Programme Overview
The MNatSci is a genuinely unified scientific degree — not a collection of separate disciplines with a shared timetable, but a programme built on the conviction that biology, chemistry, and physics are facets of a single inquiry. Students are expected to move fluently between experimental bench work, quantitative modelling, and philosophical reflection on scientific method.
The programme is anchored in the Cavendish Science Campus, where students have access to the Aldenmoor Cryo-EM Suite, the Thornfield Computational Chemistry cluster, and a dedicated MNatSci laboratory floor. Each student is paired with two supervisors drawn from different disciplines, by design.
Research focus areas
- Structural biology and protein folding dynamics under extreme conditions.
- Atmospheric chemistry and climate modelling at the mesoscale.
- Quantum behaviour in biological systems — a field in which Aldenmoor leads internationally.
- Computational pharmacology and drug interaction modelling.
- Materials science at the intersection of chemistry and condensed matter physics.
Assessment and progression
Year One combines taught modules with a supervised laboratory project. Students who achieve a Distinction in Year One may apply for progression to a three-year DPhil programme without further application. Year Two is devoted entirely to original research, culminating in a 40,000-word thesis examined by viva.