Bioscience Keele University

Overview

The Bioscience (Glycobiology) MRes degree from Keele University provides the opportunity to immerse yourself in a research environment, whether as a standalone degree, preparation for PhD study, or to pursue diverse career paths. 

The core part of the programme is a significant piece of independent research in one of the following research areas: 

• Glycobiology 
• Infectious disease 
• Neuroscience 
• Structural biology 

Your project can be undertaken at an external institution, nationally or internationally, to increase your experience of working in a laboratory related to your area of research. This is dependent on the type of project and the research links of the lead project supervisor. We encourage you to explore the above pages and reach out to potential supervisors whose work you find interesting and who you may consider working with on your project.

Taught modules in semester one will establish the key skills and knowledge you will need to complete your independent research. Topics include critical literature searching, advanced research techniques, grant writing and experimental design.  

Your research project will advance your individual research skills, with support from expert academics who will deepen your understanding of various theoretical perspectives, methodological approaches, and practical applications in biosciences 

You will formulate a research strategy, carry out thorough investigations, analyse and critically evaluate data in the context of current literature in your field. You’ll present this data in various scientific formats, including your dissertation, viva, poster, and presentations at our postgraduate student research conferences. Overall, the programme equips you with transferable skills in practical research, problem-solving, organisation, time management, collaboration, and scientific communication. 

The project will culminate in your dissertation, where you’ll demonstrate your ability to identify problems, formulate hypotheses, design and conduct experiments, extract, analyse, and interpret data, critically evaluate findings, relate them to current literature, and present complex research in scientific writing.

Career opportunities:

The Bioscience MRes pathways provide you with the opportunity to develop high-level research skills that could enable you to pursue a variety of paths if you successfully complete the programme. This could include progressing on study at PhD level or employment in industry.