About This Course
The MSc by Research (MScRes) is a one-year full-time research programme that differs from a taught Masters programme by placing more emphasis on research, and by being examined much more like a PhD, by viva voce (oral) examination, rather than by grading of coursework and dissertation. This degree will equip you with confidence and competence in the latest research skills (including generic skills such as literature searching, legal and ethical aspects, project planning, grant proposal writing, and statistical manipulation of data) and allow you to apply for further research training (PhD) programmes, or to directly apply for research positions in universities or research institutes.
The first three months will be spent refiningyour project proposal and conducting athorough Literature review. You will alsopresent your proposal to the rest of the cohortand supervisors. Feedback obtained will enableyou to improve the final project and thesis.You will also be expected to take advantage ofthe training programme provided by the Collegeof Natural Sciences Graduate School and theUniversity Doctoral School in both subject-specific and generic postgraduate-level skills.
Specific funded projects leading to this degree may be advertised from time to time, but you are welcome to discuss options at any time with potential supervisors. Details of research specialisms and contact details for staff can be found on the School Research pages. As well as offering strong support for research activities, the School offers unique opportunities for students to conduct project work under internationally recognised supervisors. Students also benefit from our extensive local, national and international links with state and private sector organisations.
Research Opportunities
Extensive national and international staffcontacts mean that you are often able to carryout their research projects in association withcommercial consultancies, local councils,environmental organisations (e.g. theEnvironment Agency, Countryside Council forWales, RSPB, British Trust for Ornithology, manyof whom have regional offices based in ϲʹ),and government research institutes (e.g. Centrefor Ecology and Hydrology) in the UK, and abroad(past projects have involved fieldwork in the WestIndies, Africa, Maldives, and various Europeancountries).
Currently Available Projects
- Kirkpatrick - Upstairs – downstairs: Bat behaviour and movement when transitioning between maternity and hibernation roosts
- Mainwaring - Nesting ecology of red squirrels on Anglesey
- Mainwaring - Foraging of carrion by vertebrate scavengers
- Ellison - Molecular dietary analysis of red squirrel
- MacLeod - Carryover effects of hibernation conditions on lizard behaviour
- MacLeod - Admixture effects on thermal performance traits in the invasive Common wall lizard
- Haswell - Mammal conservation & research, Croatia
- Hallman - Making community science count: the abundance calibration index
- Holland - The early fish does not catch the worm: the role of chronobiology in spatial cognition
- Holland - Spatial cognition in birds: how do age and experience interact?
- Bishop - Heart rate as a measure of avian behaviour and/or flight performance
- Georgiev - The function of long-distance calling in the Zanzibar red colobus monkey
- Georgiev - Male social relationship in the Zanzibar red colobus monkey
- Georgiev - The ecology of Zanzibar red colobus in heavily degraded coastal forest fragments
- Barlow - How to build a cave bear: identifying genetic adaptations in an extinct Pleistocene megafaunal species
- Osborne - The ecological effects of rapid adaptation in plants
- Pajmans - Pleistocene population dynamics of large felids in Europe
- Parker - The genetic basis of cold tolerance in Drosophila
- Parker - Who’s your daddy? Tracing the origin of parthenogenetic hybrid rock lizards (Darevskia spp.)
- Mulley - Shark evolution and development
- Dorward - Spatial interactions between global poverty and protected area coverage
- Tidau - Quantifying the role of natural and anthropogenic light and sound on temperate marine ecosystems
- Barlow - Conservation venomics: does inbreeding affect adder venom variation?
- Barlow - Genetic time machines: tracking adder genetic diversity declines using museomics
- Mainwaring - Blue tit nests as bioindicators of plastic pollution
- Mainwaring - Environmental pollution and avian nest predation rates
- Mainwaring - Barn owl pellets as bioindicators of plastic pollution
- Wüster - Assessing the genetic diversity of adders in the Somerset Levels
- Haswell - Mammal conservation & research, Croatia
- Haswell - Socio-ecological feasibility of mountain hare restoration in North Wales
- Hallman - Making community science count: the abundance calibration index
- Mulley - Assessing current and historical levels of genetic diversity in North Wales moths
- Georgiev - The ecology of Zanzibar red colobus in heavily degraded coastal forest fragments
- Hicks - Ecomorphological and microhabitat adaptation in Zootoca vivipara in the UK
- Barlow - Conservation venomics: does inbreeding affect adder venom variation?
- Barlow - Genetic time machines: tracking adder genetic diversity declines using museomics
- Osborne - The eco-evolutionary dynamics of amphibian-microbe interactions
- Wüster - Using genomics to solve the mystery of the Walser Viper
- Wüster - Using Whole Genome Sequencing to understand hybrid zones between snake species
- Wüster - Assessing the genetic diversity of adders in the Somerset Levels
- MacLeod - Admixture effects on thermal performance traits in the invasive Common wall lizard
- MacLeod - Carryover effects of hibernation conditions on lizard behaviour
- Parker - Who’s your daddy? Tracing the origin of parthenogenetic hybrid rock lizards (Darevskia spp).
- Malhotra - Beyond the “Big Four”: Species Distribution Modelling of Indian venomous snakes for designing effective snakebite treatment
- Mainwaring - Blue tit nests as bioindicators of plastic pollution
- Mainwaring - Environmental pollution and avian nest predation rates
- Mainwaring - Barn owl pellets as bioindicators of plastic pollution
- Hallman - Making community science count: the abundance calibration index
- Hallman - The influence of species familiarity on human wellbeing benefits
- Hallman - Preference-based observer bias in wildlife surveys
- Bishop - Heart rate as a measure of avian behaviour and/or flight performance
- Georgiev - The function of long-distance calling in the Zanzibar red colobus monkey
- Georgiev - Male social relationship in the Zanzibar red colobus monkey
- Georgiev - The ecology of Zanzibar red colobus in heavily degraded coastal forest fragments
- Jarrett - Morphological trade-offs between fighting and flight traits in an insect
- Jarrett - What’s eating invasive species? Community composition changes on Rhododendron ponticum in the last 30 years
- Parker - The genetic basis of cold tolerance in Drosophila
- Mulley - Assessing current and historical levels of genetic diversity in North Wales moths
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Turner - Describing new cichlid fishes from Lake Malawi
- Osborne - The ecological effects of rapid adaptation in plants
- Crandell - The consequences of hydration status on cactus robusticity
- Osborne - The eco-evolutionary dynamics of amphibian-microbe interactions
- Golyshina - Diversity of microorganisms in natural acidic environments
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Sivanantharajah - Using a fly model to investigate nerve cell vulnerability in Alzheimer’s Disease
Entry Requirements
Entry requires a good first degree (2.ii or above)in a relevant biological subject from a university,or a similar qualification from any otherinstitution. Alternatively, possession of a suitableprofessional qualification and relevant practicalexperience may also be accepted.
Careers
As well as finding specific employment based onthe specialist knowledge acquired duringpostgraduate training, your general employabilitywill be enhanced by evidence of your ability towork independently, to think analytically andinnovatively, and to conceptualise and question.During your studies, you will also have thechance to develop essential professional skillssuch as good communication, teamwork andleadership skills and enhance your practicalexperience. Our past graduates have gone on tocareers in research (both in academia andresearch institutes) as well as in commercialenvironmental consultancies, DEFRA, waterauthorities, scientific publishing, landscapearchitects and many others.
Application
The first step is to identify a project you are interested in then and contact the member of staff who is advertising it. They will then advise you if and how you should make a formal application to the University. When contacting potential supervisors, you should briefly outline your academic background and explain your interest in the project you are contacting them about, as well as attach a CV.
Do not submit a direct application for a postgraduate research degree to ϲʹ without first identifying a potential supervisor and discussing your research interests and application with them first.
