Study Overseas

Genetics is one of the fastest moving scientific fields in the world today. Where zoology and botany are 16ly closed sciences, with only the occasional lucky professor finding new animals or plants worthy of note, almost every geneticist is guaranteed to find something new in the genome, some tiny clue to the roots of all living things.

Genetics too is a field that reaches far beyond the scientific community, touching almost every aspect of life in some way. In the last ten years, it has become a pop culture science, appearing in almost every media, from children's comics to dry academic reviews. Whereas in the '60's and '70's it was radiation, and for the '80's toxic waste that was used in films to evoke horror at what man could create, for the '90's it was been genetics that has been the monster maker, with all too many parallels being drawn between modern genetics and the work of Shelley's Frankenstein, toying with powers man was not meant to understand. This hysteria serves only to cover up the advantages conferred by genetics, the greater food output at the same costs, the cures for congenital illnesses and defects, the treatments for those that cannot be cured.

Studying genetics in the UK is an excellent start to a career in the field. Many Universities and Colleges have specialist fields of study in Genetics, and almost all touch on it to some degree. However, it is not an easy degree by any means, and requires dedication to succeed. Few of the sciences are as demanding as Molecular Biology, and of all the sciences I have encountered, I would hazard a guess that only a few require as much work. To study genetics, you must understand not just the science, but its backgrounds in both Biology and Chemistry, have a facility for statistical mathematics and be able to keep up with the fast-moving trends that this science follows. I would also say that you need to be aware of both the pros and the cons of what can be done with genetics. It is certainly not a field to enter lightly, and unless you really want to follow up with a full-time career in genetics, you are probably better off picking a broader subject.

However, if you really are interested, there are few more rewarding subjects to learn. The speed at which the science moves means that lecture courses can change within the space of a semester. It is not unheard of for lecturers to incorporate discoveries that have only just been published into undergraduate courses, and this is one of the few fields where undergraduates themselves can actually contribute to the field with their work.

Genetics is a very vital course to study, as you can study something one day, only to see the latest breakthrough on the news the following day, and few things are as satisfying as seeing the laboratory you have worked in recognised on national television. Of all the current sciences, genetics in the most often talked about simply because of it's diversity. It takes labels well, with such products as 'superpigs', mice with human ears growing on them, and my personal favourite, mice that glow in the dark, available in both purple and green. Genetics is also an important contributor to the medical world, providing transgenic animals to overcome the shortage of willing donors for organs and the problems of rejection of grafts and transplants.

The UK is a wonderful place to study genetics. I moved to London to do my degree, but friends have done similar studies in Leeds, Scotland and Ireland. I have been lectured by leaders in various parts of genetics, from forensics to farming, cancer to chemical, and guest lectures that ranged from recent discoveries to evidence of genetic conditions in monarchs long dead that their own physicians could not identify.

Laboratories up and down the country are engaged in cutting-edge research, and thanks to the Internet, are never more than a click away from anyone else's research success. In addition to this, it is a great opportunity to move away from home and absorb life in a different style to the way one would at home. The university years are the best time to experiment and grow as a person, and travel for your degree not only shows strength of character, but dedication to your field, a broader knowledge base and greater experiences than someone who spends their university days living at home and going to College down the road, and the UK is a marvellous place to study and explore, since you can never be more than a few hours away from a totally different world, be it the countryside, the sea, France, Amsterdam or a day's shopping in London.

Whatever you decide to do, the UK is one of the best places in the world to study a narrow field, since you specify early and are directed onto a course that is suited to you, with plenty of variation. It is more than likely that you will not do exactly the same degree as the next person, because the beauty of a UK degree course it that the majority are modular, and designed by each student around a core of essential subjects, so whatever you decide, you will be doing a degree you want in a place you want.