Biology

Play a role in tackling the world’s greatest challenges

• How do we feed a growing population?

• How can we fight some of the world’s most deadly or chronic diseases?

• How do we prevent greater environmental damage to our seas, air, animal and plant species?

These are the types of major global challenges that a degree in biology will prepare you to play your part in addressing.

By studying this four-year integrated master’s degree, you will gain an understanding of life in all its forms: from cells and molecules to whole organisms and ecosystems; from cell division to reproduction, development and death; from fruit flies to fungi.

There are few limits to where this knowledge and understanding can take you. Indeed, there are biologists working in almost every scientific field imaginable – whether that’s exploring how our genome can affect our risk of cancer or exploring ways to make global ecosystems more resilient.

Biology is an interdisciplinary subject. Our academics have carefully designed this programme to start by providing you with a broad grounding in the range of fundamental themes that lie at its heart.

With this foundation, you can go on to explore the aspects of biology that interest you most in greater depth. It’s this ability to shape your studies to suit your passions that makes biology the most flexible of our biosciences degrees.

This research-led integrated master’s degree is an ideal basis for a host of careers across the life sciences, ecology or conservation sectors, offering you the scientific knowledge, practical lab skills and career-ready mindset to succeed.

Why study biology at Lancaster University?

• Shape your degree to suit your interests as they develop through your course

• Gain practical skills in our outstanding teaching labs

• Become a part of our thriving and supportive community of biosciences students

• Learn from our renowned, research-active academics

• Benefit from placements or part-time work through our connections with public and private sector employers

• Apply your learning to real-world challenges through your own research project

• Our location, close to Morecambe Bay, the Lake District, Bowland Fells and the Yorkshire Dales is ideal for exploring some of the UK’s finest natural landscapes

Your journey through biology

Your degree will offer you a firm foundation in a breadth of subjects in biology, before allowing you to specialise, if you wish, as your course progresses.

• In Year 1, you will get a well-rounded introduction to the fundamentals of biology. From genetics and cell biology to ecology, conservation biology and zoology, you will lay the foundations for the future of your degree: getting to grips with key skills and discovering where your greatest interests lie. You will also see how these issues relate to the bigger picture, gaining an understanding of how they link to global challenges, such as the maintenance of biodiversity and human health.

• In Year 2 you will explore themes such as genetics and evolution in more depth. You can also begin to tailor your degree to your emerging interests.

• In Year 3, you can take that specialisation a step further, with a greater choice of modules. You will also complete a research project – your opportunity to make a unique contribution to increasing scientific knowledge in an area of biology.

• In Year 4, you will complete a research project – your opportunity to make a unique contribution to increasing scientific knowledge in an area of biology. You will gain additional practical skills by undertaking another more extended research project, as well as studying a variety of master’s level themes.