Careers Service and graduate destinations

The skillsets gained through science and engineering degrees are transferable and highly valued across many career paths. These skills include problem solving, organisation and time-planning, investigational and analytical reasoning, and group working. We train our students to be able to apply these skills in lots of different contexts.

The University's Careers Service provides information, advice and guidance for all students on all aspects of career development, throughout your time at University, and for up to two years after the end date of your course. Their comprehensive website includes resources to help students and graduates find out about their options and get started with career planning.

We have a School Careers Consultant who runs regular drop ins for students. They also work closely with the School to put on talks and events for students ranging from CV writing advice and preparing for interviews, to networking with alumni, finding work experience or internships and planning for your future.

The Careers Service's Employer Team works hard to bring a diverse range of employers onto campus and organises a number events including a Careers Week in October, with a Careers Fair that hosts 130 employers. They also run a Careers in Technology Fair in February, and a Creative and Cultural Careers Festival in March for those looking at something in the creative industries.

Careers Service

Biological Sciences graduates go on to work in a range of different fields, within and outside of science. This can include:

• Practical research - lab technician, industrial roles, field assistant, conservation
• Science policy - government, NGOs, charities
• Science communication - journalism, publishing, media relations, outreach
• Other - finance, management

Previous graduates have secured roles in both research and industry and have been employed by organisations such as the Scottish Government, NHS, World Health Organisation, Roslin Institute and Charles River.

The Careers Service website provides information such as destinations of College of Science and Engineering graduates.

Graduate destinations

The career path you choose is up to you and will depend on your experiences, skills, values, and interests, and we are pleased to be able to support your career journey.

There are many further study options available for Biological Sciences graduates within the UK and abroad.

In addition to entering employment, many Edinburgh Biological Sciences graduates progress onto further study. This might be to:

• continue their biological sciences education (e.g. master's in biochemistry or quantitative genetics),
• train in a specialist, often applied area of biological sciences (e.g. master's in bioinformatics, marine biology),
• carry out research (master's by research or PhD in biological sciences),
• train to teach biology (PGCE, PGDE),
• change direction and 'convert' (e.g. medicine, veterinary medicine, journalism, law).

You can explore the different Master's degree programmes we have in the School of Biological Sciences, and the PhD opportunities too. 

Master's degree programmes

PhD opportunities