Biology (with Placement Year)
Anglia Ruskin University
UCAS Code: C101 | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
GCSE/National 4/National 5
3 GCSEs at grade C, or grade 4, or above, including English and Maths.
UCAS Tariff
from a minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent), including Biology.
About this course
Biology, the science of life, is a varied and exciting discipline from the molecular to whole organisms and entire ecosystems.
**Why Biology at ARU?**
Our broad-based course covers all life on earth, from microorganisms to plants, animals and humans, and from genes to whole ecosystems.
Focus on practical skills, including a strong foundation in laboratory, data science, bioinformatic, and field skills.
Tailor your degree to your ambitions and interests by choosing from a wide range of specialisms, all with a central underpinning of sustainability.
Study in Cambridge, the centre of new and emerging technologies in the life sciences, especially in biological data science and bioinformatics, and take advantage of a wealth of local opportunities.
Learn from Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) Gold standard, research-active staff, who keep course content fully up-to-date with recent findings across a whole range of fields.
Carry out projects and paid internships with research-active staff from the School of Life Sciences and apply for placements with a range of employers.
Biology is the study of life. Life on earth is fascinating, astonishing, diverse and beautiful, and the course aims to provide you with a broad knowledge of the wide variety of living organisms. Your knowledge will encompass how organisms evolve, their physiology, and how they function within the environment.
However, all life is currently under threat; with man-made (anthropogenic) change affecting the earth and all its systems. The biological sciences offer us a wide range of tools which can be used to alleviate these effects and preserve our natural environment, both for the benefit of plants, animals and humans, and for their current and future generations.
This degree in Biology offers a multidisciplinary approach, preparing you to evaluate aspects of all life on earth, and provide solutions to ensure a sustainable future.
You'll have the opportunity to select pathways within the course aligned to your specific interests, including but not limited to:
Cell/molecular/laboratory
Genetics/evolution/bioinformatics
Plants/microbes/biotechnology
Whole organisms (animals/humans)/environment/field skills
Principles of sustainability underpin much of the teaching throughout the course.
You'll have the opportunity to engage with field trips in the local area and further afield. Additional self-funded field trips are also available.
Modules
Year 1:
Core modules
Principles of Biology
Quantitative Techniques and Tools for Biologists
Introduction to Genetics and Genomics
Physiology of Organisms
Ecology and Sustainability
Continuing Professional Development
Year 2:
Core modules
Principles of Genetics (15 credits)
Ruskin Module (15 credits)
Preparation for Research (15 credits)
Continuing Professional Development
Optional modules
Vertebrate Biology
Invertebrate Biology
Plants and Microbial Sciences
Laboratory Techniques in DNA Manipulation (15 credits)
Laboratory Techniques for Bioinformatics (15 credits)
Field Skills in Biology
Animal Health and Disease
GIS and Spatial Ecology
Proteomics and Molecular Structures
Year 3:
Core modules
Work Placement Life Science
Year 4:
Core modules
Undergraduate Project (30 credits)
Developmental Biology and Genetics
Policy, Globalisation, and Economics of Sustainability
Optional modules
Biogeography
Comparative Ecophysiology
Human-Animal Interactions
Microbial Pathogenicity (15 credits)
Molecular Cell Biology (15 credits)
Current Advances in Bioinformatics
Current Advances in Plant and Microbial Sciences
Current Advances in Evolution and Biodiversity
Systems Biology
Assessment methods
Throughout the course, we’ll use a range of assessment methods to measure your progress. Besides exams, these include essays, practical reports, computer-based assessments, presentations, debates, classroom- or laboratory-based tests, and reviews of scientific papers.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Cambridge Campus
School of Life Sciences
What students say
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Biology (non-specific)
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Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Biology (non-specific)
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
The recession was tough on biology graduates, and although the jobs market has improved for them - a lot - it's still not back to where it was a few years ago. If you want a career in biology research — and a lot of biology students do - you'll need to take a doctorate, so give some thought as to where you might do it and how you might fund it (the government still funds doctorates for good students). A lot of graduates also take 1 year Masters courses to specialise in this wide and deep subject - most students take a standard biology course for their first degree and then specialise in subjects like ecology, conservation or marine biology later. Hospitals, universities, biotech firms, zoos and nature reserves and clinical and scientific testing are common industries of employment for biology graduates.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Biology (non-specific)
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£18k
£21k
£25k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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