About Biotechnology in Aberystwyth University

The Biotechnology  MSc within the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) provides you with key skills, specialist knowledge and essential training for a career in industrial or academic bioscience. Increasingly, biotechnology companies are recruiting Master’s students with specialised skills to perform jobs previously the reserve of Doctorate level scientists.

At the end of the course you will be able to meet the challenges of biotechnology, demonstrate critical thinking and solve problems, exploit opportunities,  and know how ideas can be turned into viable businesses or a successful grant application.

Why study Biotechnology at IBERS?

• You want specialist experience and knowledge in biotechnology research and commercial application to give you a competitive edge in the job market and underpin your successful career.

• IBERS has the credentials to deliver these goals.

• With 360 members of staff, 1350 undergraduate students and more than 150 postgraduate students IBERS is the largest Institute within Aberystwyth University. Our excellence in teaching was recognised by outstanding scores in the National Student Satisfaction Survey (2016), with three courses recording 100% student satisfaction and a further 10 scoring above the national average. The latest employability data shows that 92% of IBERS graduates were in work or further study six months after leaving Aberystwyth University.

• IBERS is internationally-recognised for research excellence and works to provide solutions to global challenges such as food security, sustainable bioenergy, and the impacts of climate change. IBERS hosts 2 National bioscience facilities: The National Plant Phenomics Centre –a state of the art automated plant growth facility that allows the high throughput evaluation of growth and morphology in defined environments, and the BEACON Centre of Excellence for Biorefining - a £20 million partnership between Aberystwyth, Bangor and Swansea Universities set up to help Welsh businesses develop new ways of converting biomass feedstocks and waste streams into products for the pharmaceutical, chemicals, fuel and cosmetic industries.

• IBERS has a track record of working with academic and industrial partners to develop and translate innovative bioscience research into solutions that help mitigate the impacts of climate change, animal and plant disease, and deliver renewable energy and food and water security. The economic and social impact of IBERS research was recognised in 2011when the institute won the national BBSRC Excellence With Impact Award.

Employability

There is great demand nationally and internationally for skilled graduates in Biotechnology, indeed the UK Biotechnology and Biological research Council (BBSRC) have made ‘Bioenergy and Biotechnology’ a strategic priority for science funding. 

Biotechnology is a rapidly expanding sector providing employment opportunities for a wide range of biotechnology graduates. In the UK alone the industry employs 160,000 people and has annual revenues of £50 billion. 

In a survey of major life science firms conducted by Deloitte 32% of the of respondents said they were going to diversify their employee base, hiring skilled graduates from more countries and with a wider range of expertise thus demonstrating a buoyant labour market within the life science area. In addition, an IBM survey of CEOs in the life science sector reported that 63% of respondents agreed that their firms were changing the mix of capabilities and assets (which includes training of personnel), demonstrating an increasing interest in employing graduates from innovative areas such as Biotechnology.  

The number of jobs in Biotech is increasing worldwide, for example Biotechnology Research and Development jobs in Singapore doubled to 12,000 between 2000 and 2008. In addition according to IEEE Board of Directors no single occupation is expected to have more job growth over the next decade, and employment of biotechnology engineers is expected to grow by 72% between 2008 and 2018. The USA saw a 5% growth between 2009 and 2010 in Biotechnology jobs with 112,000 people employed. As reported in the US Government’s Monthly Labour Review January 2012. Biotechnology engineers are the 3rd fastest growing occupation according to employment projections.

Our students are provided with a range of vocational skills to enable them to enter professional employment in the Biotechnology sector or in research.

Academic qualification equivalents:

• We normally accept a minimum of 55% or GCPA 6.0 in a relevant Bachelors degree from a recognised institution. Non-graduates with at least 2 years of relevant full-time work experience are welcome to apply. In this case your application will be assessed on an individual basis.

English language requirements (one of the below):

• IELTS          :         6.5 with minimum 5.5 in each component 
• TOEFL         :         93 with minimum component scores:Reading 18, Listening 17, Speaking 20, Writing 17.
• PTE             :          62 with minimum scores of 51 in each component 

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