Our degree incorporates physics, chemistry, biological and earth sciences which are taught through research based learning.

Full entry requirements

Interdisciplinary Science at Leicester

Many of the most important scientific questions of the 21st Century are broad in scope and cannot be addressed solely by any one of what we recognise as traditional disciplines. Fields such as climate science, astrobiology, sustainable development and many others like them require scientists to apply concepts and techniques from several of the traditional disciplines to advance our understanding in that area.

Important discoveries have also been made in fields where researchers have applied understanding from one discipline to another, for instance the use of models originally developed for use in physics have greatly illuminated unresolved problems in biological and social sciences.

Researchers in these interdisciplinary fields, who can bring broad expertise to new and existing scientific problems, continue to become increasingly important to scientific endeavour and to the economy as a whole. Interdisciplinary Scientists, trained in this method of working, are uniquely equipped to take advantage of these developments.

Interdisciplinary Science at Leicester represents an integrated approach to Natural Sciences programmes – you study the fundamental and advanced scientific concepts from Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics and Earth Sciences, but in interdisciplinary contexts where the connections between the different disciplines are highlighted and emphasised.

The programme thrives on the University’s strong culture of interdisciplinary research, from green chemistry to biophysics, climate change to forensic science, and this approach feeds into the degree programme itself – training in research skills begins from the very start of the degree, and you will be trained to become an active researcher from day one.

Why Choose Interdisciplinary Science at Leicester?

Places: 20
Applications: 40

The University of Leicester, supported by the Institute of Physics and with guidance from the Royal Society of Chemistry draws on its traditional strengths in interdisciplinary research to offer a course that fully integrates many scientific disciplines into one degree. The course materials are mainly electronic, which means that you have access to course documents, resources, communication methods and timetables online.

The Centre for Interdisciplinary Science is part of the national Centre for Excellence in the innovative teaching of the physical sciences at the University, and several of the teaching staff on the course hold prestigious awards for their teaching as well as their research.The Interdisciplinary Science degree at Leicester is a challenging, elite programme intended to provide students with a broad interdisciplinary knowledge base and the professional and research skills to go on to do research, and to provide a broad-based science education for those who intend to go into careers in commerce, industry, government and teaching or for academic research.

Various additional opportunities are available to students studying with us. We have exchange links with McMaster University in Canada, where a similarly integrated sciences degree programme has been developed. McMaster is a world-leading University in both research and teaching, and, like Leicester, brings the two together in its research-led I-Science programme. You can spend your third year at McMaster, either as part of the MSci or as an additional year of the BSc.

Second and Third Year students are also offered the opportunity to undertake field work at Lake Bogoria in the Kenyan Rift Valley and through the Undergraduate Ambassador Scheme, you could spend some time as a teaching assistant in a local school for course credit. There is also an opportunity to gain credit for summer employment.

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Interdisciplinary Science students study by research-based learning. You work individually and in groups to investigate real-world contextual problems, gaining subject knowledge and skills by practicing and researching. Throughout, you will be supported by Interdisciplinary Science Centre academics and teaching fellows.

The teaching takes many forms: lectures, seminars, workshops, laboratory practicals and small group tutorials, all designed to support your individual development as a scientist. In addition to examinations, there is a large component of continuous assessment that varies from formal reports and essays, to presentations and posters, to modern media increasingly required by scientists such as podcasts, web material and videos.

The Interdisciplinary Science course is built around five-week core modules. You work on one broad core module at a time, incorporating scientific content from across Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics and Earth Sciences. Alongside run laboratories, and supporting modules in professional skills, computing, and mathematics.

Each module has a defined core content, but also provides the opportunity for students to go beyond this by specialising in a chosen topic. Projects also provide either a further way to integrate your scientific knowledge or to concentrate on a particular discipline. A series of elective modules will give you the additional opportunity to specialise in, or gain experience, of a broad range of areas of contextual use of scientific expertise. By following particular options, perhaps with a view to your future career, you can gain experience and competency in one of the particular areas of management, mathematical modelling, science communication, or sustainable development.

Skills Gained

The emphasis of the degree programme is to train you to be a professional scientist, either in academic or industrial research, or in the area of educational and public communication.

You will gain:

• advanced knowledge in key areas of physics, chemistry, biological and earth sciences, plus knowledge of specific applications across the range of these areas
• the ability to undertake research in interdisciplinary areas of science
• a working knowledge of IT and computing, and competency in mathematics for science
• high level professional and personal skills (presentation, individual and collaborative writing, project planning and team work)
• experience and confidence in science communication.

Graduate/Career Opportunities

The three-year BSc course is an excellent route to a wide range of careers in industry, in commerce and in the public sector and has the support of the country’s leading employers. It is a highly commended route to science teaching. The four-year MSci programme is intended primarily for students wanting to go on to interdisciplinary research in academia, commerce or industry.

Interdisciplinary Science students have a range of choices for further study. The four-year MSci course is aimed at those who wish to train as a professional scientist and opens up further career possibilities in industrial research and development and academia. It is also a means of specialising in an interdisciplinary field of science, such as Astrobiology, Complex Science, or Environmental Science. Students leaving with an MSci or BSc can apply to continue studying for an MSc or a PhD in a related area.

If during the course of your studies you discover a particular passion for a single discipline you also have the opportunity to spend two years studying Interdisciplinary Science, and then transfer into the Second Year of a single-discipline undergraduate degree. Your core modules are then selected to give you the best grounding for transferring into physics, chemistry or biological sciences. This route or ‘pathway’ gives you a broader based science degree than students taking just a single-subject degree.

Recent graduates from the Interdisciplinary Science degree have gone into a wide range of careers, including publishing, web design, management and teaching. In addition to this, many have gone on to postgraduate study in areas such as environmental toxicology, medicine, and sustainable development.

Full entry requirements

Opportunities to Visit and Further Information

Interdisciplinary Science Administrator – Alex Mack
0116 252 5631
Fax: 0116 252 2070
iscience@le.ac.uk
www.le.ac.uk/iscience/

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