinary group work mirrors the professional relationships you'll experience in your career, and you’ll develop the imaginative approaches and skills needed to tackle a wide range of civil engineering projects.

Placement Year

Going on placement gives you the chance to apply the skills you’ve developed at university to the workplace, and develop complementary skills and knowledge. You’ll gain insight into the construction industry and develop your confidence and standing as a professional engineer. Having professional experience can benefit the rest of your degree and improve your career prospects. Our students have worked at small and large internationally known companies including Arup, Atkins, Buro Happold and Laing O’Rourke.

Develop core knowledge of systems engineering across both mechanical and electrical engineering to boost your career prospects in industry.

Our course gives you a unique chance to balance an understanding of mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering sciences with a focus on systems engineering. You’ll develop a comprehensive knowledge of mechanics, materials, electrical and electronic systems and circuits. And you’ll explore the theory and practice of the latest mechanical and electrical technologies.

Being able to apply what you’ve learnt is an important part of your study at Bath. You’ll use theory in coordinated projects and laboratory work where you’ll design and develop products and systems.

Placement Year

Going on placement gives you the chance to apply your theoretical knowledge to the workplace and learn about the technologies and processes used in industry. You’ll develop your skills in a professional environment and learn about sophisticated engineering systems. Having professional experience can benefit the rest of your degree as well as improve your career prospects. It can also be an opportunity to earn a salary during your degree.

Our students have worked at companies including OC Robotics, Renishaw, BAE Systems and Jaguar Land Rover.