Biotechnology MSc

The Department of Biosciences considers global issues such as healthy ageing, food security and control of disease and the existential conditions of climate change and sustainability. Our academic goal is to develop workable responses that will help to improve lives and environments worldwide. We take a research-led approach to teaching that develops both the theoretical and practical knowledge that is needed in order to be able to contribute in a meaningful way to tackling these issues. Learning in the Department benefits from being informed by global scientific advances and the national and international priorities of governments and organisations at a time when biosciences have never been more important. The expertise of our academic staff is wide-ranging. Specialisms feature bacteria, plants, animals and humans with an emphasis on biotic and abiotic stress, signalling and environmental adaptation, cell structure, function and development, and human health and disease. Reflecting the constant change and growth of bioscience we encourage interdisciplinary-based partnerships such as Chemical Biology with the Department of Chemistry and Behavioural Ecology with the Department of Anthropology. We have an engaged and vibrant community of more than a hundred postgraduate students and researchers, who come here from all over the world to conduct their research and develop their skills. Postgraduate biosciences at Durham provides a unique opportunity to really shape the future. For more information see our department pages.

Facilities

The Department of Biosciences is located in a UNESCO World Heritage site, a short walk from the historic centre of Durham. Other academic departments and university services such as libraries and museums can be found nearby. In the Department itself, we have a huge range of state-of-the-art technology, which is widely used by the postgraduate community for research work. The highly specialised equipment includes electron and confocal laser scanning microscopy, transgenic studies, genomics, DNA analysis and proteomics, bioinformatics, remote sensing, ecological field sampling and computer modelling. Other departmental facilities are also world-class, including extensive greenhouses, environmental control chambers, cell technology facilities, microscopy suite, facilities for next generation sequencing and proteomics, and dedicated powerful computers for bioinformatics.