Overview
While biological sciences are extremely wide-ranging, it is possible to identify a common thread connecting all the disciplines and sub-disciplines involved.All are essentially concerned with the study and characterization of living organisms by four underlying principles: cell theory, evolution, gene theory and homeostasis.
From this basis, however this knowledge is used and whatever the ultimate goal of the study is, all biological sciences stem. As you may already know, subjects which fall under the remit of biological sciences are some of the most complex and rapidly evolving out there.
As such, this is not a subject area for the half-hearted – be ready to immerse yourself fully in what will certainly be an intensive course of study.
It would be nigh on impossible to give a full account of all the options available, but to give you an idea, you will be able to choose from courses such as cell & molecular biology, ecology & evolution, molecular biosciences, biophysics, computational biology, neurobiology, genetics, and many, many more.
These may be offered as specific degree programs or as options in a wider biological sciences course – probably a good option for those who are not yet sure on what they wish to focus.
At graduate level a far greater level of specialization is on offer – a necessity for a subject which requires a level of expertise that can only come from an extremely narrow focus.
Find the world's best universities for biological sciences with the QS Rankings by Subject >
Specialization
The number of specializations and combinations thereof which fall under the biological sciences umbrella is nearly limitless. And due to the level of expertise required, you will at some point in your academic career – be it before you start, during your degree or at graduate level – need to pick an area on which to focus.It would be impossible to go through each one, but areas in which you might specialize include:
• Computational biology: The National Institutes of Health (an agency of the US Department of Health) defines computational biology as “The development and application of data-analytical and theoretical methods, mathematical modelling and computational simulation techniques to the study of biological, behavioural, and social systems.” This has become an increasingly important field in recent years. As the name would suggest, some mathematical and computer science nous will be necessary to succeed in this field.
• Molecular biology: The aim of this discipline is to understand, at the most basic level possible, the nature and interactions of the units that make up living organisms. A popular branch of molecular biology involves the study of DNA, with the goal of sequencing or mutating it in order to study the effects and possibilities of these processes.
• Neurobiology: This arm of the biological sciences is based on the nervous system, often focusing on the brain with the goal of developing treatments for both psychiatric and neurological ailments, as well as simply advancing our knowledge of the part of the human body we understand the least.
• Genetics: Mosby’s Medical Dictionary defines genetics as the subject which looks at “the origin of the characteristics of an individual”. This involves an investigation of the relationships between the most basic building blocks and processes of an organism – i.e. genes, protein and metabolism. The study of hereditary traits plays a large part in this.
• Evolutionary biology: This one is pretty self explanatory – a study of how life came to be the way it is today. This can be conducted at anything from a cellular level to the study of entire ecosystems. Though the main principles have long been in place, there are still plenty of discoveries to be made in this field.
Career Options
Your options as a graduate of a biological science subject will depend on the level of qualification that you attain. These subjects tend to lend themselves to graduate study, given that the three or four years spent studying for a bachelor’s degree will seldom be adequate to develop a professional level of knowledge in a narrow area.Push yourself to the highest level, and you will find few subjects lend themselves quite so well to a career in research. The fast-moving nature of the subject is due in part to the scores of experts consistently pushing the boundaries, for example in the development of new medicines and forms of medical treatment.
Prove yourself to be among the stronger students of the biological sciences, and you could well be advancing the sum total of knowledge enjoyed by the entire human race, be it within the purely academic setting of a university, or the lucrative environs of a private firm.
But of course, there are other careers open to biology graduates, who will leave their courses equipped with close analytical skills, organizational skills, attention to detail, and, of course, formidable scientific nous.
These skills adapt quite well to the business world, to the extent where a joint BSc in biology and management is offered at some prestigious universities, for example Imperial College London.
If it’s a more purely biological vocation you want, the knowledge you’ll possess will also always be in demand in the legal and forensic industries. And there is always teaching – the world will never have enough qualified and willing science teachers – or journalism (be it scientific or otherwise).
Research careers in biological sciences >
Key Skills
The nature of biological sciences is such that the main ‘skill’ you will leave with is a deep and nuanced understanding, and hopefully expertise in your discipline. But there are also other less specific skills that you will gain from studying a biological sciences discipline:• General laboratory skills
• Ability to analyze complex data sets, and general analytical skills
• Teamwork and communication skills
• An understanding of scientific literature and how to use it
• Attention to detail
• Initiative and independence
• An awareness and insider’s understanding of ethical issues
• Numeracy and technology literacy
• Presenting findings in written and spoken form, to an acceptable academic standard
• Framework for lifelong learning
PhD in Biological Sciences: Alumnus Profile
When Liu Chang says he’s fascinated by plants, he doesn’t mean he’s a keen gardener – but rather that he spends his days in a research laboratory carrying out investigations into plant behavior.
Originally from China, Liu moved to Singapore to study at the National University of Singapore (NUS). During his first degree, in biological sciences, he became increasingly interested in molecular biology. “I felt that the fact that we are able to deal with molecules and conduct experiment on them without seeing them was something very wonderful.”
This interest led to a final-year project focusing on flowering time control, with support from associate professor Yu Hao. “He nurtured my passion for science and encouraged me to take up challenging tasks,” Liu recalls, adding, “I was deeply proud of my work, as I knew that what I was exploring was truly the frontier of science.”
Having experienced such a challenging, supportive and satisfying research environment, staying on at NUS for a PhD was an obvious choice for Liu – and one that has led seamlessly on to further research opportunities.
“Right after my thesis submission, I was recruited by Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL), and have been working at TLL ever since,” Liu recalls.
In this role, he is able to continue his research in the field of flowering, currently focusing on issues such as “how plants respond to the environment when they decide to flower, and what the universal genetic network is, through the way plants control their inflorescence architectures.”
How has Liu’s graduate experience supported his ability to fulfil this role? “As a graduate student, I became more open-minded, more curious about the world, more rational, and more scientifically savvy,” he says. “In a nutshell, my graduate degree brought me a step closer to being a scientist.”
Like any true scientist, Liu is keen to keep pushing back the frontiers of knowledge. “The more I know, the more I feel that I do not know, and the more I am eager to find out the answers to questions unknown.”
So what next? “In the short term, I wish to get further training in a renowned laboratory in the world, where I could further improve my research capacity and expand my networking connections with other professionals in my field.”
In the longer term, he hopes to continue to contribute to the world of research, and to work within higher education “to help enhance the world’s talent pool.”
Research Careers in Biological Sciences
Graduate programs in biological sciences offer the opportunity to specialize in some of the most exciting and fast-growing sectors of research in the world today.
In recent months international newspapers, ranging from The Times (UK) and The Washington Post (US) to The Straits Times (Singapore), have reflected on the growing concerns about the manipulation of human genes.
There has been a continuing debate over the research into stem cells and the production of so-called 'designer' cells to counter hereditary or terminal illnesses.
For the prospective international student considering a master's or PhD, perhaps there has never been a more critical time to focus on the biological sciences as an area of academic specialization.
Highly specialized programs
Like many of the sciences studied, taught and researched at graduate level, biology is considerably more complex than the subject most of us encountered earlier in life.
The biology of our school years is a distant relative to the one offered at master's and PhD levels, where the provision of specialized degrees dominates most departments of biological sciences.
Based on the historical development of biology from the nineteenth century, programs are offered in categories grouped by the type of organisms they focus on and the scale at which they are studied. This results in a picture that offers botany, zoology and microbiology on one hand and biochemistry, molecular biology, cellular biology, physiology and ecology on the other.
Karen Myhr, Assistant Professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, USA teaches on both the Masters in Biological Sciences and the Masters in Biotechnology. She recalls why she found the subject matter so compelling: "I was drawn to sciences because I wanted to understand how things around me worked.
"In high school I became fascinated with how the brain functions because it was so wonderfully complex. In college I took psychology courses, which explained the brain from a cognitive perspective. This was interesting but I wanted to understand the brain at a cellular level."
Practical and professional experience
The programs offered by Wayne State University typically prepare students for a range of related careers in the US and other countries. Recent graduates have entered academic and corporate environments, either as researchers or as senior staff members where knowledge of technical advances in areas such as molecular biology are centrally important.
Casey Kandow, a 2008 graduate of the Masters in Biotechnology program now works for the American Red Cross. "My experiences in the program and internship have given me practical knowledge, as well as marketable skills invaluable to anyone entering the expanding field of molecular biotechnology."
Professor Myhr sees the relationship between her thirst for knowledge as an undergraduate and her current teaching position as intimately related, and one that helps to encourage new graduate students interested in biological sciences.
"Now as a biology professor I get to study the latest advances in our understanding of brain function. I get to design and execute experiments that will give us the answers. I can't do this alone so I have a team of undergraduate and graduate students to get the experiments done. This aspect of my job is fulfilling because I am training the next generation of scientists."
Encouraging employment outlook
Employment prospects for graduates of biological sciences programs, either at the master's or PhD levels, are currently very encouraging. The field is so diverse, with its increasing range of specializations, that career opportunities are available on almost every continent.
According to the UK's Higher Education Statistics Agency latest report on the destination of leavers from higher education, only 13.7% of master's graduates went onto PhD study, leaving the majority to enter the labor market.
Employment sectors and specific careers vary, with science, management, professional and technical occupations being the most popular. Where graduates entered employment with a scientific role, they did so in areas closely related to their subject of study, with biochemists, medical scientists, conservation and environmental protection officers and scientific researchers being most prominent.
Similarly positive, the US Bureau of Labour Statistics 2007 handbook states: "Biotechnological research and development should continue to drive employment growth, with employment projected to grow at 9% in the next decade. Efforts to discover new and improved ways to clean up and preserve the environment will continue to add to job growth."
This is certainly a good sign that this is one of the more exciting sectors to enter with an advanced qualification. There is also good news in terms of potential salaries for the future. US statistics indicate that the median annual earnings of biochemists and biophysicists were US$76,320 in 2006, while those employed in scientific research and development services were US$79,990.
'Hot' research topics
However, the reasons Noura Aljandal from Kuwait chose to study a PhD, have little to do with her potential to earn a high salary in future. Currently enrolled at the University of Exeter in the UK, her motivation is one of an entirely different focus.
Specializing in what she describes as "one of the hot topics in biological sciences at the moment, ecotoxicology," Noura intends to develop her academic career while at the same time benefiting from the experience of studying in another country.
"I have enjoyed living in a new country and believe my academic background has really helped me to make the most of what Exeter has to offer. The research group I belong to is friendly and cooperative, and both my supervisors are supportive, full of knowledge and they are always ready to answer any question and help.
"I started the program by attending a number of compulsory courses and workshops, beside that I'm doing a laboratory technique training to develop my practical skills to start my experiments with more knowledge, confidence and experience. I'm sure that my real scientific future will start from here."
While a graduate degree in biological sciences qualifies the recipient for a range of careers, there can be no real doubt that considering this area of study will lead you to a more specific career path than many other subjects.
With fields such as medical and biotechnology becoming increasingly significant in both the public and private sectors, your prospects are good in either context. And it certainly does seem quite a different world from your formative lessons in a high school laboratory.
Working in plant behaviour research: Alumnus profile >
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