Hello! If you were like me when I was applying for my biochemistry degree and wondered what it would be like to choose the Integrated Masters route then this blog is for you! I will explain what we do in the final year because it is different from the three year Bachelors degree.
Year Breakdown
I will start first by explaining the structure of the academic year. During my time, we had a year-long individual research project. In the first semester we had a Journal Club assignment. In the second semester we had a group grant proposal assignment. So in total that is three modules for the entire year.
The Research Project
I received a list of all the projects on offer at the end of third year. I selected those labeled as appropriate for biochemists. The university sends this list to all biologists entering stage 4, and many of us can choose from overlapping options. Researchers in the biology and chemistry departments offer these projects. When you get placed in one, you work in their research labs for the year. We then had to rank our top projects which would go into an algorithm to assign us to a lab. I was informed which lab group I was put in during the summer break before starting the next academic year.
The Journal Club
In the first semester, the biology department placed all integrated masters students into groups of twenty. This was for small workshops on critically analysing research papers. The purpose of this was to prepare our way of thinking for our own, individually assessed Journal Club. For the actual journal club we had to pick a paper and critically analyse it in a presentation. This was to our project supervisor and another researcher. We had the opportunity to do a mock journal club in front of the lab group to get feedback.
The Grant Proposal
In the second semester, the biology department grouped us into teams of six students from different biology disciplines. This was to work on a grant proposal. The whole cohort attended an introductory lecture that set expectations and explained the assignment. After that, they assigned us a supervisor, whom we met every two weeks to discuss our progress and get guidance. Our task was to develop a research idea. Then to write a proposal outlining the concept, the science behind it, and how we planned to carry it out. We organized our meetings and work as a group to finish everything on time for supervisor check-ins. This process required strong organization and motivation from us. Finally, each of us wrote a “Lay Summary” — a short, 200-word overview of the proposal designed so A-level biology students could understand it.
Day in the Life
As I had no lectures this year, my time was mine to manage around my lab time. I treated this year more or less like I was working a 9-5 job. However, I kept it flexible depending on if I had sports in the afternoon.
Because I was in the lab I had time around any incubation periods and would just modify my days based on the experiments of the day. When I wasn’t in the lab, I was reading papers on the field because it was all completely new to me and it was difficult to fully understand. In the first semester I was also reading papers for the journal club and in the second semester I was working on the grant proposal. I also would make time to analyse the data that came from my experiments and then make it into figures to present in the lab meetings. Most of the time I spent in the lab working with cells and immunofluorescent staining and imaging. My days at the microscope were long so I always brought my laptop to do some work in between capturing images. You gotta keep productive!
I did keep 1 Rule for myself though, NO WORK AFTER WORK! When I went home, that was my time to cook, clean, do laundry, relax, and spend time with my friends. I found it was super important to have that boundary in place because it meant that I could unwind properly after a full day of work and not feel guilty about it. I found that I could only really start doing this in my final year because I kept a strict schedule and it didn’t blend as much as previous years had.
Throughout the end of the first semester and the second semester I was working on writing my project report which is the Masters Thesis and after I submitted that I made a poster of my project to showcase at the poster session at the end of the academic year.
I found that I had time to do my sports in the afternoons. I participated in Taekwondo two times a week, would go bouldering once a week, go to the gym on campus twice a week, and go to the pool on campus East on a Saturday or Sunday morning. And Sundays were always my day to go to Lidl and Morrisons for the weekly shop. I unfortunately didn’t have time to go on any day trips until I finished the academic year but I did take that opportunity once I finished to go to Bempton Cliffs 1h away from York. Here are some pictures that I took! I went during Puffin season in mid Spring!
So that was a summary of my day in the life as a Stage 4 Integrated Masters student. This wasn’t unique to biochemists but a relatively shared experience amongst the cohort but of course I can only tell my experience. I hope this gives you an idea of what to expect if you are considering taking this route!
Best of luck!
Annika
She/Her
Find out more about studying Biology at the University of York.
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