Molecular Biology and Genetics with a Year Abroad

Molecular biology and genetics sit at the very foundation of modern biological science, concerned with the mechanisms by which genetic information is stored, copied, expressed and regulated, and with the ways in which variation in that information drives the diversity of life, the inheritance of traits, and the development of disease. Recent breakthroughs in genome editing and the development of mRNA vaccines have brought the possibilities and implications of this science to global attention, and the field continues to develop at extraordinary speed, with implications for medicine, agriculture, biotechnology, and our understanding of what life is.

At the University of East Anglia this four-year programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to study at an international institution and encounter different research environments and scientific traditions during your degree. You will study the core principles of molecular biology and genetics, developing skills in laboratory techniques including DNA cloning, gene sequencing, protein analysis, and the bioinformatics tools used to make sense of large genomic datasets. You will engage with the science of heredity, development, evolution, and disease at the molecular level, developing both the conceptual understanding and the practical competence that research and applied careers in the life sciences require.

Graduates of molecular biology and genetics are in demand across a wide range of scientific sectors. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic and medical research institutions, clinical genetics services, agricultural biotechnology, forensic science, public health agencies, and regulatory bodies all employ graduates with this level of molecular and genetic expertise. Roles include research scientist, laboratory manager, biomedical scientist, genetic counsellor (with further training), bioinformatics analyst, and science communicator.

Many graduates go on to postgraduate study or doctoral research in molecular biology, genetics, genomics, cancer biology, or related fields, and the pace of development in the discipline means research careers in this area are consistently exciting.