Ecology and Wildlife Conservation

There’s a growing demand for professionals with skills in wildlife protection, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management. This course will give you a solid scientific grounding in the science of ecology and how it can be used to conserve species.

Why study BSc (Hons) Ecology & Wildlife Conservation at BU?

Learn from expert academics, professional practitioners and guest speakers who will guide you through the wider social and legal context in which ecological conservation operates.

• Gain practical experience with opportunities for fieldwork in a fantastic variety of local habitats including forests, meadows, heaths and maritime environments.

• Undertake a short 2-week placement before you start your second year. Afterwards you can either complete another short 4-week placement or you opt for a placement year and completed a 30-week placement.

• Select subjects that match your personal passions and ambitions as the course has a wide range of options units.

• Engage in our many staff research collaborations with conservation organisation and be part of a thriving network of staff, students and professional practitioners working together for wildlife conservation.

• You'll be career ready, with 90% of graduates in employment or further study within fifteen months of finishing the courses (source DisoverUni 2023).

Our students work in partnership with our staff to co-create featured projects, collaborating with professional practitioners and participating in individual placement opportunities. Take a look at our Co-creating Science webpage to find out about the exciting projects, work placements and final year dissertations our students get involved in, including moose behaviour in Norway, Madagascan rainforests, and chimpanzees in Tanzania to name just a few.

Course Modules

Year 1 core units: Diversity of Life, Ecology, Scientific Research Skills, Exploring Nature from Cell to Landscape, Field Trip and Wildlife Protection,
Year 2 core units: Advanced Scientific Research Skills, Evolutionary Biology, Ecosystems - Year 2 Option units: Wildlife Survey Skills, International Field Trip, Animal Biology, Environmental Pollution , Applications of Environmental Sciences, Behavioural Ecology, Environmental & Societal Challenges, Microbiology, Geospatial Science
Final Year core units: Independent Research Project, Topics in Biodiversity and Conservation. Final Year Option units: Biological Oceanography, Climate & Environmental Change, Emergence & Extinction - Reconstructing Pliocene & Pleistocene Environments, Environmental Remote Sensing, Marine Conservation, Molecular Ecology, Wildlife and Ecotourism, Conservation Biogeography, Environmental Law, Freshwater Resource Management, Sustainable Development & Globalisation, Parasitology & Epidemiology, Primate Behavioural Ecology,