Biological Sciences with deferred choice of specialisation

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.

This three-year biology degree gives you the flexibility to fully explore biological sciences over the course of one full academic year, before committing to a specific degree path. You’ll dive deep into Biology, Marine Biology, and Zoology in the first year so you can make an informed decision about which degree to complete and choose your specialisation before moving into Year 2.

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.

The BSc Biological Sciences course is accredited by the Royal Society of Biology, and covers themes including animal and marine welfare and conservation, the biological control of invertebrate pests, microbiology, and ocean and climate.

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.

This degree is also offered as a four-year course, with a year abroad (C105).