BSc Biological Sciences
Entry requirements
A level: AAA including Biology or Chemistry or Human Biology plus another science subject. IB: 36 with 666 in higher level subjects including Biology or Chemistry plus another higher level science subject.
About this course
The BSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences is an undergraduate biology degree examining life from cells and molecules through to organisms and their environments. Core topics include research methods and fieldwork. Students can shape the degree around themed routes such as Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Science, Cell Biology, Plant Science, Genetics, and Ecology and Environmental Science. An optional year abroad at an overseas partner institution or a placement year is available, extending the course from three to four years. The first year establishes core biology through Molecules and Cells, Genetics, Introduction to Physiology, and Organisms and their Environment, alongside Fundamentals of Bioscience Research, which covers practical research techniques; students also select a module from a cognate subject area in another department. Year 2 develops research-led learning skills through Research Skills for Biosciences, while optional modules span topics such as Ecology, Plant and Algal Physiology – The Power of Plants, Cell Signalling, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Immune Systems and Metabolism. In the final year, students complete a Literature Review, examining research literature in a chosen topic area under supervision and producing a critical review article. The Research Module offers a research project, an enterprise task developing the business case for a biotech product, an education project with teaching practice in a local school, or a communications option. The Workshop or Field Course is compulsory, with the field course running as a two-week residential programme including sites in the UK and abroad. Final-year optional modules include Advanced Topics in Ecology, Conservation Biology, Cellular Biochemistry, Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Genomics and Biology of Disease.
Modules
- Molecules and Cells
- Genetics
- Introduction to Physiology
- Organisms and their Environment
- Fundamentals of Bioscience Research
- Example optional modules
- Research Skills for Biosciences
- Example optional modules
- Literature Review
- Research Module
- Workshop (laboratory-based) or Field Course (field-based) (20 credits) .
- Example optional modules