Plant Biology (with integrated year in industry)

Program Overview

The BSc Plant Biology with Integrated Year in Industry program at Aberystwyth University equips students with comprehensive knowledge of plant life, from molecular to ecosystem levels. Emphasizing employability, the program provides research, problem-solving, and communication skills through a combination of lectures, field courses, and a year-long industry placement. Graduates are highly sought after in fields such as conservation management, research institutes, and government agencies.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

Plants are essential for life on Earth and play a crucial role in solving global problems like food shortages and rising carbon emissions. Students will discover how plant-based technologies can help meet the demands of a growing human population and respond to global threats including food security and climate change.

Outline:

The BSc Plant Biology with integrated year in industry degree (C202) is a four-year program. The taught component of the program is identical to the three-year BSc Plant Biology (C200) degree. The year in industry is taken in the third year, either in the UK or overseas, and is supervised and assessed. It counts towards the final degree grade. During the year in industry, students pay a discounted tuition fee.

Year 1:

• Cell Biology (BR17520): 20 credits
• Crop, grassland, soil and agricultural land management (BR18040): 40 credits
• Genetics, Evolution and Diversity (BR17120): 20 credits
• Microbial and Plant Diversity (BR19920): 20 credits
• Skills for Biologists (BR16820): 20 credits

Year 2:

• Agronomy and Crop Improvement (BR27620): 20 credits
• Climate Change: Plants, Animals and Ecosystems (BR21120): 20 credits
• Controlled Environment Crop Production and Horticulture (BR23520): 20 credits
• Ecological Surveying (BR21420): 20 credits
• Research Methods (BR27520): 20 credits
• Options:
• Applied Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics (BR20620):
20 credits
• Aquatic Botany (BR25820):
20 credits

Year 3:

• Integrated Year in Industry (BRS0060): 60 credits

Year 4:

• Frontiers in Plant Science (BR35820): 20 credits
• Microbial Pathogenesis (BR33720): 20 credits
• Research Project (BR36440): 40 credits
• Options:
• Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics (BR37120):
20 credits
• Crop and Grassland Production Science (BR37220):
20 credits
• Sustainable Land Management (BR30420):
20 credits
• Terrestrial Ecology Fieldcourse (BR36620):
20 credits

Assessment:

Students are assessed through a variety of methods, including:

• Essays
• Practical exercises
• Oral presentations
• Worksheets
• Experiment reports
• Statistical exercises
• Posters
• Wikis
• Literature reviews
• Field notebooks
• Exams

Teaching:

The course is delivered through a combination of lectures, workshops, tutorials, seminars, field courses, and practicals. Students are assigned a personal tutor who acts as their main contact throughout their studies.

Careers:

Career opportunities for Plant Scientists are excellent, with many jobs and few trained scientists in this area. Graduates work in conservation management, industrial and government-funded plant research institutes, and the scientific civil service. The program emphasizes employability, equipping students with:

• Research and data analysis skills
• Enhanced mathematical and computational skills
• Effective problem-solving and creative thinking skills
• Thorough grounding in information technology skills
• Ability to work independently
• Time-management and organizational skills, including the ability to meet deadlines
• Ability to express ideas and communicate information clearly and structured in both written and oral form
• Self-motivation and self-reliance
• Team-working, with the ability to discuss concepts in groups, accommodate different ideas, and reach agreement
The year in industry allows students to:
• Apply learning from the course to the work environment
• Make valuable industry contacts
• Develop practical skills related to their area of study
• Enrich their final year of studies with an enhanced appreciation of its applicability to their career
• Greatly enhance their CV and increase their prospects of success in the job market

Other:

• The Department of Life Sciences has a large number of research-only staff with whom students may have contact.
• The course is accredited by the Royal Society of Biology.
• Aberystwyth University is located in an area rich in stunning landscapes, providing excellent fieldwork opportunities in natural and semi-natural habitats and ecosystems.
• The university has world-class facilities, including botany gardens, growth rooms, glasshouses, a museum of historic botanical specimens, plant genetic resources collections and databases, and the National Plant Phenomics Centre.