Beatrice Nixon

"From the directors of study to the careers service, everyone was amazingly helpful in finding my next steps.

"I was very undecided about which degree to study at university; I enjoyed so many of my A levels, it was hard to choose between them. A Natural Sciences degree was the perfect solution to this, but these degrees differ between universities. I liked that at Lancaster I would be able to choose what I wanted to study, piecing together modules for my degree from my favourite subjects.

"The Natural Sciences degree allowed me to explore the subjects that I enjoyed the most and change direction when I needed to. After my first year, I decided labs were not for me and I was then able to tailor the rest of my degree to be a predominantly lecture/exam based scheme. No Natural Sciences degree is the same at Lancaster because of this freedom in the choice of modules.

"It was really good to have so many options for career paths. Many natural scientists go onto further study, however, with such a wide range of subjects and skills behind you, many graduation schemes and jobs are open to you. This range of options helped me, as an indecisive natural sciences student, to find the right career for me.

"Lancaster worked so well for me because of the size of the campus and the city. I liked how safe I felt and how much support I had during my time at university. From the directors of study to the careers service, everyone was amazingly helpful in finding my next steps, both during my degree and post-graduation."

Beatrice Nixon

MSci Hons Natural Sciences with a 1st class and is now working as an operational research fast streamer in the civil service.

Rhiannon Green

"Since graduating, my interdisciplinary background has helped my career.

"During my A levels, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to study biological sciences or geography, fortunately, Natural Sciences let me do both. I found that what I enjoyed most was the crossover area between the two subjects; disease geography. Since graduating, my interdisciplinary background has helped my career - I’ve worked in science communication at the Centre for Life in Newcastle and I’m currently working on my research project for an MRes in Epidemiology, looking at how the early diagnosis of atrial fibrillation can prevent strokes.

"The most important thing for me in choosing Lancaster was the flexibility of the course. I was able to take modules of any physical or social science in my first year whereas other universities I had offers from had more fixed pathways for Natural Sciences.

"The best thing about the course was my experience with the teaching staff who were great. They were experts in their field and the ones I contacted for advice or just to learn more about the course were helpful. It also enabled me to mingle with different groups of people and get benefits from different courses, such as field trips to power stations with geography and plenty of technical lab experience with my biology modules."

Rhiannon Green

BSc Hons Natural Sciences with a 1st class and is now studying an MRes in Epidemiology full-time at Newcastle University.