What is Natural Sciences?

What is Natural Sciences? It is a branch of science that used data to explain and predict natural phenomas like tsunamis and volcano eruptions. It is split into life sciences (e.g. biology, zoology) and physical sciences (e.g. physics, geology). There are 5 subjects that form Natural Sciences: biology, physics, chemistry, earth science and astronomy. These subjects are then used to understand the world around us. 

My 1st degree was in Natural Sciences. I had the option to study 3 sciences: Biology and Forensic Science with Psychology being my supporting science. This meant that I did 3 modules in Biology, 3 modules in Forensics, 1 module in Psychology and 1 Natural Science module. This was the pattern for the first 2 years of my undergraduate. In my 3rd and final year, I did 2 Forensics modules, 3 Biology modules, 1 Natural Science module and a dissertation - in the UK, undergraduate studies takes 3 years.

Now the modules you take will vary from university to university. I chose to specialise mostly in Human Biology so all of the biology modules/courses I did in Year 1 and 2 were in Human Biology. 2 of my modules in 3rd year were Ecology and Botany based with the 3rd being an Evolution module. 

All of my Forensic Sciences modules were catered towards training students to become crime scene investigators. I really enjoyed that aspect of my degree as it was very hands on and I enjoyed the labs throughly as well as the assessments! 

The assessments for most of my modules were split into lab reports/essays and exams with a few being just reports. The exams were also short answer exams with one or two also incoporating multiple choice alongside the short answer exams. All on my psychology exams had essays based exams. 

As you may have now noticed, the assessments were mostly similar but still varied. Now this can differ from universty to university so make sure you do a thorough research on the course, especially with regards to course structure, content of each modules, assessments and the general employability of the course.

Most people I know who did a BSc in Natural Sciences have completed a masters, myself included. Only one person pursued a PhD and the rest found employment though not always in the industry they first chose to be in. I was lucky, and fortunate, enough to be accepted into medical school as I knew that's something I might go into. You really need to have a robust plan of what you want to do in the future. This is a really diffcult decision to make and I hope that whatever course you choose, will offer you the chance to make an informed decision. 

As always, I am happy to answer any questions so keep them coming.