We offer a range of Natural Sciences pathways for you to choose from. In Year 1, you will select three study pathways, and as you progress into the second year, you will focus on two. The pathways are organised into groupings to help you focus your studies in the area you are most interested in.

What is a grouping?

A grouping is a collection of closely related science subjects. When you choose your three pathways in the first year, they will mainly come from the same grouping, giving you a strong, coherent foundation for your degree journey.

 What is a pathway?

A pathway is your personalised route through a subject area. A carefully curated selection of modules from a scientific discipline that lets you dive deeper into topics you’re passionate about.

For example:

If you decide that the Environmental Grouping is for you, you will have a selection of pathways to choose from and in each of them, multiple modules to pick from so that you can tailor your programme.

Combination pathways

Some pathways need to be combined with other specified pathways to ensure you meet the prerequisites for future years. For example:

If you take the Chemical Engineering Pathway, you must combine this with the Mathematics and Chemistry Pathways.

Single, double and triple-weighted pathways

Some pathways are more complex than others, and we determine this by categorising them as single, double, and triple-weighted. When you choose a double or triple pathway, this counts towards your total of three pathways.

For example:

When you choose the Biology Pathway, which is double-weighted, you will be allowed to choose one more pathway that is single-weighted, which will together add up to three.

Pre-requisite A-level requirements for pathways

For students entering into our Natural Sciences degree level programmes, some of the pathways have A-level pre-requisite requirements. Please see the table below. If the pathway isn’t listed, there are no pre-reqs required.

For students entering onto our Natural Sciences Foundation year, please visit Natural Sciences (with a Foundation Year) BSc Hons (GFCF) - Lancaster University to see the pre-requisite modules required to progress from the Foundation year to Level 4 of the main degree.

Pathway	A-Level requirements
Biology	Biology B
Pharmacology	Biology and chemistry B
Biomedicine	Biology, plus one of Chemistry, Maths or Physics (B)
Biosciences	Biology, plus one of Chemistry, Maths or Physics (B)
Chemistry (all pathway variants)	Chemistry B
Engineering - Chemical	Mathematics B and Chemistry B
Engineering - Electronic	Mathematics B and Physics B
Engineering - Mechanical	Mathematics B and Physics B
Mathematics (all pathway variants)	Mathematics A
Physics	Physics A and Mathematics A