Microbiology

Microbiology is the study of life at its smallest scale, examining the bacteria, fungi, viruses, archaea, and other microorganisms that make up the majority of biological diversity on Earth. Despite their invisibility to the naked eye, these organisms are central to every major process that sustains life on our planet, from decomposition and nutrient cycling to the fermentation that produces food and the pathogens that cause disease. Understanding them is fundamental to medicine, agriculture, environmental science, and biotechnology.

At the University of Dundee, you will study microbial life in depth, covering the biology of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms, including their growth and regulation, their interactions with each other and with their environments, and the molecular mechanisms that underpin their behaviour. You will develop laboratory skills alongside conceptual understanding, learning to work rigorously with living biological systems. This programme includes a year in industry and a year abroad, giving you substantial professional and international experience over the five years of full-time study.

Graduates of microbiology programmes enter careers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, in public health and clinical microbiology laboratories, in food science and environmental consultancy, and in academic and government research. The combination of laboratory technique, scientific reasoning, and industry experience that this programme provides makes graduates well prepared for roles that require both practical competence and analytical depth. Many also go on to postgraduate research in microbiology, infectious disease, molecular biology, or related life sciences.