Biology with a Foundation Year

A deep academic understanding of life on Earth is now more important than ever. Studying living organisms in all their fascinating variety helps us to identify critical threats and major opportunities, from the smallest scale to the largest.

If you’re interested in Biology but don’t have the required entry qualifications to join our BSc programme or are a mature student returning to education, our BSc with a Foundation Year is the right course for you.

The foundation year of this four-year course will introduce you to the key concepts and knowledge you need to progress to the BSc in Biology. Following successful completion of the Foundation Year with at least a 40% overall average, students will progress onto Year 1 of the BSc. Upon completing the foundation year, you can select any Biosciences degree scheme (Biology, Marine Biology, or Zoology), including options for a year abroad, a year in applied research, or a year in industry.

Local, residential, and international field courses allow you to work in varied habitats. You can explore the spectacular marine coastal ecosystems, freshwater environments, and terrestrial habitats of the Gower Peninsula on our doorstep. You will benefit from excellent teaching facilities for ecological, physiological, and molecular studies, including new laboratory facilities, the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research, a zoology museum, a custom-designed 18-metre research vessel, and a unique visualisation suite to explore in unrivalled detail complex animal movement and behaviour data. In your final year, you will complete a research project which may be field-based, laboratory-based or purely analytical.

Your learning will be shaped by inspirational and internationally-renowned academics including Professor Rory Wilson – Chief Scientific Consultant behind National Geographic’s Great Migrations, and Dr Richard Unsworth – advisor on the globally acclaimed BBC series Blue Planet II.

This programme has been accredited by the Royal Society of Biology following an independent and rigorous assessment. Accredited degree programmes contain a solid academic foundation in biological knowledge and key skills, and prepare graduates to address the needs of employers. The accreditation criteria require evidence that graduates from accredited programmes meet defined sets of learning outcomes, including subject knowledge, technical ability and transferable skills.

Our proximity to a diverse range of contrasting environments plus our own facilities provides a wide scope for customising your learning experience. Local, residential and international field courses will allow you to work in habitats such as the spectacular marine coastal ecosystems, freshwater/wetland environments and terrestrial habitats of Gower.

Course Modules

Year 0: You will study a range of content to prepare you for the BSc, typically including: foundation biology; techniques in ecology; dealing with data; laboratory skills; molecular biology and biochemistry; development of key skills for biologists; literature review.

Year 1: Areas studied typically include: animal diversity; form and function; cellular and microbial biology; marine and terrestrial ecology and animal behaviour; molecular and evolutionary biology; plants and algae – diversity, form and function and core skills for bioscientists.

Year 2: Areas studied typically include: animal physiology; cell and immunobiology; coastal marine ecology; ecological microbiology and the cycles of life; ichthyology; molecular ecology; parasitology; plant ecology; terrestrial vertebrates; field ecology (residential) and animal conservation and welfare.

Year 3: Areas studied typically include: biodiversity; biological control of invertebrate pests; epidemiology of infectious diseases; physics for biologists; plant conservation and ecology; sensory ecology; laboratory or field professional skills, phylogeny and macroevolution, hormones and behaviour, international field courses.

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars and discussion groups supported by practical classes and field courses. You will be assessed through a variety of methods, including examinations, coursework and a practical research project.