Program Overview

Our five-year MBiolSci is designed to give you the best start for a career in industrial or academic research. You'll combine the research-focused integrated masters with a year-long, paid work placement as part of your degree.

Our students have found placements in industry with organisations such as GSK, Atkins Environmental Consulting and EMEC Ecology; with charities like the Wildlife Trusts, Newquay Zoo, and the Field Studies Council; or in government with the Environment Agency. You could even apply your scientific knowledge and transferable skills outside of the bioscience industry in areas including market research, communications or business development.

A placement is a great opportunity to test out a career path and many students are offered a graduate-level job at the end. You'll pay reduced fees for the year you're on placement and you'll still have the support you need from your tutor and the University.

The majority of your final year is devoted to a major research project where you'll develop advanced laboratory and fieldwork skills, working alongside our world-leading academics.

The course gives you an in-depth insight into fundamental plant biology. You’ll explore photosynthesis, the genetics of disease resistance and the conservation of plant diversity. You’ll study these topics while considering how we can harness plant technology to solve global food and energy shortages, mitigate the effects of the climate crisis, and develop sustainable and green technologies.

You'll cover two main themes at Sheffield:

• plant physiology - how plants harvest light energy, acquire nutrients from the soil and convert this to sustain growth
• plant ecology - how plants interact with each other and their non-living environment, and disease resistance and biodiversity.

Our courses are designed for students who have a passion for understanding the role of plants in sustainability and the science and technology of food production. Sheffield is home to the Institute for Sustainable Food, which brings together our expertise in this area in order to find dynamic solutions to the challenges of food security and sustainability. It’s research like this that you’ll be able to get involved in throughout your studies.

Alongside your specialist plant science modules, you’ll have the freedom to study topics across the breadth of biology to complement your knowledge. Topics range from molecular genetics, developmental biology and biochemistry, to evolution, zoology and physiology. This flexibility allows you to study plant sciences in great depth from a range of perspectives, broaden your interests or even switch to another biosciences degree programme.