Microbiology and Immunology

Microbiology and immunology together address the scientific understanding of the microscopic world and the body's responses to it. Microbiology examines the extraordinary diversity of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses, exploring their structures, metabolic functions, ecological roles and ability to cause disease in humans, animals and plants. Immunology examines the systems that organisms use to recognise and combat infection, and the increasingly important field of immunotherapy, which harnesses immune mechanisms to treat cancer and autoimmune disease.

At Swansea University this four-year full-time programme develops your understanding of microorganisms from molecular and cellular perspectives, examining how they interact with their environments and hosts, what makes them pathogenic, and how they can be exploited for industrial and medical applications. The immunology strand gives you a grounding in the cellular and molecular mechanisms of immune responses, from innate immunity to adaptive responses, antibody production and vaccine design. The combination is particularly relevant to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and clinical sectors.

Graduates work in clinical microbiology laboratories within the NHS, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, public health agencies, research institutions, food safety organisations and environmental monitoring services. Roles include clinical microbiologist, biomedical scientist, research scientist, quality assurance specialist, regulatory affairs officer and infection control practitioner. Postgraduate study in microbiology, virology, immunology, infectious disease or clinical science is a natural further route for those seeking specialist expertise or research careers.

The growing importance of antimicrobial resistance and infectious disease preparedness makes this an area of increasing professional demand.