How You Will be Taught
This suite of four programmes is run by the School of Biological Sciences.
Teaching staff
The Programmes are housed within the Institute of Evolutionary Biology and benefit from the involvement of colleagues from the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, especially The Roslin Institute and Institute of Genetics and Cancer, and external organisations including Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC). Our staff are internationally recognised experts in their fields, covering key areas of quantitative genetics and its applications.
The collaborative nature of the programme means we can offer an expansive range of courses.
The Programme Directors are Dr Jacob Moorad and Dr Sara Knott. Both have interests in quantitative genetics, in particular Jacob’s research focusses on the evolution of life history, ageing, social structure, and demography and Sara’s on the genetics of complex traits.
Taught element
A variety of teaching methods are used including lectures, tutorials and seminars. You will also participate in computer-based workshops, obtaining hands-on experience of state of the art software.
Student Testimonial
Dr Jarrod Hadfield teaches extensively in Semester 1. Jarrod recently received this nomination for the Students’ Association’s 11th annual student-led Teaching Awards for 2019 20:
Jarrod went above and beyond for our lectures, providing easy to understand content coupled with in depth explanations. You could tell from his slides, delivery and supplementary material that he cares deeply about the content of the subject but also about conveying it in a thorough but easy to understand way. He was available after class for questions and would always check to see if we understood before moving on to the next topic. He also made himself available during revision week for one-to-one meetings and was very helpful generally throughout the course. He has a modest and warm personality which made him very approachable.
Research project
The research project is an essential component of the MSc programmes. This is a substantial piece of full-time, independent research which occupies the final three months of the programme and concludes with the production a written dissertation of the work.
Projects vary from year to year and are available from across the University as well as external organisations and industry. The purpose of the project is to give you the opportunity to apply new skills and to acquire first-hand experience of research in a cutting-edge environment.