Part-time study

If you can’t study on a full-time basis, you can combine work with part-time study. This is a route often chosen by mature students. Many access courses, foundation degrees and HND courses are offered on a part time basis, often involving attendance for one full day or two evenings per week. Some universities offer biological science or microbiology part-time BSc courses whose students may well be already employed in a laboratory and want to improve their skills and knowledge.

Part-time courses are advertised on the hot courses website. You should contact individual universities for information about entry requirements and how to apply.

If you prefer to study by distance learning, the Open University offers a range of courses leading to diploma level or BSc. You would need to check the module options carefully since microbiology is offered on only one or two of the courses.

Work-based vocational training

There are very few opportunities for school-leavers interested in traditional work-based vocational microbiology training. Availability varies according to the demands of individual employers and jobs are usually advertised in the local press. Some apprenticeship schemes offer training opportunities for science technicians in educational institutions and in a range of science-based industries (e.g. pharmaceuticals and food). There are websites with information about apprenticeships in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Technician posts can be very skilled and many microbiology technicians in universities, hospital laboratories, industrial and government funded research institutes now enter the work place with a BSc, FdSci or HND.