Biological Sciences

Explore biology in all its forms – from microorganisms to mammals – without early specialisation. Gain laboratory and field skills, hands-on experience, and career-ready expertise for roles in ecosystem management, biotechnology and beyond.

Specialised facilities
Benefit from cutting-edge facilities, including glasshouses, electron microscopy, marine labs and interactive microscope tech, gaining hands-on experience in the latest biological tools.

Funded field trips
Enjoy free local or subsidised international field trips, and fully funded international fieldwork in the second year - building skills, confidence and community without financial barriers.

Career-ready focus
Graduate career-ready with expert tutor support, hands-on training, and industry-relevant skills that bridge theory and practice. You'll be highly employable across a range of careers.

This course is for you if...

• you are excited about biology - from ecology and biodiversity to cell biology and physiology

• you're energised by fieldwork, eager to take learning beyond the lecture theatre and into real-world environments

• you’re adaptable and curious, eager to learn from pioneering researchers shaping global biological understanding

• you’re career-focused, aiming to graduate with the skills and experience to step confidently into the world of work or further study.

Course Modules

Year 1
In your first year, you will obtain a strong foundation across the spectrum of the biological sciences. You will begin with an intensive induction module through which you will obtain key skills in using the scientific literature, data analysis and interpretation, academic writing and presenting and communicating your findings in both written and oral formats. You will then study cell biology, microbiology and the physiology of animals and plants, whilst furthering your transferable skills. You will undertake laboratory-based practicals in a range of different areas that underpin and complement your lecture-based learning. You will have the opportunity to undertake a residential field course or alternative. Recently this has been to Slapton in South Devon, where we studied natural history and taxonomy of wild animals and plants, whilst learning to design and carry out survey work in the field.

Year 2
In your second year, you’ll build on your growing knowledge of physiology, plant biology, microbiology and the methods and techniques of biological science. You will undertake team-based microbiology and plant science research projects through which you will gain core transferable skills in team work and working with new people alongside core research and bench skills. You will customise your studies through optional modules in ecology and the physiology of disease. A key part of your second year is a residential field trip to the Azores (or a local alternative) which takes place in late August or early September just before your second year starts. During this course you will study life in extreme environments at geothermal springs and volcanic lakes and will undertake ecological studies of invasive and endemic species in the broad range of unique ecosystems that the Azores offers

You can alternatively undertake your second year at one of a selection of overseas universities through our Year Abroad scheme. When you return, you will go straight into your final year, so your degree still takes three years overall.

Optional placement year
Many of our students carry out an optional placement year between their second and final years. You can undertake either two 3 month work placements or one 6 month placement, though many of our students opt to spent up to 12 months at their placement provider. You will be supported by a Placement Adviser – a member of academic staff from the school – who will act as your point of contact with the University. Examples of placement providers that our students have been based at in the past have been highly diverse, from nature reserves and bird sanctuaries to Aarhus University, Denmark, undertaking research in cold-loving iron-reducing bacteria, including fieldwork to the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Circle.

Given the opportunities a placement year gives and the positive impact it brings to employability, we strongly encourage all students to give serious consideration to undertaking a placement year.

Final year
In your final year of study, you will study from a range of optional modules, allowing you to specialise in plant biotechnology, environmental microbiology, global change biology, bioprospecting, animal nutrition, and ecotoxicology. You will also choose between two advanced skills modules, allowing you to specialise in key practical-focused areas that have been developed to give you industry-relevant skills not typically found within undergraduate programmes. In common with all honours degrees in the UK, a major part of your final year is your research project, in which you will apply the skills and understanding you have developed through your studies to a piece of research, supervised by a member of academic staff.

For up to date details, please refer to our website or contact the institution directly.

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• Royal Society of Biology