Biology

Biology helps us to understand the world around us – the way that plants and animals interact, the way that different living things evolve and adapt and our own role in the wider natural world. Biology at Royal Holloway, University of London gives you a sound understanding of the structure, function, evolution and diversity of living organisms and the interactions between them.

Our flexible Biology programme lets you tailor your studies to suit your specific interests throughout your degree. You will gain a foundation in cell biology and genetics, and study evolution, biological data analysis, and plant life. You may select from a very wide range of modules that include studies at molecular, organ, organism and ecosystem levels.

You will gain practical experience across all three years of the degree. In your first and second years you will attend laboratory-based and field-based practicals. In your final year, you will join our renowned research culture as you complete your individual research project alongside academics with expertise in a wide range of research areas. Your topic may be from biomedical, environmental, microbial or plant sciences, and you may choose to use a laboratory, field, or computer-based approach.

You’ll gain invaluable laboratory experience across all three years of your degree. In your third year you will complete an individual project, becoming part of our renowned research culture. Many of our former students have contributed to published scientific papers, and our low student-to-staff ratio maximises your contact time with our internationally respected and enthusiastic academics.

You will also develop a range of transferrable skills that you will need to impress potential employers, alongside experience of woking in teams, project management, resilience, determination and strong organisational skills.

Tailor your studies to suit your specific study interests in each year with our flexible degree structure.

Learn on a biodiverse campus in reach of sites of special scientific interest.

Develop an understanding of how to design and analyse ecological experiments.

Examine the major theories that seek to explain animal behaviour.

Equip yourself with the skills needed to work in a wide range of sectors.

Course Modules

Core Modules

Year 1

• Becoming a Bioscientist

• Green Planet: Plants and Our Future

• Cell Biology and the Origin of Life

• Genetics

• Academic Integrity

Year 2

• Biological Data Analysis and Interpretation

• Evolution

Year 3

• Individual Research Project

• Climate Change - Plants and the Environment

Optional Modules

Below is a taster of some of the exciting optional modules that students on the course could choose from during this academic year. Please be aware these do change over time, and optional modules may be withdrawn or new ones added.

Year 1

• Chemistry of Life

• Ecology and Conservation

• Fundamental Biochemistry

• Protein Biochemistry and Enzymology

• Introductory Animal Physiology

• Introduction to Human Physiology

• Biology in a Changing World

• Vertebrate Evolution and Diversity

• Biomes and Ecosystems

Year 2

• Invertebrate Biology: Structure, Behaviour and Evolution

• Microbiology

• Food Security, Sustainability and Green Biotechnology

• Cell Dynamics: Division and Movement

• Human Physiology in Health and Disease

• Developmental Biology

• Plant Biotic Interactions and Ecological Networks

• Practical Field Ecology

• Animal Behaviour

• Applications of Molecular Genetics in Biology

• Marine Biology

• Bioenergetics and Metabolism

• Protein Biochemistry and Enzymology

• Molecular Biology

• Immunology

• Neuronal and Cellular Signalling

• Natural Product Biochemistry and Sustainability

• Dissertation - Extended Essay

Year 3

• Biology of Parasitic Diseases

• Conservation Science

• Tropical Rainforest Expedition

• Population and Community Ecology

• Marine Ecology and Biodiversity

• Evolutionary Ecology of Vertebrates

• Extreme Animal Physiology

• Circadian Biology

• Evolutionary Medicine

• Biotechnology in a Changing World

• Nutrition and Medical Biochemistry

• Molecular and Medical Microbiology

• Seed Biology: From Molecular & Conservation Biology to Industrial Applications

• Applications of Genetic Engineering in Health and Disease

• Cell and Molecular Biology of Cancer

• Functional Genomics, Proteomics and Bioformatics

• Human Embryology

• Cell and Molecular Neuroscience

• Molecular Basis of Inherited Disease

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/undergraduate/biological-sciences/biology/

Each year you will take modules worth a total of 120 credits, with most individual modules worth 15 credits. In your final year, your Individual Research Project is worth 30 credits.

The first year is formative, while outcomes of your second and third year contribute one third and two-thirds of your final degree classification respectively.

You will attend a mixture of lectures, seminars and small-group tutorials, with class sizes that range from 6 to 180 students. Practical classes are a major part of all first and second year modules, and include experiments that are integral to the subject, helping to familiarise you with the material and augment your understanding of key topics. These are either laboratory-based or field-based with laboratory follow-up. In your third year, you will complete an individual research project supervised by one of our academics, and you may have the opportunity to contribute towards a published scientific paper. The individual research project is assessed on the basis of a written report, supervisor assessment, and an oral presentation.

During your first and second years, you will complete essays and reports, and sit written examinations. In your third year, assignments include a range of activities, such as preparation of posters, oral presentations, creation of leaflets and podcasts, coursework essays, mock research grant applications and scientific news-and-views articles, as well as analysis of data from online repositories in mini-research projects.