Zoology

Highlights

Study to master’s level on this four-year integrated undergraduate degree programme. No need for a separate master’s application process and you’ll benefit from undergraduate fees and financial support. Combining biological and environmental sciences, our MZool Zoology encompasses a wide range of topics, from animal physiology and behaviour, evolution and extinction to ecology and conservation.

Excellent facilities include biological, chemical and environmental labs, environmentally controlled rooms, imaging facilities, extensive analytical equipment, and a dedicated student research hub. Access to woodlands, farmland, marine and freshwater aquaria, a herpetarium, small mammal facilities and natural history museum with diverse vertebrate and invertebrate specimens, including primates. Expertise in biology, ecology, psychology, economics, sociology, geography, land systems science, policy, and more.

Our research is addressing the diverse threats facing species and ecosystems worldwide. Hands-on research experience with world-leading scientists conducting research across the biological and environmental sciences.

Course overview

The additional fourth year of this integrated master’s in Zoology allows you to achieve a master’s-level qualification, develop advanced research skills and conduct an extended research project. Should your plans change, you can also graduate with a BSc (Hons) at the end of the third year. At Bangor, our Zoology degrees are all about animals, investigating their taxonomy, anatomy, development, development, physiology, behaviour, ecology, and evolution.

You could find yourself observing ravens or wild ponies in the National Park, exploring changing land use in Anglesey, or studying the snakes and desert ecology of Arizona and New Mexico. Situated next to the Irish Sea, Menai Strait and the mountains of Eryri, you will benefit from our proximity to an exceptional range of terrestrial, marine, and freshwater habitats. Our location is ideal for conducting hands-on final-year research projects and field work.

Expect to get wet, dirty, and have fun interacting with the amazing wildlife and ecosystems found across North Wales. As well as large modern teaching and research laboratories, computer rooms, and study spaces, we have dedicated onsite facilities for reptiles, birds, rodents, fish, and arthropods. These include venomous snakes and a large aquarium housing African cichlid fish.

Treborth Botanic Garden has a pigeon loft where Bangor scientists and their students conduct cognition, physiology, and biomechanics research; and you can find Alpaca, sheep and bee hives on the farm at Henfaes Research Centre. Staff expertise spans ecology, medical and environmental microbiology, plant biology, marine biotechnology, fisheries genetics, cell and genome biology, evolutionary biology, neurobiology and development. Our applied research is conducted globally, from the mountains of Eryri to the coral reefs of the Caribbean, from rainforests to savannahs and beyond.

The University is home to the Environment Centre for Wales, a partnership with the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH), whose Welsh branch is based there. Elsewhere in Bangor, you’ll find regional offices for Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and North Wales Wildlife Trust (NWWT). Strong links with these employers provide opportunities for work placements and volunteering, and some contribute to teaching.

You’ll never be short of things to do. The Students’ Union offers a full range of student societies for those with an interest in all manner of animals. Bangor University Zoological Society, Bangor Herpetological Society, Bangor University Birdwatching Society (BUBS), Bangor University Entomology Society and Endeavour regularly collaborate on social and educational events.

A recent Bioblitz Weekend, for example, featured moth trapping, mammal…