Genetics (with integrated year in industry)

Why study Genetics at Aberystwyth University?

• You'll study cancer biology, chromosome genetics, gene expression and development, evolution and population genetics, and biotechnology.
• You'll be taught the application of molecular techniques including DNA manipulation, sequencing and analysis.
• You'll have access to extensive research and teaching labs equipped with the latest state-of-the-art equipment, including microscopy facilities, high-throughput DNA sequencing, proteomics, metabolomics and spectroscopic platforms.
• You'll have a guaranteed lab-based research project in your final year.
• You'll receive tuition in scientific protocol and the correct scientific procedures for recording, interpreting and reporting data.
• We place great emphasis upon practical skills so that our graduates become practitioners from the word go. We ensure that our graduates have the skills to communicate their science effectively so that they can join the often controversial genetics debates.

Our Staff

The majority of teaching staff in the Department of Life Sciences are qualified to PhD level and are research active. Vocational courses also have staff whose background lies within industry. The Department has a large number of research only staff with whom students may have contact.

Employability is embedded across all of our teaching. Our Genetics degree will provide you with plenty of hands-on lab work, and thus the skills to take up a professional career in genetics within healthcare, industry or universities. Potential opportunities include clinical genetics, biomedical genetics, biotechnology, forensic research, genetic counselling, conservation genetics and plant breeding. This degree also frequently leads to postgraduate research at Masters and PhD level.

Where are our Genetics graduates now? 

• Genetic Technologist at Liverpool Women’s Hospital
• Clinical Scientist at Birmingham Women’s Hospital
• Research Scientist at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
• Post-doctoral research Associate at the University of Manchester
• MSc student in Developmental Biology at the University of Bath
• PhD at the University of Leicester.

Completing a year in industry will allow you to:

• Apply the learning from your course to the work environment;
• Make industry contacts;
• Develop practical skills related to your area of study;
• Apply your practical skills and technical knowledge after returning to study;
• Enhance your CV and better prepare yourself for a job after graduating.