The pandemic and biodiversity crises on our planet have highlighted how central the study of life sciences is to our future. Our Biology course brings natural history and medical science together to offer a wide-ranging and flexible degree. 

If you have an interest in field research, you’ll have the opportunity to progress from field training in the UK in Year 1 to overseas field research in Year 2 and field placements in Year 3, spanning the savannah of South Africa, the tropical rainforests of Borneo or mountains of Switzerland. 

Back in the lab, we’ll prepare you for a future in industry or the health service in our leading-edge facilities set in the heart of our historic Francis Close Hall campus. 

To support your undergraduate journey, we also offer fee waivers, bursaries and awards, for both UK and International students. At the end of your degree, as a UoG graduate you can choose to pursue one of our postgraduate courses, receiving a priority offer and an alumni fees discount. 

This flexible course is offered in both a standard three-year format and a four-year format with a placement option, too. You can choose to add or remove the placement until the end of your second year.

With a focus on zoology, ecology, and biomedical themes, you’ll develop both employability skills and theoretical knowledge. Small to medium-sized classes promote active learning and provide plenty of hands-on experience in the classroom, lab, and field.

The course team is committed to preparing you for your future career, so assessments are designed around real-world tasks, such as writing consultancy reports, creating lab portfolios, producing executive summaries, research reports, posters, websites and the like. And since biological careers don’t require instant recall of information, we don’t use exams to assess those skills.

We offer a range of short-term and year-long placement options so you can gain workplace experience, network with potential employers and obtain academic credit towards your degree. 

Recent students have interned with the NHS, the RSPB and Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. Others have gained teaching experience in schools to support their teacher training applications, and some have joined us in our research in bacteria and stomach ulcers, immunogenetics, and automatic bat detectors in ecological consultancy. 

With this knowledge and experience, you’ll graduate career-ready and can go on to work as a biologist, ecologist, wildlife journalist, laboratory technician, conservation biologist, microbiologist, biotechnologist, researcher/teacher or environmental consultant.