Oxford Brookes Biological Sciences -Current students

Can someone help with my doubts regarding studying Biological Sciences at Brookes? I have started my enrolment process, but the more I read about the university and challenges that student face, the more I doubt the place is for me. I am a mature student who was offered the second year entry, and was always realistic about Brookes, but I had always assumed it was a relatively decent place. Now, after reading about that the most lecturers do not care , and I will be paying £9,000 to get this at least mediocre teaching ( according to many reviews) that some people compare to the Open University quality -I want to withdraw from the uni, and even risk not studying this year. Browsing through university rankings do not help. I am not the strongest believer in rankings, however, what makes me really suspicious is the drastically low place in terms of graduate prospects ..It looks like many people graduate from Brookes biosciences, and never actually enter the world of science as employees. Is it because they lack practical skills ? What is the reality of practical classes at Brookes ? Continuity is also drastically low compare to other low ranked universities. At the end of the day, if someone is determinate and wants to study hard they can do it anywhere ...I just want to hear from current students : What is the real picture here ?

Reply 1

McGinger

20

What have you heard - and from where?
Brookes has a good reputation, both academically and for student support, so I'm surprised.

Reply 2

OxfordBrookesDan

Official Rep

5

Original post

by Kalabetka

Can someone help with my doubts regarding studying Biological Sciences at Brookes? I have started my enrolment process, but the more I read about the university and challenges that student face, the more I doubt the place is for me. I am a mature student who was offered the second year entry, and was always realistic about Brookes, but I had always assumed it was a relatively decent place. Now, after reading about that the most lecturers do not care , and I will be paying £9,000 to get this at least mediocre teaching ( according to many reviews) that some people compare to the Open University quality -I want to withdraw from the uni, and even risk not studying this year. Browsing through university rankings do not help. I am not the strongest believer in rankings, however, what makes me really suspicious is the drastically low place in terms of graduate prospects ..It looks like many people graduate from Brookes biosciences, and never actually enter the world of science as employees. Is it because they lack practical skills ? What is the reality of practical classes at Brookes ? Continuity is also drastically low compare to other low ranked universities. At the end of the day, if someone is determinate and wants to study hard they can do it anywhere ...I just want to hear from current students : What is the real picture here ?

Hi, I hope you’re well! I did the BSc Biological Sciences at Oxford Brookes, swapped to the MBiol, and I’m now doing a PhD. I also help with lab demonstrations, induction week and some undergraduate teaching. The Biological Sciences degree is taught as a non-specialist course with optional specialisms you can enrol in or change to (Genetics & Genomics, Human Biosciences, Zoology). Modules from related degrees (e.g. Biodiversity & Wildlife Conservation, Biomedical Sciences) are available where relevant, giving flexibility: https://www.brookes.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/biological-sciences

Teaching & staff: The lecturers I’ve worked with are approachable and committed. There’s a mix of teaching-focused and research-active staff - research-active staff often supervise third-year projects and bring current techniques into practicals. As you’re starting in your second year, it may be worth looking at the facilities and staff at Brookes, as potential project supervisors: https://www.brookes.ac.uk/about-brookes/structure-and-governance/faculties-and-schools/bms.

Practical labs & facilities: Modules usually include lab practicals (or alternatives such as bioinformatics sessions or field trips). Many research groups feed into teaching, so you gain subject-relevant practical experience. The teaching labs are in the refurbished Sinclair Building, and shared facilities include the Centre for Bioimaging and the Centre for Nutrition and Health: https://www.brookes.ac.uk/about-brookes/structure-and-governance/faculties-and-schools/bms/facilities. There are placement-year options, a compulsory Career Development module, and some work-experience modules to aid networking and employability.

MBiol & employability: Whilst it's not the only way into degree-related graduate jobs in bioscience, the integrated MBiol provides extra research training and is a strong pathway into PhD study and lab roles. It’s similar in purpose to an MRes, but stays on the undergraduate finance system (no separate postgraduate application). I really enjoyed my MBiol, so I highly recommend it! Course-level employability stats can be noisy (small cohorts, differing response rates). Brookes publishes overall employability figures. For example, the university cites 87% of full-time undergraduates in work or further study 15 months after graduation. For the MBiol/biological sciences course-level data, see Discover Uni (https://discoveruni.gov.uk/course-details/10004930/MBIOL-IO/FullTime/) and the posts on the School information page (https://www.brookes.ac.uk/about-brookes/news/news-from-2024/11/oxford-brookes-helps-train-future-science-leaders). On the Discover Uni page, I recommend looking at the National Student Survey data, too.

Online comments can be worrying, but they often reflect different individual experiences. If you’re still unsure after a few weeks of lectures, email your academic adviser or the subject co-ordinator with specific questions (lab hours, typical practical class sizes, project allocation).
I hope this helps!
Dan

(edited 1 month ago)

Oxford Brookes Biological Sciences -Current students

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