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MSci Microbiology
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UCAS code
C503 -
A level offer
ABB -
Year of entry
2025/26 -
Course duration
Full Time: 4 Years
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Year of entry
2025/26 -
Course duration
Full Time: 4 Years
Expand your knowledge of some of the planet's smallest life forms. Contribute to research projects with global impact on this integrated MSci Microbiology course.
Take a look at the fascinating world of microbes and their crucial roles in the biosphere. Through the course, you will learn about the fundamental properties, genetics and physiology of diverse microbes. Choose optional modules and focus your studies on areas that most interest you, including medical, environmental or food microbiology.
Why study Microbiology at the University of Reading?
- You can apply for Chartered Biologist status upon graduation, which is accredited by the Royal Society of Biology.
- You'll benefit from membership of the Microbiology Society and our strong links with industry.
- Networking opportunities: the University is located in the Thames Valley corridor, giving you networking opportunities with biochemical, chemical, pharmaceutical, cell biology and informatics companies at careers fairs and events.
- We are in the UK's top 10 universities for biosciences (ranked 9th by the Daily Mail University Guide, 2024).
- 97% of School of Biological Sciences students said teaching staff are good at explaining things (National Student Survey 2024, 97% of responders).
- You'll become a member of the UK's oldest microbiology department.
Accreditation
This programme has been accredited by the Royal Society of Biology following an independent and rigorous assessment.
Accredited degree programmes contain a solid academic foundation in biological knowledge and establish a profile of key skills that bioscience employers can recognise in accredited graduates, including technical and transferable skills.
What you'll study
The MSci follows the standard undergraduate curriculum but with an additional year of study and a master's level qualification.
This course has a strong practical basis, and you will learn a wide variety of techniques such as microbial genetics, biochemistry and propagation. In your first year, you will learn about the structure and function of microbes (viruses, bacteria, archaea, fungi and protists), and the interrelationships between microbes, other organisms and the environment. You will also focus on developing your essential laboratory skills, data handling/interpretation and other key transferable skills.
In your second year, enhance your knowledge of how microbes function and gain a deeper understanding of infectious diseases and the pathogens that cause them, including the mechanisms of treatment and prevention.
The third year of the programme places a strong emphasis on the application of knowledge and skills. Ready for your final year, where you will have the chance to spend three months working on an Advanced Research Project, working alongside academics on cutting-edge medical research. This will provide you with the opportunity to independently plan, execute, analyse and communicate a research project in a specialised area of microbiology.
In your final year you will also have the opportunity to take part in our unique Arctic microbiology field course in Iceland. There you will be able to examine the unusual microbes that inhabit extreme environments and learn field-based sampling techniques.
Your learning environment
Our new £60m Health and Life Sciences building is the home of the School of Biological Sciences. It offers state-of-the-art research and teaching laboratories, seminar rooms, and plenty of study and social space, including a café.
Facilities and equipment
Get hands-on experience using our state-of-the-art equipment and facilities including:
- a cardiovascular imaging facility
- advanced microscopy suites purpose-built for biomedical research
- tissue culture suites
- multi-mode microplate readers (absorbance, fluorescence, luminescence)
- multicolour flow cytometry
- real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), digital gel scanning and documentation
- spectrophotometers, centrifuges, and ultra-centrifuges
- fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
- large scale growth, migration, harvesting, electroporation and introduction of genes of microbial and animal cells
- equipment for animal behavioural assays.
Placements
We also offer a MSci Microbiology with Professional Experience, where you have the opportunity to carry out a year-long industrial placement between your second and third years We have contacts with numerous microbiology-related companies/organisations within the UK and abroad, ranging from government health agencies and pharmaceuticals to water treatment and biotechnology.
In the past, students have worked at Public Health England’s Porton Down and Colindale laboratories, GSK, AstraZeneca and Covance. You can also choose to spend a year abroad, typically carrying out research in an academic laboratory.
Opportunities also include a paid vacation studentship funded by organisations such as the Wellcome Trust and the Microbiology Society. During the summer break, you can work on a set project and benefit from valuable training in techniques, experimental design and the interpretation of data.
Our department has a dedicated academic in charge of placements, who can provide you with advice and support.
For more information, please visit the School of Biomedical Sciences website.