Program Overview

Oceans and freshwaters make up more than 70% of the earth’s surface. Within them is a vast and diverse range of aquatic organisms and ecosystems. By understanding them and how they interact with one another, we can understand, more clearly, the current health of Planet Earth. From the effects of climate change, through to the conservation and protection interventions that are needed.

The Integrated Masters of Marine and Freshwater Biology will explore these and many other areas of the “aquatic world”. With firm theoretical grounding and real-world practical application, this course nurtures the ingenuity of both staff and students to grow in expertise and think outside the box, to solve the global marine and fresh water challenges we face.

With a stunning coastline on our doorstep, cutting-edge learning facilities and comprehensive teaching resources, you will be well-prepared to contribute to marine and freshwater research in Aberystwyth and beyond.

This course has been awarded Interim Advanced Accreditation status. This will become Advanced Accreditation when the first cohort of students graduate from the MBiol degree courses in the summer 2018 (subject to final confirmation from the Royal Society of Biology).

If you wish to study Marine and Freshwater Biology and have career aspirations as an academic or commercial aquatic research scientist, then this exciting course may be for you. Integrated Masters schemes are four-year undergraduate degrees for students with the ability to study to a higher level than the standard BSc degree, and graduate with the Masters level qualification, MBiol (Marine and Freshwater Biology). Integrated Masters students initially study modules of the BSc degree integrated with a further year at M-level, with the opportunity to apply subject-specific knowledge to a major research project, alongside taught modules that develop essential skills required by today’s professional scientists.

Specialist opportunities at Aberystwyth for our Integrated Masters students include:

• Aquarium systems and extensive growth rooms to support aquatic organisms
• Two research vessels for hands-on experience of sampling techniques used by professional aquatic biologists
• Residential field courses in marine and freshwater biology
• Extensive research and teaching labs equipped with the latest equipment, including bioimaging facilities and high-throughput DNA sequencing.

Situated on the coast of Cardigan Bay with a hinterland rich in rivers and lakes, Aberystwyth University is the ideal location to study of Marine and Freshwater Biology. Easily accessible habitats range from mountain streams bearing trout and invertebrates, internationally important estuaries, salt marsh, beaches, reefs and a bay inhabited by a large bottlenose dolphin population. Recent M&F Biology graduates progressed to PhD training or secured jobs with the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Ribble Rivers Trust, WiseOceans, Pontus Aqua and KAUST Coral Reef Ecology Lab.