MBiol Biology

This five-year course includes an integrated foundation year, after which the syllabus follows that of the standard four-year course, MBiol Biology (C109). The Integrated Masters in Biology (C109) is for students who have the ability to study to a higher level than the standard BSc degree and integrates three years of undergraduate study in Biology with a further year of postgraduate-level study. If you choose this degree, you will graduate with an MBiol (Biology) - a recognised Masters qualification that will prepare you for a career in academic or commercial biological research.

The final year at postgraduate level will give you the opportunity to complete a Masters research project embedded within one of our pioneering research groups and led by expert staff. You will pursue this alongside your studies on taught modules that develop the essential skills that are required of today’s professional biologists. On our MBiol Biology degree course, you won’t have to limit yourself to just one area of Biology.

You might be studying microbiology in the morning, and investigating the life found in sand dunes in the afternoon. Our degree structure is flexible and gives you the opportunity to keep your options open or to specialise. You will be taught by passionate, engaged, and friendly staff who have expertise across the full range of Biology topics.

Our staff are not only lecturers but also active researchers and their research interests feed into our courses, meaning that you will benefit from the very latest information. During your final year, you will have close contact with our research community as you work on your independent scientific research project. Your academic studies will be bolstered by a wealth of laboratory and field classes which build real scientific skills essential for your future career.

This is a practical course where you will sample, record and analyse data in our excellent, well-equipped laboratories as well as out in the field. You will explore anatomy and structure, physiology and behaviour, alongside the scientific rationales for habitat requirements and ecosystem interactions. You will investigate subjects such as genetics, cellular biology, animal behaviour, ecosystems, humanity’s impact on the environment, and you will receive expert tuition in scientific protocol and hands-on lab work.

By choosing our MBiol Biology degree, you will learn and live in an exceptional environment where you will be surrounded by a great diversity of beautiful environments, including marine, moorland, mountain, waterways, grassland and coast. The majority of teaching staff in the Department of Life Sciences are qualified to PhD level and are research active. Vocational courses also have staff whose background lies within industry.

The Department has a large number of research only staff with whom students may have contact.