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Durham or UCL for natural sciences?

I'm trying to decide between Durham and ucl for my last place to apply for, I'm already doing St Andrews, Heriot-Watt, Leeds and Lancaster (the Scottish ones are biology and the English are natural sciences). I know I would follow biology and chemistry routes at either one and I think I'd also quite like to study abroad for part as well I've heard the ucl course is quite disorganised but that's about it. I would be grateful for any advice 😊.
Thank you!
Original post by swimmingunicorn
I'm trying to decide between Durham and ucl for my last place to apply for, I'm already doing St Andrews, Heriot-Watt, Leeds and Lancaster (the Scottish ones are biology and the English are natural sciences). I know I would follow biology and chemistry routes at either one and I think I'd also quite like to study abroad for part as well I've heard the ucl course is quite disorganised but that's about it. I would be grateful for any advice 😊.
Thank you!

you should consider both of the locations of the universities. i have visited both and the environments and vibes are completely different.

durham was a very quiet and quaint village with little night life. however their college system and accomodation where great.

UCL is in the centre of london, it would be more expensive but the things to do in the local area are extensive. i didnt look at any accomodation but the resources available and academic centres are great.

durham is a campus uni and UCL is a city uni.

they are vastly different to eachother..

hope this helps
Original post by swimmingunicorn
I'm trying to decide between Durham and ucl for my last place to apply for, I'm already doing St Andrews, Heriot-Watt, Leeds and Lancaster (the Scottish ones are biology and the English are natural sciences). I know I would follow biology and chemistry routes at either one and I think I'd also quite like to study abroad for part as well I've heard the ucl course is quite disorganised but that's about it. I would be grateful for any advice 😊.
Thank you!

Hi @swimmingunicorn
Nice to hear your interested in studying Natural sciences at Lancaster! There is a study abroad option for the Natural sciences course here at Lancaster with the option to study in North America, Australia or New Zealand, and last year a friend studied in America whilst on the natural sciences course. If you have any questions about the course or the university, feel free to ask!
-Jasmine (Lancaster Student Ambassador)
Original post by swimmingunicorn
I'm trying to decide between Durham and ucl for my last place to apply for, I'm already doing St Andrews, Heriot-Watt, Leeds and Lancaster (the Scottish ones are biology and the English are natural sciences). I know I would follow biology and chemistry routes at either one and I think I'd also quite like to study abroad for part as well I've heard the ucl course is quite disorganised but that's about it. I would be grateful for any advice 😊.
Thank you!


Structurally the courses are somewhat different I gather, Durham I think it's more a joint honours in chemistry and biology whereas at UCL I think it's more of a major-minor combination and you're a bit fixed in which areas of chemistry you start out with. I don't know much about the course at UCL but a friend of my sister's did chemistry via natural sciences at Durham and seemed to have a good experience with it :smile:
Original post by swimmingunicorn
I'm trying to decide between Durham and ucl for my last place to apply for, I'm already doing St Andrews, Heriot-Watt, Leeds and Lancaster (the Scottish ones are biology and the English are natural sciences). I know I would follow biology and chemistry routes at either one and I think I'd also quite like to study abroad for part as well I've heard the ucl course is quite disorganised but that's about it. I would be grateful for any advice 😊.
Thank you!

My son is looking at these 2 along with Lancaster. I',d advise taking the time to really look at the course content and identify any limitations on studying your preferred areas as well as considering location as almost equally as important. We found it useful looking at what we think his degree is most likely to look like in the final year and look at what modules are required to enable that in previous years.
Original post by swimmingunicorn
I'm trying to decide between Durham and ucl for my last place to apply for, I'm already doing St Andrews, Heriot-Watt, Leeds and Lancaster (the Scottish ones are biology and the English are natural sciences). I know I would follow biology and chemistry routes at either one and I think I'd also quite like to study abroad for part as well I've heard the ucl course is quite disorganised but that's about it. I would be grateful for any advice 😊.
Thank you!

Hi @swimmingunicorn

It looks like you have a good choice of unis there! Lancaster's natural science course has many different pathways which would suit your interest in biology and chemistry! I am a biomedicine student so I take many biology modules which most modules have a combination of lectures, workshops and practicals and overall I have enjoyed it and found some really interesting things to study. If you have specific questions about natural sciences at Lancaster you can ask a current natural science student here Ask a Student - Lancaster University

Hope this helps!
Rachel - Lancaster University Student Ambassador.

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