Natural Sciences at UCL or Bath?

Original post by J.ane

I have heard at lot about the natural sciences course at UCL being unorganised but I just wanted to check once more right before I apply. Is it true that it is unorganised? I'm also considering natural sciences at Bath as well but when I visited I wasn't exactly in love with the uni being on a hill - I've definitely heard better things about the course though!! I will only have one application for NatSci as my others will be for med chem so any help is appreciated !!

hi (: i'm studying natural sciences at ucl and would be happy to help with that!
ucl has a really good course with a wide range of options, so you can choose between many science subjects
in the first term of first year, you need to choose three between biology, chemistry, physics, statistics, earth sciences, and history and philosophy of science (as well as doing a compulsory maths module and a compulsory research skills module - which is a lot of fun)
from the second term of first year until the end of the degree, you choose two science subjects
you can do slightly more unrelated combinations like astrophysics and cell biology, or more related combinations like biomedical sciences with organic chemistry, or physics with maths and stats!
the only thing I would say is if you're looking to do anything like materials science or environmental science or immunology, im not sure that ucl natsci is the right course (would need to apply for a single science course) as they offer some of these as separate degrees (not materials science though... done as part of inorganic chemistry)
ucl has lots of really amazing interdisciplinary science degrees like: natural sciences, medical sciences with engineering, and arts and sciences so there's lots to choose from!

Reply 2

OP

Original post by Robustos55

hi (: i'm studying natural sciences at ucl and would be happy to help with that!
ucl has a really good course with a wide range of options, so you can choose between many science subjects
in the first term of first year, you need to choose three between biology, chemistry, physics, statistics, earth sciences, and history and philosophy of science (as well as doing a compulsory maths module and a compulsory research skills module - which is a lot of fun)
from the second term of first year until the end of the degree, you choose two science subjects
you can do slightly more unrelated combinations like astrophysics and cell biology, or more related combinations like biomedical sciences with organic chemistry, or physics with maths and stats!
the only thing I would say is if you're looking to do anything like materials science or environmental science or immunology, im not sure that ucl natsci is the right course (would need to apply for a single science course) as they offer some of these as separate degrees (not materials science though... done as part of inorganic chemistry)
ucl has lots of really amazing interdisciplinary science degrees like: natural sciences, medical sciences with engineering, and arts and sciences so there's lots to choose from!

hiya! thank you so much for replying!! I was thinking if I did choose ucl I would end up doing organic chem + biomed haha ^-^ do you have any comments on how helpful teachers are and how structured and smooth the course is?? I've always heard that timetabling is a nightmare with natural sciences haha. thank you so much for the help !!

Reply 3

McGinger

18

5 Reasons to Study Natural Sciences at Bath : https://www.bath.ac.uk/campaigns/5-reasons-to-study-natural-sciences-at-bath/

Reply 4

booklover1313

20

Original post by J.ane

I have heard at lot about the natural sciences course at UCL being unorganised but I just wanted to check once more right before I apply. Is it true that it is unorganised? I'm also considering natural sciences at Bath as well but when I visited I wasn't exactly in love with the uni being on a hill - I've definitely heard better things about the course though!! I will only have one application for NatSci as my others will be for med chem so any help is appreciated !!

Hi! I was considering applying for natural sciences, but when I spoke to people I got the impression that they try and fit you in with other subjects, rather than the whole course being designed and taught for only natural science students. So you might have a biology lecture with bio students, rather than a biology lecture aimed at and delivered to natural sciences students. The NatSci is done properly is Cambridge, because the system is designed for it. I ended up applying just for chemistry. If you want a mixed sciences degree, have you considered the scottish unis, because there is a lot more flexibility in the modules you take? The US and Australia are also good options?

Reply 5

OP

Original post by McGinger

5 Reasons to Study Natural Sciences at Bath : https://www.bath.ac.uk/campaigns/5-reasons-to-study-natural-sciences-at-bath/

hiya tysm for this !! I really did like the structure of baths natural sciences haha I was just unsure whether the city would be right for me! I think I will end up going with bath thank you so much :smile:

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Reply 6

OP

Original post by booklover1313

Hi! I was considering applying for natural sciences, but when I spoke to people I got the impression that they try and fit you in with other subjects, rather than the whole course being designed and taught for only natural science students. So you might have a biology lecture with bio students, rather than a biology lecture aimed at and delivered to natural sciences students. The NatSci is done properly is Cambridge, because the system is designed for it. I ended up applying just for chemistry. If you want a mixed sciences degree, have you considered the scottish unis, because there is a lot more flexibility in the modules you take? The US and Australia are also good options?

hi thank you for replying !! yeah that's why I've only put one application for natsci and the other 4 for medchem ^-^ omg I actually have picked edinburgh as well bc I like how scottish unis have so much flexibility in the first and second year. honestly im still stuck on my final medchem application and now idk if I want to do pharmacy bc that's a good mix of bio and chem. my school's deadline for us is in 5 days and I'm a mess :'(

Reply 7

booklover1313

20

Original post by J.ane

hi thank you for replying !! yeah that's why I've only put one application for natsci and the other 4 for medchem ^-^ omg I actually have picked edinburgh as well bc I like how scottish unis have so much flexibility in the first and second year. honestly im still stuck on my final medchem application and now idk if I want to do pharmacy bc that's a good mix of bio and chem. my school's deadline for us is in 5 days and I'm a mess :'(

Have you considered biochemistry? Or chemistry with medicinal chemistry?

Reply 8

lailakate

Hiya!

I study natural sciences at the University of Nottingham so if you have any questions about that let me know!
Since you're applying for medicine it seems like the subjects we have on offer that you'd be interested in would be chemistry, biology and cancer science which would be such a great combination, but there are lots to choose from!

Laila

Reply 9

OP

Original post by lailakate

Hiya!

I study natural sciences at the University of Nottingham so if you have any questions about that let me know!
Since you're applying for medicine it seems like the subjects we have on offer that you'd be interested in would be chemistry, biology and cancer science which would be such a great combination, but there are lots to choose from!

Laila

Hi !! Sorry by medchem I meant medicinal chemistry haha!! I sent off my application already tysm - I actually did apply to nottingham for medicinal chemistry and I was considering their natural sciences but I wasn't as convinced about their stream combinations bc a lot of the biology was genes vs ecology and I wanted more anatomy and physiology based modules.

if you don't mind me asking, which subject combination did you choose and do you find the degree enjoyable and not too hectic? also how many contact hours do you have per week? tysm !!

Reply 10

lailakate

Original post by J.ane

Hi !! Sorry by medchem I meant medicinal chemistry haha!! I sent off my application already tysm - I actually did apply to nottingham for medicinal chemistry and I was considering their natural sciences but I wasn't as convinced about their stream combinations bc a lot of the biology was genes vs ecology and I wanted more anatomy and physiology based modules.

if you don't mind me asking, which subject combination did you choose and do you find the degree enjoyable and not too hectic? also how many contact hours do you have per week? tysm !!

Oh oops that's my bad, sorry!! I understand that, the biology is broad so that you can specialise later but maybe not to you taste :smile:

I did chemistry, maths and psychology in 1st year, and then chemistry and psychology in 2nd and 3rd and next year I am thinking of doing psychology for my 4th year (integrated masters!).

I really enjoy the degree because of the mixture I got to study. I didn't want to drop psychology, but I also didn't want to do a pure psychology degree so this was the best uni and course as they included psych in their natural sciences programme. I feel lucky I get to choose from so many different modules and really tailor my degree, so I enjoy it a lot!
It can be hectic in terms of doing such different things like writing essays one day and going to labs the next! Though with good organisation its manageable.

Contact hours varies from year to year and decreases as you go along. With labs, maths problem classes and lectures in 1st year I had around 20 contact hours. Then in 2nd year it was around 12, but when I had labs (this was a Covid year so I only had them for a few weeks) that grew to about 17, and now in third year its a similar story, I have around 12 and then on weeks with labs it would be around 20 if they didn't overlap with my psychology lectures... But they do lol so it's more like 15.

I hope this helped! Fire away more questions if you have them :smile:

Laila

Reply 11

Robustos55

Original post by J.ane

hiya! thank you so much for replying!! I was thinking if I did choose ucl I would end up doing organic chem + biomed haha ^-^ do you have any comments on how helpful teachers are and how structured and smooth the course is?? I've always heard that timetabling is a nightmare with natural sciences haha. thank you so much for the help !!

no problem at all! biomedsci and organic chem is a fantastic combination, and I know many people who are taking it. choosing the biomed stream offers more range of subjects compared to the neuroscience or cell and molecular streams. the genetics and evolution stream is completely different. timetabling is tricky, and it can mean that you don't always get to choose all the modules you want to do. having said that, the flexibility to choose modules in the ucl NatSci course is pretty much unparalleled and in the second year there is option to choose a module from pretty much any ucl department. the teachers are incredibly helpful. they're organised, responsive, and are always very happy to answer questions. the course is structured pretty well in my opinion. if I look at what I am doing, for example (neuroscience and organic chem), I will have as much knowledge in organic chem as a pure chem student and a very high level knowledge of neuroscience too, with the option to pursue a more psych based pathway if you want (tho im doing more neurobiology type stuff). mainly, the element of interdisciplinary makes NatSci such an attractive course. when I did a-levels I really enjoyed organic chem (not so much inorganic and physical) and really enjoyed the cell bio and physiology parts of bio (not really genetics and evolution and biodiversity), so doing NatSci really does allow you to do what you want to do. would highly recommend. hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other questions (:

Reply 12

Robustos55

Original post by booklover1313

Hi! I was considering applying for natural sciences, but when I spoke to people I got the impression that they try and fit you in with other subjects, rather than the whole course being designed and taught for only natural science students. So you might have a biology lecture with bio students, rather than a biology lecture aimed at and delivered to natural sciences students. The NatSci is done properly is Cambridge, because the system is designed for it. I ended up applying just for chemistry. If you want a mixed sciences degree, have you considered the scottish unis, because there is a lot more flexibility in the modules you take? The US and Australia are also good options?

hi (:
yes you're 100% right that many (not all) modules taken by NatSci students are modules from other single science degrees (e.g. biomed or chem or physics) and that NatSci is not the central science course at ucl as it is at Cambridge. however, ucl I believe is trying to shift the science focus towards NatSci as some of the modules taken are not taken by students on other courses, and provide a really good set of skills that you would probably not otherwise have (communication, computing etc). the NatSci course strikes a good balance between allowing flexibility and depth, as well as providing you with appropriate mathematical skills along the way (i.e. bio streams focus more on stats/pure and physics/chem streams focus more on pure/mech)

Reply 13

OP

Original post by lailakate

Oh oops that's my bad, sorry!! I understand that, the biology is broad so that you can specialise later but maybe not to you taste :smile:

I did chemistry, maths and psychology in 1st year, and then chemistry and psychology in 2nd and 3rd and next year I am thinking of doing psychology for my 4th year (integrated masters!).

I really enjoy the degree because of the mixture I got to study. I didn't want to drop psychology, but I also didn't want to do a pure psychology degree so this was the best uni and course as they included psych in their natural sciences programme. I feel lucky I get to choose from so many different modules and really tailor my degree, so I enjoy it a lot!
It can be hectic in terms of doing such different things like writing essays one day and going to labs the next! Though with good organisation its manageable.

Contact hours varies from year to year and decreases as you go along. With labs, maths problem classes and lectures in 1st year I had around 20 contact hours. Then in 2nd year it was around 12, but when I had labs (this was a Covid year so I only had them for a few weeks) that grew to about 17, and now in third year its a similar story, I have around 12 and then on weeks with labs it would be around 20 if they didn't overlap with my psychology lectures... But they do lol so it's more like 15.

I hope this helped! Fire away more questions if you have them :smile:

Laila

Thank you so much Laila this is really helpful! I'm really grateful for the detailed answers ^-^ My school finally sent off my application and Bath has replied for me to rewrite my personal statement to tailor it more towards Natural Sciences - this is a general question for anyone reading: like how do I go about this?? I already wrote about both biology and chemistry in my personal statement and stated that I want to study both at degree level. To be fair, I did leave things a bit broad as I have applied for multiple different subjects (NatSci, MedChem & Pharmacy) but I don't know how to tailor it more?

Reply 14

OP

Original post by Robustos55

no problem at all! biomedsci and organic chem is a fantastic combination, and I know many people who are taking it. choosing the biomed stream offers more range of subjects compared to the neuroscience or cell and molecular streams. the genetics and evolution stream is completely different. timetabling is tricky, and it can mean that you don't always get to choose all the modules you want to do. having said that, the flexibility to choose modules in the ucl NatSci course is pretty much unparalleled and in the second year there is option to choose a module from pretty much any ucl department. the teachers are incredibly helpful. they're organised, responsive, and are always very happy to answer questions. the course is structured pretty well in my opinion. if I look at what I am doing, for example (neuroscience and organic chem), I will have as much knowledge in organic chem as a pure chem student and a very high level knowledge of neuroscience too, with the option to pursue a more psych based pathway if you want (tho im doing more neurobiology type stuff). mainly, the element of interdisciplinary makes NatSci such an attractive course. when I did a-levels I really enjoyed organic chem (not so much inorganic and physical) and really enjoyed the cell bio and physiology parts of bio (not really genetics and evolution and biodiversity), so doing NatSci really does allow you to do what you want to do. would highly recommend. hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other questions (:

Thank you so much this has been very helpful !! I have a question above + I would be grateful for any advice you would give as a current natsci student tysm !!

Reply 15

lailakate