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Universities United Kingdom Teesside University Courses MSc Microbiology with Advanced Practice

MSc Microbiology with Advanced Practice
at Teesside University

Middlesbrough, United Kingdom

Tuition Fee £ 7,500
Country Rank#90
Duration24 Months
Score

Program Overview

MSc Microbiology with Advanced Practice is offered by Teesside University UK. The course duration is 24 months.

This course develops comprehensive knowledge and understanding of microbial science in the 21st century and its contribution to solving global challenges facing humanity. It focuses on applying techniques and methods related to molecular biology, microbial culture and classification and in the functional analysis of microbial genomes and microbiomes associated with disease, the biotechnology industry and the environment.

These subject areas are developed in great depth depending on your interest or desired career aspirations.

The course provides the theoretical knowledge, understanding and practical skills to ensure a solid grounding in core and applied microbiology, along with the transferable skills which are essential to enhance your employability options. This aims to prepare you for a broad range of careers within industrial, commercial, government and environmental settings and further postgraduate study. You are introduced to some of the contemporary issues facing the industry and the course provides hands-on practical experience of both laboratory and bioinformatics techniques. You can explore medical, industrial and environmental microbiology, molecular, cell and system biology, recombinant DNA technology, protein biochemistry, structural biology, fermentation, bioengineering and many other areas. During the course, you have the opportunity to investigate diverse areas of microbiology which are of concern to the healthcare, environmental, ecological and biotechnological sectors. You also have the chance to undertake research in relation to medical, environmental or industrial microbiology, which can further enhance your knowledge, skills and career options.

You are introduced to some of the contemporary issues facing the industry and the course provides hands-on practical experience of both laboratory and bioinformatics techniques. Staff can offer expertise in medical, industrial and environmental microbiology, molecular, cell and system biology, recombinant DNA technology, protein biochemistry, structural biology, fermentation, bioengineering and many other areas. During the course, you have the opportunity to investigate diverse areas of microbiology which are of concern to the healthcare, environmental, ecological and biotechnological sectors. You also have the chance to undertake research in relation to medical, environmental or industrial microbiology, which can further enhance your knowledge, skills and career options.

This course is taught at our National Horizons Centre (NHC) at the University’s Darlington campus. This £22m purpose-built biosciences research, education and training facility is a focal point for the growing regional biosciences community.

Next to CPI’s National Biologics Manufacturing Centre , the NHC is at the heart of an ecosystem of life science excellence. Our extensive links with NHS and private laboratories, ensure course content is kept up to date and relevant to employers. The centre’s imaginative design includes a blend of teaching, learning and collaboration spaces, hi-tech laboratories and a state-of-the-art computing suite. Open innovation spaces provide students and businesses with the tools for project development using data analytics, modelling and simulation, visualisation and process improvement and control.

The NHC also offers analytical and digital infrastructure supporting basic and applied research in the biosciences and across disciplinary boundaries, aligned to academic excellence and industry needs. The NHC will expose you to a significant internationally- competitive research and innovation capability that is responsive and engaged with industry needs in the bioscience sector.

Facilities within the National Horizons Centre enable students to engage with a range of advance and innovative research themes including:
• provision of a comprehensive genomic, proteomic, metabolomics data acquisition, processing and modelling capability with internationally competitive instrumentation, software and technical support
• studies of disease pathways including biomarker discovery, treatment monitoring, development of diagnostics and screening. Supported by bioinformatics modelling and development of predictive models
• biopharmaceutical research including product characterisation, metabolism and drug interaction studies• protein structure/function studies including aggregation, modification, activation and inhibition
• use of advanced cellular imaging capabilities, including live cell imaging, using light, confocal and Raman microscopy. This will enable the study of, among other topics; - molecular interactions- conformational changes of drug interactions with living cells- tissue characterisation.

Our extensive links with NHS and private laboratories, ensures course content is kept up-to-date and relevant to employers. You are introduced to some of the contemporary issues facing the industry and the course provides hands-on practical experience of both laboratory and bioinformatics techniques. Staff offer expertise in medical, industrial and environmental microbiology, molecular, cell and system biology, recombinant DNA technology, protein biochemistry, structural biology, fermentation, bioengineering and many other areas. You have the opportunity to investigate diverse areas of microbiology which are of concern to the healthcare, environmental, ecological and biotechnological sectors. You also have the chance to undertake research in relation to medical, environmental or industrial microbiology, which can further enhance your knowledge, skills and career options.

There are three routes you can select from to gain a master’s award:

MSc Microbiology – one year full time
MSc Microbiology – two years part time
MSc Microbiology (with Advanced Practice) – two years full time

The one-year programme is a great option if you want to gain a traditional MSc qualification. The two-year master’s degree with advanced practice enhances your qualification by adding a vocational or research based internship to the one-year master’s programme. A vocational internship is a great way to gain work experience and give your CV a competitive edge. A research internship provides you with the opportunity to develop your analytical, team-working, research and academic skills by working alongside a research team in an academic setting. We guarantee a research internship, but cannot guarantee a vocational internship. We will, however, provide you with practical support and advice on how to find and secure your own vocational internship position should you prefer this type of internship.

Course Content
For the MSc with advanced practice, you complete 120 credits of taught modules, a 60-credit master’s research project and 60 credits of advanced practice.

Course structure
Core modules
Advanced Practice in Sciences

This module provides you with the opportunity to either undertake a vocational internship with an outside organisation or undertake an academic research internship within the University, for a maximum of 12 weeks as part of your course. You have the opportunity to enhance your transferrable and analytical skills and develop your experience to strengthen your CV. We can guarantee you a research internship. We can’t guarantee a vocational internship, but we can provide practical support and advice on how to find and secure vocational internship positions. You develop educationally and experience the wider benefits of study here, due to the extended course duration.

Analytical Techniques

You focus on a range of analytical instrumentation used in bioscience research applications. Emphasis will be placed upon chromatography, mass spectrometry and spectroscopy instrumentation. The importance of these practical instrumentation techniques to modern investigations, including proteomics, metabolomics and genomics, will be explored. You will learn advanced laboratory skills for sample extraction, sample preparation, instrumentation methodology and how to interpret spectra. You will develop essential data handling skills, including the use of a range of statistical programmes.

Clinical Biochemistry and Diagnostic Techniques

You explore advanced topics in biochemistry with special focus on clinical applications and diagnostic techniques. This involves the study of clinical analysis of bodily fluids and other biological materials to aid in the diagnosis, therapy and monitoring of a variety of diseases. You will acquire the knowledge necessary for understanding the essential concepts of clinical biochemistry and of the associated diagnostic techniques.

Fermentation Microbiology

You explore the fundamentals of fermentation technology, a multi-disciplinary area of biotechnology which involves skills in science and engineering. Fermentation technology is ubiquitous – it ranges from the production of food in a kitchen to the synthesis of sophisticated, extremely high-value, cutting-edge therapeutics. The principle of bioprocess technology involve the use of cells as micro-factories to manufacture the product of interest. The cellular products can be directly utilised or, alternatively, the cells can be engineered to produce products of interest.

Genomics and Bioinformatics

You gain an in depth understanding of advances genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics knowledge and their applications in specific disease state. You learn about the most recent technologies including next generation gene sequencing, genome editing, genomic and bioinformatics analyses. This module also explores the genomic application for disease treatment and prevention (pharmacogenomics), personalised medicine as well as ethical challenges in this field.

Life Science Research Project

You undertake a major independent practical research project in your discipline where you are fully integrated within a research team. Reflecting staff expertise, you will be able to pursue many discipline-related topics, including medical, industrial and environmental microbiology, molecular, cell and system biology, recombinant DNA technology, protein biochemistry, structural biology, fermentation, bioengineering and many other areas, using the state-of-the-art analytical and digital infrastructure at the National Horizons Centre. You will complete a hypothesis-driven project utilising appropriate discipline-specific laboratory, database or computational research methodologies to interrogate a hypothesis in a specialised area of the life sciences. You will be expected to work at a level recognised to be at the forefront of the discipline. Supervisors will provide guidance to support you but a high degree of autonomy is required.

Microbial Diversity and Environmental Microbiology

You examine the scale of microbial diversity, its ubiquitous nature and biogeographic patterns. This will be followed by analysis of how environmental variables can impact on microbial diversity and ultimately ecosystem function with the use of case studies. You critically discuss modern methodologies used for studying microbial diversity within varied environmental samples.

Pathobiology of Infectious Diseases

You gain a deep understanding of infectious disease and will cover a wide range of medically-important human pathogens. Key aspects of pathobiology will be taught including pathogen genomics and evolution, bioinformatics, and the cellular and molecular biology that underpin these host pathogen interactions. Subversion of key mammalian cell biological processes, including immunology, that are targeted by pathogens will also be described. Advanced laboratory techniques and bioinformatics will be introduced that are commonly used to uncover mechanisms of pathogenesis.
Entry Requirement
Applicants are normally expected to have at least a UK 2.2 honours degree, or equivalent, in a subject with significant biosciences content.

Examples of acceptable first degree subjects include biomedical science, biochemistry, biological sciences, human biology, forensic biology and animal science.

In addition, international students normally need at least a 6.0, with no component below 5.5, in the International Language Testing System (IELTS) test.

If your first degree is not in one of the subject areas listed above please contact our admissions team for guidance and advice on how you might become eligible. We may be able to offer you alternative access routes.
Fees & Scholarships
2022/23 entry

Fee for UK applicants
£4,335 a year

Fee for international applicants
£8,500 a year
Career Prospect
Work placement
There may be short-term placement opportunities, particularly during the project phase of the course.

Career opportunities
The course provides you with the academic, analytical and practical skills to assist you in to many careers.

Many of our graduates choose to continue in research careers and begin PhDs or become research scientists (research assistants or technicians). Our scientists have obtained posts in universities, industry (including oil and gas), biotechnology and hospital diagnostic and pathology laboratories.

More generally, microbiologists can use their training in education, working in schools, colleges of further education and in universities. Further opportunities are available to apply microbiology training in scientific publishing, in patent offices working on biological patents, in science outreach and contributing to the public understanding of microbiological issues.

Cost Of Studying At Teesside University

Interest rates as low as 8.9% ^*

250K+

Students Assisted

800Cr+

Loan Amount Disbursed

5000+

Loans Sanctioned

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MSc Microbiology with Advanced Practice at Teesside University