Genetics - MSc

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Conduct cutting-edge research in the field of bacterial, fungal, animal or human genetics and gain training in cutting-edge and cross-disciplinary laboratory research applying techniques such as advanced genetic engineering (CRISPR-Cas9 and classical genetic engineering), prognosis and diagnosis of genetic diseases and epigenetics.

Overview

Our genetic research revolves around understanding systems and processes in the living cell. It has a strong molecular focus with leading-edge activities that are synergistic with one another. If you undertake this programme, your research will contribute to the fields of evolution, reproduction and genome organisation, cancer and ageing, infectious diseases, and industrial biotechnology.

Based in a research lab, you’ll undertake research on a project agreed with your research supervisor. On a research-focused Master's course, you will take an interactive approach to learning, rather than attending traditional lectures. Seminars, workshops and lab meetings will enable you to gain an in-depth understanding of the field.

Reasons to study Genetics at Kent

  • We offer a wide range of Master’s research projects for you to choose from.
  • Research in the School of Biosciences focuses on biological processes at the molecular and cellular level and spans the disciplines of genetics, biochemistry, biotechnology and biomedical research.
  • The course offers a progression route to PhD study for those wishing to pursue a research career, while transferable skills development supports access to careers in clinical trials, public engagement, scientific writing, industrial research, and many other career structures within and outside the laboratory.
  • Our academic staff are leading experts in genetics, ensuring you receive the best possible supervision. Find out about the staff who are open to supervising research students, together with their research interests.
  • Conduct cutting-edge research in the field of bacterial, fungal, animal or human genetics and open up a future career in academic research, the industrial and health-care sector.
  • Your research will contribute to the fields of evolution, reproduction and genome organisation, cancer and ageing, infectious diseases, and industrial biotechnology.
  • The School is among the best-funded departments of its kind in the UK, and our well-equipped laboratories provide an excellent environment for both teaching and research.

Find an MSc project and a supervisor

Choose an area that interests you from our wide range of Master’s research projects.

Once you have identified a project and a potential supervisor, please contact them directly by email to discuss the possibility of undertaking an MSc under their supervision. Please outline your interest in the research project, supply a CV including all relevant experience and details of how you will fund your study.

Apply for the course

After securing a project and a supervisor, you can proceed to make an online application for this course (click 'Apply now').

Entry requirements

Minimum 2:2 degree in a relevant subject. Acceptance of any candidate is at the discretion of the supervisor, following an interview.

All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications. 

International students

Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.

English language entry requirements

The University requires all non-native speakers of English to reach a minimum standard of proficiency in written and spoken English before beginning a postgraduate degree. Certain subjects require a higher level.

For detailed information see our English language requirements web pages. 

Need help with English?

Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.

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Course structure

Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time

Fees

The 2024/25 annual tuition fees for this course are:

  • Home full-time TBC
  • EU full-time £22700
  • International full-time £22700
  • Home part-time TBC
  • EU part-time £11350
  • International part-time £11350

For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.

For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.

Your fee status

The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.

Additional costs

Find out more about general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent. 

Additional research fees

Please note that, due to the technical requirements of certain laboratory-based research projects, some projects incur additional research costs to support consumable requirements.

Funding

Search our scholarships finder for possible funding opportunities. You may find it helpful to look at both:

We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.

Search scholarships

Independent rankings

In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, 100% of our Biological Sciences research was classified as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ for impact and environment.

Research

Research areas

Within our collaborative research community, the School offers an inspiring environment where researchers at all levels can produce their best work. 

In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, 100% of our Biological Sciences research was classified as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ for impact and environment.

Our research is focused on biological processes at the molecular and cellular level and spans the disciplines of biochemistry, genetics, biotechnology and biomedical research. The five main research themes within the School are:

Each theme is supported by specialist facilities. 

Associated centres

Careers

A postgraduate degree in the School of Biosciences is designed to equip our graduates with transferable skills that are highly valued in the workplace. Our research-led ethos ensures that students explore the frontiers of scientific knowledge, and the intensive practical components provide rigorous training in cutting edge technical skills that are used in the modern biosciences while working in areas of world-leading expertise within the School.

Destinations for our graduates include the leading pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies within the UK and leading research institutes both at home and abroad.

Study support

Postgraduate resources

The School is well equipped, with excellent general research laboratories, together with a range of specialised research resources including facilities for growing micro-organisms of all kinds, extensive laboratories for animal cell culture and monoclonal antibody production and an imaging suite providing high-resolution laser confocal and electron microscopy. Additionally, the macromolecular analysis facility provides resources for protein and mass spectrometry, CD and fluorescence spectroscopy, surface plasmon resonance, and HPLC and FPLC systems for all aspects of biochemical and microbiological research. Notably, the School has a new state-of-the-art Bruker Avance III four-channel 600 MHz NMR spectrometer equipped with a QCI cryoprobe. Our NMR spectrometer was upgraded to this status via an equipment research award from the Wellcome Trust.

Support

All research students are supervised closely and are regularly monitored online using the University progression and monitoring system. All postgraduate students have access to electronic and other resources providing information regarding technical issues relevant to their degrees, as well as subject-specific and transferable skills training. All research students are allocated a Postgraduate Supervisory Team, consisting of one or more day-to-day supervisors, and one or more members not involved in day-to-day supervision whose task it is to serve as independent monitors of progress.

An active school

Every week, Biosciences runs school seminars where external guest speakers or staff, talk about recent research. In addition, the department runs FIREBio (Forum for Innovation, Research and Enterprise in Biosciences), which is a weekly informal meeting for staff, postdocs and postgraduates involving short presentations and discussions. Postgraduates can use the opportunity to present unpublished research findings and discuss them in a supportive environment.

Worldwide partnerships

Staff in the School of Biosciences not only collaborate extensively with other universities in the UK (Cambridge, Cardiff, King’s College London, University College London, Newcastle, Oxford, Sussex, York, Manchester, Durham and Sheffield), but also have a wide-ranging network across the world with institutes including: the Boston Biomedical Research Institute; University of Hanover; Monash University Melbourne; Harvard; University of California, Davis; Université Claude Bernard – Lyon 1; Goethe-Universität Frankfurt; University of Queensland, Australia; University of Utah; Texas A&M University; and Braunschweig University of Technology. We also collaborate with organisations such as the Marie Curie Research Institute, Cancer Research UK, National Institute for Medical Research, MRC London, GlaxoSmithKline and the European Union Framework 5 CYTONET.

The School currently receives funding from: BBSRC; Biochemical Society; British Heart Foundation; E B Charitable Hutchinson Trust; the EC; EPSRC; Kent Cancer Trust;The Leverhulme Trust; National Institutes of Health (USA); Nuffield Foundation; Royal Society; Wellcome Trust. It also receives funding on specific projects from a number of industrial organisations and collaborators.

Dynamic publishing culture

Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. Among others, they have recently contributed to: Nature Chemical Biology; Journal of Biological Chemistry; Cell; Molecular Cell; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA; PLOS One; and Journal of Cell Science.

Researcher Development Programme

Kent's Graduate School co-ordinates the Researcher Development Programme for research students, which includes workshops focused on research, specialist and transferable skills. The programme is mapped to the national Researcher Development Framework and covers a diverse range of topics, including subject-specific research skills, research management, personal effectiveness, communication skills, networking and teamworking, and career management skills.

Apply now

Learn more about the application process or begin your application by clicking on a link below.

You will be able to choose your preferred year of entry once you have started your application. You can also save and return to your application at any time.

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