Natural Sciences

MSci Hons

  • UCAS code FCF3
  • Entry year 2025
  • A level requirements AAA
  • Duration Full time 4 years
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Overview

Top reasons to study with us

  • Create your own modular degree from over 100 possible degree combinations.

  • Study up to three different subjects for the whole of your degree

  • Lancaster is ranked amongst the top 10 UK universities

Natural Sciences is a challenging degree that allows you to study across all of the scientific disciplines to an advanced level. Our pathways let you customise your Master's degree to suit your interests and career aspirations.

If you are interested in studying more than one scientific subject to an advanced level, our degree allows you to combine up to three different subjects throughout the programme. You can keep your interests open or choose to specialise as you progress. Either way, our Natural Sciences MSci degree is designed to challenge the brightest students who are highly motivated and prepared to apply themselves across multiple boundaries. You can choose pathways from ten subject areas that can be combined together to create a purpose built degree programme. The subject areas are:

  • Biological Sciences
  • Chemistry
  • Computing
  • Engineering
  • Environmental and Earth Sciences
  • Geography
  • Mathematics
  • Medical School
  • Physics
  • Psychology

Additionally, each pathway within these ten subject areas includes a wide selection of modules to choose from. This breadth of possibilities makes it difficult to summarise what the three year programme will look like, but the experience will be unique and tailored to your needs and goals.

In the first year, all students begin with three pathways. You must choose two science pathways, and a third that can either be another science topic or you can select from elsewhere across the University, including a range of humanities and social sciences. You will be taught by academic staff who are leaders in their field, gaining a comprehensive understanding of your chosen subjects. You will also develop important skills and technical knowledge specific to each discipline, as well as interdisciplinary skills, such as data handling, analysis and evaluation, plus laboratory, IT and specialist software skills.

At the end of the first year, you will have the opportunity to choose whether or not to continue with three subjects or to just focus on two sciences, to suit your goals and ambitions.

In second year, your study will begin to become more focused and modules will be more specialised. You will continue to develop your skills from first year and you will have the opportunity to utilise and practise the knowledge and experience you have gained so far. In addition, many of the modules will allow you to progress your project management, research and professional skills, as well as further enhancing your technical ability.

During the third year, you will delve deeper into the topics that interested you previously and much of what you explore will be guided by what you studied in the second year. This year, you will firmly cement your learning by applying your skills and experience, while developing new skills and technical knowledge.

In the fourth year, you will benefit from cutting-edge, research-led, advanced modules in your chosen subjects, delivered by lecturers that are experts in their field, and undertake a major research project. All of this will allow you to gain the relevant skills, knowledge and experience, to prepare you for a rich and rewarding career in research and development.

Assessment

We aim to provide you with the most effective and stimulating approaches to teaching, learning and assessment, to enable you to demonstrate your capabilities in a range of ways. Assessment varies across disciplines and from module to module, but typical assignments include: laboratory reports, essays, literature reviews, short tests, short and sharply focused critical reports, poster sessions and oral presentations, as well as formal examinations.

Community

Fitting with the dynamic and diverse nature of our Natural Sciences programme, you will have the opportunity to engage and build meaningful relationships with students and staff from multiple scientific disciplines. You will be welcomed and integrated into departments as anyone on a single-track programme would.

You will also be part of a Natural Sciences community, which fosters a highly supportive and productive learning environment. You will benefit from an excellent student-to-staff ratio, work with and be supported by approachable and engaging staff, and be recognised as an individual person with individual needs.

Additionally, you will have access to a wide range of state-of-the-art facilities that provide space for socialising with your peers, as well as help you excel in your studies.

Download a Natural Sciences brochure

What is Natural Sciences?

A Natural Sciences degree gives you a unique opportunity to mix scientific subjects to form your own hand-picked degree. If you are interested in more than one science subject or are interested in where traditional disciplines overlap, Natural Sciences is the choice for you.

How does it work?

A Natural Sciences degree gives you a unique opportunity to mix scientific subjects to form your own hand-picked degree. If you are interested in more than one science subject or are interested in where traditional disciplines overlap, Natural Sciences is the choice for you. Browse the pages below to find out more about your path through the degree.

  • Natural Sciences entry requirements

    The standard entry requirements for all of our courses are AAA at A level with at least two of these being in science subjects and to grade B in GCSE mathematics. We do have other terms depending on your choice of course.

  • Natural Sciences degree structure

    During your first year, you would normally take three equally weighted pathways. A pathway consists of a series of modules each covering a different aspect of a subject. Modules are made up of lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops and laboratory-based practical work.

  • Natural Sciences study pathways

    You can choose what to study from our 21 pathways over 10 subject areas. Each Pathway has a series of modules, some of which are mandatory though many are optional.

Course accreditation

Society of Natural Sciences logo

The Society of Natural Sciences was formed in 2019 to promote interdisciplinary education within the sciences, particularly at undergraduate level. All of our BSc and MSci courses are accredited by the Society of Natural Sciences.

Learn more about the Society of Natural Sciences accreditation

Careers

A Natural Sciences degree ensures that you graduate with a broad and multidisciplinary set of skills which means that you benefit from the widest range of career opportunities. The flexibility of the degree and the breadth of subjects that you can study allows you to transition into a career from any scientific discipline, whether it is in biology, chemistry, computing, engineering, mathematics, physics, environmental sciences, and many more. You are also in demand for non-science roles due to your mathematic and statistical abilities, as well as skills in critical analysis and reasoning, logic, solving complex problems, data handling, and project management, to name just a few transferable skills. As a result, you can chart a course to a career in almost any industry. Graduating from this programme, you can honestly say the opportunities are endless. The median starting salary of graduates from our Natural Sciences degrees is £23,900 (HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey 2023).

Here are just some of the roles that our BSc and MSci Natural Sciences students have progressed into upon graduating:

  • Graduate Researcher – Centre for Global Eco-Innovation
  • Nuclear Technical Advisor – Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy
  • Net Zero, Climate, and Environment Advisor – Government Office for Science
  • Financial Modelling Analyst – KPMG
  • Graduate Air Quality Consultant – AECOM
  • Audit Associate – EY
  • Trainee Healthcare Scientist – NHS
  • Environmental Engineer – ARUP
  • Senior Scientist Researcher – AstraZeneca
  • Cloud Solution Architect – Vmware
  • Research Assistant/PhD – University of Cambridge
  • Hydrologist – Environment Agency

Every year, approximately 20% of our graduating cohort pursue postgraduate study (MSc or PhD).


Lancaster University is dedicated to ensuring you not only gain a highly reputable degree, you also graduate with the relevant life and work based skills. We are unique in that every student is eligible to participate in The Lancaster Award which offers you the opportunity to complete key activities such as work experience, employability/career development, campus community and social development. Visit our Employability section for full details.

Supporting your future

At Lancaster, we're passionate about ensuring our graduates are prepared for the world beyond university - here are a few ways that we aim to support your future ambitions.

Placement Year

Our placement year provides a wonderful opportunity for you to increase your attractiveness to employers and add a distinctive element to your CV. Working in a science or non-science related role at graduate level, you will deepen your understanding of the workplace and how to apply your skills and knowledge.

Internships

We have an extensive network of businesses providing a range of full-time and part-time paid internship opportunities. You get to apply your knowledge in the real world and businesses get the skills they need. Internships are the perfect opportunity for you to explore different career paths and give you an edge in the job market

Career Support

Our dedicated Careers Service offers a lifetime of support, guidance and advice to all of our students, including one-to-one advice and information on work experience, employability, skills and careers.

A future for Cathy

I'm a PhD researcher with CGE at Lancaster University (as part of the Eco-i NW programme). I graduated 2020, and I was lucky to be offered a sponsorship as a full-time researcher. My research is evaluating university-business collaboration for sustainability. I did an internship with CGE when I was doing my undergrad where I interviewed and audited market traders in Lancaster and came up with ideas to improve their sustainability. I really enjoyed this and stayed in touch after as they did funded Master's. Instead, I went for the funded PhD!

So many skills have been transferred from my Natural Sciences degree. I've moved into the social sciences, which would typically be a big shift, but having the opportunity to do human geography in my undergrad made many of the concepts and ways of working familiar. Other skills that really helped were time management (always necessary when juggling 2-3 subjects!), critical analysis, and the ability to apply different thinking to problems in an interdisciplinary way. Being able to look at things from fresh perspectives is really useful and needed if we're going to work towards a sustainable transition. Report writing, presentation and working with people across disciplines are definitely skills I use daily.

I absolutely loved my degree! I'd say that I most enjoyed the diversity and being able to pick and choose elements which were most important to me. For example, I'm really passionate about sustainability and agriculture so was able to do biochemistry modules relevant to plant science, environmental biology (which included sustainable farming), and human geography, where we looked at the processes of sustainable consumption and food security. All of that helped me to do my dissertation which included a little bit of all of it!

Cathy Olphin, BSc Natural Sciences - Doctoral Researcher at Centre for Global Eco-Innovation

Cathy Olphin

Entry requirements

Grade Requirements

A Level AAA

Required Subjects A level grade A in two sciences from the following; Biology, Chemistry, Computing, Environmental Science, Geography, Geology, Information Technology, Mathematics, Physics or Psychology.

Subject Specialisms There are a number of Study Pathways available in the Natural Sciences degree programme, some of which require specific subject prerequisites. Please refer to the Natural Sciences webpages for detail of subjects that may be required.

GCSE Mathematics grade B or 6, English Language grade C or 4

IELTS 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each component. For other English language qualifications we accept, please see our English language requirements webpages.

Other Qualifications

International Baccalaureate 36 points overall with 16 points from the best 3 Higher Level subjects including two science subjects at HL grade 6

BTEC Distinction, Distinction, Distinction to include sufficient science. We require Distinctions in majority of relevant science units. We will assess the qualification on an individual basis and will look for substantial study of relevant science at Distinction level. Please contact the Admissions Team for further advice.

We welcome applications from students with a range of alternative UK and international qualifications, including combinations of qualifications. Further guidance on admission to the University, including other qualifications that we accept, frequently asked questions and information on applying, can be found on our general admissions webpages.

Contact Admissions Team + 44 (0) 1524 592028 or via ugadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk

International foundation programmes

Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored foundation pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University degrees. Visit the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.

Contextual admissions

Contextual admissions could help you gain a place at university if you have faced additional challenges during your education which might have impacted your results. Visit our contextual admissions page to find out about how this works and whether you could be eligible.

Course structure

Natural Sciences students create their own individual degree programme by combining modules taken from single honours programmes.

This would lead on to a wide choice of second, third and fourth year modules in each discipline. For details of individual modules please go to the module list for each degree scheme. This example is just one of a large number of possible combinations of pathways. For more detailed information about pathways please visit the Natural Sciences web page.

Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, and the University will make every reasonable effort to offer modules as advertised. In some cases changes may be necessary and may result in some combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.

Fees and funding

Our annual tuition fee is set for a 12-month session, starting in the October of your year of study.

Our Undergraduate Tuition Fees for 2025/26 are:

Home International
£9,250 £29,820

Fees and funding information

Additional fees and funding information accordion

Scholarships and bursaries

You will be automatically considered for our main scholarships and bursaries when you apply, so there's nothing extra that you need to do.

You may be eligible for the following funding opportunities, depending on your fee status:

Unfortunately no scholarships and bursaries match your selection, but there are more listed on scholarships and bursaries page.

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We also have other, more specialised scholarships and bursaries - such as those for students from specific countries.

Browse Lancaster University's scholarships and bursaries.

Trudy Tucker, BSc Hons Natural Sciences

A community for Trudy

Studying Natural Sciences at Lancaster University was the best decision I could have made when picking my course. While at school, I always considered myself as a future scientist rather than say an organic chemist or geneticist, and Natural Sciences at Lancaster has allowed me to do just that. The breadth of knowledge I built in my first two years helped me learn what my biggest interests are, and I have been able to tailor my degree to focus on these in my last two years with a level of flexibility that not many other universities offer. The Natural Sciences departmental staff have been so helpful and supportive, and I feel like advice is readily available whenever I ask for it.

My favourite thing about studying in Lancaster is the diversity of students. Having moved from London, I was not sure whether I would still be surrounded by as great a diversity of people, but my flat in first year had people from 5 different continents! It's been so interesting being able to share foods and languages and it really does feel like I am part of an international community.

By auditing modules in other departments, while formally studying sciences I am still able to engage myself in other subjects I enjoy such as English Literature so as to not diminish my involvement in them. I can access the same material as someone formally studying it and pick up many transferable skills along the way. Attending career talks organised within Uni have made me start thinking about combining these and pursuing scientific communications, a field I did not realise existed before.

Trudy Tucker, BSc Hons Natural Sciences

Important information

The information on this site relates primarily to 2025/2026 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.

The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.

More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.

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