Master of Science (Hons) in Natural Sciences

at University of Bath United Kingdom

Develop the skills to resolve complex economic issues. Learn economic theories, methods and applications, and become acquainted with chosen specialist areas.

In this course, you’ll study the foundations of economic theory and its applications to real-world problems. You’ll explore the connections between the economy as a whole, its main sectors (such as businesses, the financial sector, government, for example) and the decisions of individuals.

You’ll learn how to apply economic principles and methods to policy issues. You’ll develop your knowledge of institutions to understand how economic decisions and policies are made.

Your first year is concerned with key concepts in microeconomic and macroeconomic theory. You’ll further your skills in core mathematics, statistics and data analysis. In Year 2, you’ll build on this through intermediate study of economic theory. The study of econometrics will enable you to estimate and forecast economic relationships. The final year will teach you advanced economic theory. A selection of optional units will enable you to tailor your expertise to your personal interests and career aspirations.

Placement Year

Taking a placement in your third year enables you to use the theory you have learnt in a practical context. You will learn about an organisation and its area of work in the UK or overseas. This is an excellent opportunity to test potential career paths. Sometimes permanent jobs are offered to our students. You’ll develop skills such as teamwork, planning, problem solving, decision making and project management.

Employers value a year of professional work and you’ll gain an advantage in the job market. Sometimes it is possible for you to acquire additional professional qualifications, particularly in accountancy, whilst on placement.

Year abroad

On this course you'll combine a work placement with studying at a university overseas. Broaden your horizons and experience another culture whilst studying a course that complements your studies at Bath.

Study abroad locations include the National University of Singapore and Stellenbosch University (South Africa), as well as others. We seek to further expand on these. Study abroad opportunities are limited and are subject to availability at our partner institutions.

Develop core knowledge of systems engineering across both mechanical and electrical engineering to boost your career prospects in industry.

Our course gives you a unique chance to balance an understanding of mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering sciences with a focus on systems engineering. You’ll develop a comprehensive knowledge of mechanics, materials, electrical and electronic systems and circuits. And you’ll explore the theory and practice of the latest mechanical and electrical technologies.

Being able to apply what you’ve learnt is an important part of your study at Bath. You’ll use theory in coordinated projects and laboratory work where you’ll design and develop products and systems.

Placement Year

Going on placement gives you the chance to apply your theoretical knowledge to the workplace and learn about the technologies and processes used in industry. You’ll develop your skills in a professional environment and learn about sophisticated engineering systems. Having professional experience can benefit the rest of your degree as well as improve your career prospects. It can also be an opportunity to earn a salary during your degree.

Our students have worked at companies including OC Robotics, Renishaw, BAE Systems and Jaguar Land Rover.

Study across the discipline with a focus on biological, cognitive, developmental and social psychology with options including clinical and health psychology.

This is a science degree that offers you insights into many aspects of psychology recognised by the British Psychological Society (BPS). You’ll gain a solid grounding across the discipline with a focus on biological psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, social psychology and individual differences. You will gain a critical appreciation of different theoretical perspectives and extensive training in research methods and project work.

In your first year you'll gain an understanding of basic concepts, methods and theories in psychology including individual differences, biological, cognitive, developmental and social psychology and their applications.

In your second year you'll advance your knowledge in the core areas of psychology, such as cognitive neuroscience, social psychology and developmental psychology. You'll extend your research methods skills and project work.

In your final year you’ll complete a research project and choose from a wide range of optional units relating to the current research expertise of academic staff. These cover areas that are not always found in other psychology degrees.

You’ll have the opportunity to apply for peer mentoring, research apprenticeships (working with a member of research staff), summer internships and peer assisted learning and leadership roles.

Develop a critical and practical understanding of sport management and development, coaching, physical education and the sociology and psychology of sport.

This degree is designed for those who wish to examine the role of sport, health and physical activity within society.

You'll have the opportunity to develop a fundamental understanding of sport management and development, coaching and physical education, and the sociology and psychology of sport. You will also develop an advanced understanding of at least one of these areas of study. You’ll consider the contributions sport makes to society and assess whether and how sport can be improved. You will study against the backdrop of the University’s world-class multi-sport training environment.

Placement Year

The placement year will give you valuable practical experience and is an excellent opportunity to try different careers. It enables you to leave university with a strong CV and may set you apart from other graduates entering the job market. You can take placements in areas such as sport marketing and management, community sport development, teaching, coaching, and performance analysis, among others.

Critically explore how young children and adolescents learn and develop. You’ll focus on contemporary society, both globally and in the UK.

Education with Psychology is a social science degree that bridges the disciplines of education, psychology and sociology. You’ll be offered a blend of social science units that relate to the study of children and young people.

You’ll study in-depth the social and developmental contexts of childhood and youth. You’ll explore government priorities relating to children’s lives and wellbeing, and the role of education. You’ll also develop skills in evaluating policy and practice, from both an academic and work-practice perspective.

In your first year you’ll study core introductory units in education, psychology and research methods. You’ll examine philosophical, sociological or psychological perspectives of education, learning, policy, families, social justice and deviance.

In your second year you'll continue to study research methods and advanced topics in education and psychology. You’ll examine contemporary issues and challenges that affect children, families and young people.

In your final year you'll learn about contemporary issues in childhood and youth, educational psychology, and developmental psychopathology. You can specialise according to your interests by writing a dissertation on a topic of your choice.

Apply the full breadth of physics to a wide range of astrophysical phenomena from star formation to black hole growth and the expansion of the Universe.

Physics with Astrophysics at Bath will give you a strong grounding in physics, along with in-depth specialist knowledge of astrophysics. You’ll learn how to combine evidence from stellar and extragalactic astronomy to build consistent theoretical models of the evolution of galaxies.

Topics covered include exoplanets, galaxies, cosmology, stars and stellar evolution, general relativity and high energy astrophysics. There'll also be opportunities for you to carry out both observational and computational astrophysics projects alongside our astrophysics research group.

Placement Year

As an MPhys student, you’ll be able to undertake a research placement in the final year of the course. You’ll spend six months (July to December) working in a research organisation of international standing, before returning to the University for the final semester. We have links with leading research organisations, including CERN, NTT Basic Research Laboratories (Japan), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (France) and Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.

Year Abroad

Broaden your horizons by spending a year studying at a university abroad. You’ll experience another culture whilst studying a course that complements your studies at Bath.

We currently have links with universities in North America, Australasia, Asia and Europe, including Purdue University, the University of Queensland, National University Singapore and the University of Helsinki.

The modern world needs thoughtful, politically-conscious, questioning economists. Become a professional who understands how economics and politics intertwine.

In this course, you’ll examine the challenges facing individuals, countries and the international community. You will develop an understanding of government and society through core concepts such as power, justice, conflict, accountability, obligation, sovereignty and decision making. You will develop strong analytical skills which will aid your understanding of the institutional, UK and global context within which economic decisions and policy formation takes place.

In your first year you'll study key concepts in microeconomic and macroeconomic theory. You'll explore political theory and analysis, introducing central subjects such as power and the state, democracy and the climate crisis.

In your second year you'll continue with more advanced study of political and economic theory. You'll study the exercise of power in societies and economies through an engagement with themes such as democratic theory, populist and nationalist politics, and the politics of race and gender.

In your final year you'll explore your interests through a range of optional units in both economics and politics.

By the end of the course, you will have an appreciation of the interface between economics and political science.

Year abroad

You can broaden your horizons with a year studying at a university abroad. You’ll experience another culture whilst studying a course that complements your studies at Bath. You could combine study abroad with an international work placement.

The study abroad option is available at the National University of Singapore, The University of Hong Kong and Stellenbosch University (South Africa), as well as others. We seek to further expand on these. Study abroad opportunities are limited and are subject to availability at our partner institutions.

Integrate structural, architectural and environmental principles to advance the creative and sustainable design of our built environment.

Our course is for creative engineers who want to develop a holistic approach to designing buildings and structures. As a graduate, your imaginative approaches, ingenuity and communication skills will help you develop responsible solutions for the engineering challenges you will face.

In your first two years, you will learn the foundations of materials, geotechnics, structures and digital design. Once you have developed your fundamental engineering design skills, you will then explore aspects of sustainable building and structural design in later years.

Our courses draw on the strengths of a joint department with architecture, offering you a different experience from most universities. You’ll work with architecture students to prepare you for the professional relationships you'll experience in your career.

At Bath, you will have the opportunity to experience studio-based projects and gain insight from industrial guest lecturers, preparing you to tackle the range of structural engineering projects you will meet in your career.

We also offer this course with a placement year, giving you the opportunity to gain work experience as part of your degree. You can move between our Civil Engineering and Structural and Architectural Engineering courses, as well as decide whether you want to go on placement, up to the end of your second year.

Develop theoretical and practical abilities in software design, development and experimentation, to become an innovative computing professional.

This course is for you if you’re interested in studying computer science but want to wait until later in your degree before deciding what area to specialise in. It's a broad-ranging course giving you the knowledge to apply computer science methods to the latest industry challenges and learn skills highly valued by employers.

Tailor to your interests

In the first year, you’ll learn core skills in mathematics and programming and the foundations of artificial intelligence, software design and development, interaction design, computer graphics and vision. More advanced and specialised units follow in the second and final years. In the second year, you'll complete a group project with other students to design and build an interactive application.

In the final year, you'll choose optional units alongside an individual project combining your interests in a specific area of computer science. You’ll regularly meet with an academic who specialises in your chosen field.

Year abroad

Broaden your horizons with a year studying at a university abroad. You’ll experience another culture while studying a course that complements your studies at Bath.

We have links with universities in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, currently including Binghamton University, University of Nebraska, University of Canterbury, TU Vienna and National University Singapore.

Study life on all scales to find out where your interests lie, on this flexible and wide-ranging course.

Biology encompasses the study of life from molecules to ecosystems. It's an exciting area of study that has a significant impact on our daily lives and is vital to solving some of the world’s biggest challenges.

You'll gain a broad foundation of skills across areas such as evolution, ecology, biodiversity, genetics, cell biology and microbiology, equipping you with the knowledge for a range of careers in the biosciences and beyond.

Tailor to your interests

As the most flexible of our biosciences courses, from year two you'll get to choose from a wide variety of units. This gives you the option to either maintain breadth or specialise in specific areas, such as developmental biology, genomics, neuroscience, cancer biology or microbiology.

To keep your options open further, you'll even have the flexibility to switch between our biology and biochemistry courses after the first year.