Course summary

This five-year course is designed to give you the best start for a career in industrial or academic research. You'll combine the research-focused integrated masters with a year-long, paid work placement as part of your degree. Our students have found placements within industry with organisations such as GSK, Atkins Environmental Consulting and EMEC Ecology; with charities like the Wildlife Trusts, Newquay Zoo, and the Field Studies Council; or in government with the Environment Agency. You could even apply your scientific knowledge outside of the bioscience industry in areas including market research, communications or business development. A placement is a great opportunity to test out a career path and many students are offered a graduate-level job at the end. You'll pay reduced fees for the year you're on placement and you'll still have the support you need from your tutor and the University. The majority of your final year will be devoted to a major research project where you'll develop advanced laboratory and fieldwork skills, working alongside our world-leading academics. The course explores how humans, animals and plants interact with each other and their environment, and how this determines their abundance, distribution and the biodiversity we see on the planet. You'll learn about how humans impact ecological interactions, the climate crisis, biodiversity and sustainability, as well as how we can manage natural resources in the face of changing environments. Alongside your specialist ecology and conservation modules, from your first year you’ll have the flexibility to study topics across the breadth of biology to complement your knowledge. Topics range from plant science, biotechnology and zoology, to neuroscience, genetics and physiology. This flexibility allows you to study ecology and conservation in greater depth, broaden your interests or even switch to another biosciences degree programme. No matter what modules you choose to study, you’ll develop the practical laboratory and transferable skills that make our graduates attractive to employers, including project management, problem solving, communication skills and data analysis. We’ll give you plenty of opportunities to apply your new skills and knowledge. You’ll be in the lab completing in-depth practicals, out in the Peak District conducting your own research projects, visiting zoos, aquariums and other scientific spots around the country and embarking on a field course in the UK or abroad. Whether you choose to focus solely on ecology and conservation biology, or study a range of topics, your personal tutor will support you to tailor your degree to your interests and career goals. If you want to study this course but don't meet the entry requirements our Biosciences with a Foundation Year could be for you. After successfully completing the one year programme, you'll progress onto the first year of one of our bioscience degrees.