Animal Biology

The UK life sciences sector is a cornerstone of the national economy. It employs around 300,000 people and contributes approximately £100 billion annually (Cambridge Network 2025).

You’ll explore many aspects of animal biology on this course, including:

• animal behaviour,

• ecology,

• evolution,

• cell biology and physiology,

• applied aspects of animal conservation and management.

Develop skills to thrive in the life sciences industry

Throughout our animal biology course, you’ll:

• gain laboratory skills such as equipment use and sample processing,

• learn lab administration skills including result reporting, good laboratory practices and conducting risk assessment,

• develop in-demand computational skills such as programming, data management and statistics using R, and modelling GIS and remote sensing.

You’ll carry out an independent research project in an area you're passionate about. Examples of past projects include:

• Assessing the impact of bumblebee parasites on their host populations.

• Reconstructing growth trajectories for wild Scandinavian populations of the invasive Pacific oyster.

• Do agri-environment schemes provide any benefits to foraging bats?

Exciting fieldwork opportunities

Our animal biology course gives you practical fieldwork experience in different settings.

We use the wide range of habitants on our biodiverse campus. You'll go on short excursions to sites near to campus to investigate various species. Skills you'll learn include environmental monitoring, fauna and flora identification, plant identification, and landscape history and management.

The course also offers the choice of two residential field trips:

• A 7-day field ecology and animal biology course in the Merops Field Station in southern France. It introduces you to the process of designing, conducting and analysing your own scientific project.

• A 10-day field course to South Africa to develop your field research skills. It develops your understanding of different physical and environmental processes and ecosystem functioning. Learn about the conservation and management challenges of international landscapes.

On either trip you’ll gain knowledge on:

• Regional biogeography

• Ecosystem processes

• Anthropogenic impacts

• Landscape evolution

• Conservation practices

• Anthropogenic impacts

The course fees do not include travel, accommodation, and subsistence on residential field courses.

Gain industry experience on a placement

As part of our degree in animal biology, you can undertake an optional placement with an organisation. These include environmental charities, government agencies or industry.

Previous students have worked in organisations including:

• NatureScot

• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)

• Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)

• The Water of Leith

• The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

It’s a great opportunity to apply your classroom learning in a real-world setting. You'll also develop professional competencies, expand your network, and enhance your CV for your future career.

As part of the placement, you’ll complete an online careers course provided by Conservation Careers. It gives a great overview of relevant employment opportunities following graduation.

Specialise in an area of animal biology that interests you

During years 3 and 4 of this animal biology degree you can stay on the general pathway or choose to gain a specialism. To do this you need to complete three prescribed modules and a relevant dissertation project. These are the options:

• Biodiversity and Sustainability

• Data Analysis and Biostatistic

• Ecological and Evolutionary

• Physiology and Molecular

https://www.stir.ac.uk/courses/ug/animal-biology/#panel_1_3