Natural Sciences with International Study MSci

University of Nottingham

United Kingdom, Nottingham

University RankQS Ranking

109

Apply Now!

Go to Official Website

Home/United Kingdom/Nottingham /University of Nottingham/Natural Sciences with International Study MSci

University of Nottingham

United Kingdom , Nottingham

Key Facts

Program Level

Master by Course Work

Study Type

Full Time

Delivery

On Campus

Course Code

GFY0

Campuses

Nottingham

Program Language

English

Start & Deadlines

Next Intake DeadlinesSeptember-2026

Apply to this program

Go to the official application for the university

Duration 5 year(s)

Tuition Fee

GBP 33,000 / year(s)

Next Intake September-2026

Natural Sciences with International Study MSci

About

The MSci with International Study is a five-year degree where you spend your third year studying at one of our partner institutions overseas getting a broader perspective of the subjects that you study. You will develop key skills such as communication, confidence, language and independence. All of these are extremely sought after by employers.

The MSci degree adds a further year of advanced study focusing on one subject in your final year. This is designed to enhance your research, analytical and project management skills.

Why choose this course?

Tailor your degree - flexibility to choose subjects and modules that match your academic interests and career goals.
Enhance your degree – Nottingham provides a range of opportunities to enrich your studies like studying abroad, work placements, or a year in computer science to expand your skills and boost your employability.
Become an interdisciplinary scientist - Natural Sciences modules enhance your interdisciplinarity while strengthening key skills like communication, teamwork, and problem solving, preparing you to tackle complex challenges and excel in diverse fields.
Broad horizons – Natural Sciences graduates possess strong knowledge, practical skills, technical proficiency, and adaptability, preparing them for a range of careers in clinical science, environmental fields, pharmaceuticals, energy, and more.
Strong community – connect with students across years and the alumni network. Actively engage in the course community through roles in representation, mentoring, and the student society, while gaining valuable skills and experience.
Degree quality – accredited by the Society for Natural Sciences; recognised as ‘offering outstanding interdisciplinary science education’.
Research-led teaching - Nottingham’s research beacons use interdisciplinary approaches to tackle global challenges. This research directly informs your studies, with academics bringing the latest developments into the classroom.

What you will study

You will study modules from each of the subjects in their chosen stream, gaining comprehensive theoretical and practical knowledge. You will learn alongside students from single-subject degrees, so the quality of the teaching and the depth of study is the same, but you have a broader scope across multiple disciplines

Course-specific modules from the first to the third year are designed to foster a strong cohort identity and guide your academic development, encouraging you to understand theories and ideas from different areas of science and explore how they work together. A highlight of the course is the synoptic project, where you work on a collaborative group project with students from other streams. You will bring your individual expertise to the project and find new ways to apply the knowledge from your learning in previous years.

International study

On this course, subject to you meeting the relevant requirements, your third academic year will be spent studying abroad at one of our partner institutions. Destinations could include:

Australia
Hong Kong (teaching is in English)
Ireland
Netherlands (teaching is in English)
New Zealand
Singapore (teaching is in English)
South Korea (teaching is in English)
Sweden (teaching is in English)
Switzerland (teaching is in English)
USA

Benefits of studying abroad

Explore a new culture
Study specialisms not available at Nottingham including marine conservation, desert biology and plasma physics
A reduced tuition fee for the time you are abroad
Improve your communication skills, confidence and independence

This is an additional year between the second and third years of your course on a pass/fail basis, where the marks obtained do not count towards your final mark.

Careers

You will graduate with the knowledge and technical skills to take a broad scientific approach to help tackle today's complex problems. During the masters year you gain specialist experience in a professional research environment through an independent research project. This is good preparation for research job roles within industry, or if you are considering a PhD.

Important information

This online prospectus has been drafted in advance of the academic year to which it applies. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate at the time of publishing, but changes (for example to course content) are likely to occur given the interval between publishing and commencement of the course. It is therefore very important to check this website for any updates before you apply for the course where there has been an interval between you reading this website and applying.

Requirements

Entry Requirements

IB score: IB Diploma 36 points overall or IB Higher Level Certificates 7,6,6. Alternatively IB Diploma 34 points overall plus A in the Extended Essay or IB Higher Level Certificates 6,6,6 plus A in the Extended Essay. IB requirements:

A minimum of Higher Level grade 6 in two of: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics Analysis and Approaches, Mathematics Applications and Interpretations, Physics, Psychology, Geography and Environmental Systems and Societies.

The specific combination of subject required depends on your chosen stream – see Year One for a full list of required subjects by stream.

If you would like to study a stream requiring Mathematics, Higher Level grade 6 in Mathematics Analysis and Approaches is required.

Higher Level Mathematics Applications and Interpretations is not acceptable in lieu of an A Level Mathematics requirement, but is permitted as a science subject for streams where Mathematics is not required.

IELTS:

6.5 (no less than 6.0 in any element)

English language requirements

For presessional English or one-year foundation courses, you must take IELTS for UKVI to meet visa regulations.

If you need support to meet the required level, you may be able to attend a Presessional English for Academic Purposes (PEAP) course. Our Centre for English Language Education is accredited by the British Council for the teaching of English in the UK.

If you successfully complete your presessional course to the required level, you can then progress to your degree course. This means that you won't need to retake IELTS or equivalent.

High school qualifications:

Check our country-specific information for guidance on qualifications from your country.

A level: A*AA Required subjects:

At least two science subjects from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics or Further Mathematics, Geology, Geography, Environmental Science and Psychology. The specific combination of subject required depends on your chosen stream – see Year One for a full list of required subjects by stream.

A pass is normally required in science practical tests, where these are assessed separately.

GCSE

English and Maths at C/4

Excluded subjects:

General Studies, Critical Thinking, CIE Global Perspectives, CIE Thinking Skills and Citizenship Studies are not accepted.

Additional entry requirements:

A*AA

AAA including an A in the EPQ or Level 3 Core Maths

If you have already achieved your EPQ or Level 3 Core Maths qualification at grade A you will automatically be offered one grade lower in an A level subject.

If you are still studying for your EPQ/Level 3 Core Maths, you will receive the standard course offer and also an alternate offer with a condition of one grade lower if you achieve an A grade in the EPQ/Core Maths. If you qualify for a contextual offer, your EPQ/Core Maths will be taken into consideration and the appropriate adjustment will be made to your offer.

Please note that if you qualify for an enhanced contextual offer, your EPQ will not be taken into consideration as we are unable to make any further adjustments to your offer.

Please note: Applicants whose backgrounds or personal circumstances have impacted their academic performance may receive a reduced offer. Please see our contextual admissions policy for more information.

Non-UK entry requirements:

Alternative qualifications

We recognise that applicants have a wealth of different experiences and follow a variety of pathways into higher education.

Consequently we treat all applicants with alternative qualifications (besides A levels and the International Baccalaureate) on an individual basis, and we gladly accept students with a whole range of less conventional qualifications including:

Access to HE Diploma
Advanced Diploma
BTEC HND/HNC
BTEC Extended Diploma

This list is not exhaustive. The entry requirements for alternative qualifications can be quite specific; for example you may need to take certain modules and achieve a specified grade in those modules. Please contact us to discuss the transferability of your qualification. Please see the alternative qualifications page for more information.

RQF BTEC Nationals

All applications are assessed on an individual basis to ensure sufficient science has been studied. We will consider the following:

RQF Level 3 BTEC National Extended Diploma D*DD
RQF Level 3 BTEC National Diploma D*D + A level grade A
RRQF Level 3 BTEC National Extended Certificate grade D plus A level grades A*A

Acceptable combinations of qualifications will depend on the science content of the BTEC qualification and which A levels are being studied.

Access to HE Diploma

All applications are assessed on an individual basis to ensure sufficient science has been studied. We will consider the following:

Access to HE Diploma 42 graded Level 3 credits at Distinction and 3 graded Level 3 credits at Merit including acceptable science credits

Foundation progression options

If you didn't take the right A levels to study your chosen degree course or you don't expect to meet the entry requirements but you do meet our specific criteria, there is the option to study the Science with Foundation Year course. If you satisfy the progression requirements (65%) then you can progress to any of the streams without maths in natural sciences.

Learn more about our Science with Foundation Year course. This course is only open to UK students, if you're an EU/International applicant please visit our Kaplan webpage.

Mature students

At the University of Nottingham, we have a valuable community of mature students and we appreciate their contribution to the wider student population. You can find lots of useful information on the mature students webpage.

Visa restrictions

International students must have valid UK immigration permissions for any courses or study period where teaching takes place in the UK. Student route visas can be issued for eligible students studying full-time courses. The University of Nottingham does not sponsor a student visa for students studying part-time courses. The Standard Visitor visa route is not appropriate in all cases. Please contact the university’s Visa and Immigration team if you need advice about your visa options.

English Program Requirements

As well as IELTS (listed above), we also accept other English language qualifications. This includes TOEFL iBT, Pearson PTE, GCSE, IB and O level English. Check our English language policies and equivalencies for further details. For presessional English or one-year foundation courses, you must take IELTS for UKVI to meet visa regulations.
If you need support to meet the required level, you may be able to attend a Presessional English for Academic Purposes (PEAP) course. Our Centre for English Language Education is accredited by the British Council for the teaching of English in the UK. If you successfully complete your presessional course to the required level, you can then progress to your degree course. This means that you won't need to retake IELTS or equivalent.

Career

Our graduates have gone on to work as:

Lab Scientist at Lighthouse Lab Services
Commercial Oncology Graduate at Bristol Myers Squibb
Bioinformatician at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
DevOps/Platform Engineer at Metaswitch Networks

Read our alumni profiles for the sort of jobs our graduates go on to do.

Approximately a third pursue careers in the science sector. Taking up roles in chemical, medical or physical labs, in offices and in the field working as analysts, scientists or engineers. About a third of graduates apply their skills to another sector working at some of the top graduate employers in the country in finance, management, sales, logistics and the civil service.

Further study

The remainder go on to further study doing a masters or PhD in a science specialism they wish to focus on. An understanding of the ideas and approaches across science and how the disciplines fit together is a strong background for further study.