At the end of your first year you will select one of 14 specialisms to study from the second year onwards. The specialisms are interdisciplinary study combinations designed to reflect contemporary scientific research and career opportunities and which act as a focal point around which your core curriculum is organised.
Bioscience, Ethics and Society
Build strong foundations in biological sciences while using ethics, sociology, history and policy to examine biology’s impact on society, health, biodiversity, genomics and science communication.
Brains, Minds and Machines
Explore the human mind and decision-making at the intersection of natural and artificial intelligence, combining neuroscience, maths and computing with modelling, ethics, philosophy and brain sciences
Chemical Biology
Combine organic and biomedical chemistry to study drug design, discovery and disease mechanisms, including pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and structure–activity relationships, with lab experience.
Chemistry, Ethics and Sustainability
Build a strong foundation in chemistry while exploring its ethical, environmental and societal impact, applying chemical science to global challenges like climate change, energy and sustainability.
Digital Chemistry
Develop core chemistry knowledge alongside data analysis and programming skills, applying digital tools, automation and predictive technologies to chemical research and industry, with lab experience.
Earth, Planets and the Universe
Explore natural systems from Earth’s deep interior to the cosmos, studying planetary origins, climate change, natural hazards, habitability and space exploration, with observation and fieldwork.
Environment and Climate
Gain a multidisciplinary grounding in Earth Sciences and STS to address global challenges such as climate change, natural hazards, energy, resources and sustainability, with flexible study options.
Evolution
Study evolution across organisms and time, combining life sciences, anthropology, covering genetics, behaviour, adaptation and molecular evolution, with lab, field, and computational work.
Materials Science
Build a foundation in materials chemistry and physics, exploring nanomaterials, polymers, electronics and sustainable design, with lab work and skills for clean energy, innovation, and emerging tech.
Physical Sciences, Philosophy and Innovation
Explore physical sciences and emerging technologies, examining their ethical, societal, and policy impacts, and gain skills to evaluate and guide responsible scientific and technological innovation.
Physics of Living Systems
Combine physics and biology to study molecular, cellular, and systems life, covering genetic engineering, synthetic biology, imaging, and computational biology, with interdisciplinary lab work.
Quantitative Bioscience
Combine biology with maths, statistics, and computation to analyse complex systems, simulate data, and tackle real-world problems in health, medicine, and cellular biology.
Quantum Molecular Science
Study the quantum behaviour of atoms and molecules, combining chemistry and physics with practical and computational work in quantum mechanics, spectroscopy, molecular modelling, and materials design.
Quantum Technologies and Big Data
Combine quantum physics and data science, studying quantum computing, cryptography, and machine learning, with applications in secure communication, computing, data analysis, plus ethical insights.