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Biology with Foundation Year

Entry requirements


56 UCAS points

56 UCAS points

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE English Language at grade C (or 4) OR Level 2 Functional Skills in English AND GCSE Maths at grade C (or 4) OR Level 2 Functional Skills Maths

56 UCAS points

56 UCAS points

T Level

P

Pass overall (D&E).

UCAS Tariff

56

56 UCAS Tariff points from at least 1 A Level/Level 3 qualification. We will also consider applicants who may not have traditional academic qualifications but have work experience or vocational qualifications.

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

3.5years

Full-time including foundation year | 2024

Other options

4 years | Full-time including foundation year | 2024

Subject

Biology

**Foundation Year**

Our Foundation Year provides an excellent alternative route to Keele, providing a unique opportunity to better prepare for your chosen degree, and with guaranteed entry onto your undergraduate course once you successfully complete your Foundation Year. This extra year of study can improve your academic skills, expand your subject knowledge, give you a better understanding of higher education and, perhaps most importantly of all, build your confidence. On the Keele Foundation Year, you'll study on campus, joining our undergraduate community from the outset, with access to all the facilities and support that you'd get as an undergraduate student at Keele.

**International Students**

For International Students, Foundation Years are delivered through our dedicated on-campus provider, Keele University International College. Applications for International Foundation Years are also handled by KUIC; please do not apply via UCAS as the University will not be able to process your application and you may still be charged the UCAS application fee. To find out more and to apply for an International Foundation Year, visit https://kuic.keele.ac.uk/

**Biology**

From the complexity of biological processes and human impact on our environments to animal behaviour in the wild - our accredited Biology BSc covers a diverse range of topics to equip you with the scientific, practical and employability skills needed for a career within a variety of sectors.

**Why choose this course?**

- 5th for student satisfaction in England for Biology (National Student Survey, 2021)

- Our 600-acre campus offers a fantastic natural environment to learn fieldwork skills and complete research projects

- Develop your core practical skills in Keele's state-of-the-art David Attenborough Laboratories

- This programme is accredited by the Royal Society of Biology

- Personalise your degree to reflect your career aspirations and/or interests

Most of society's global challenges are connected to biology - from assessing the effect of medication on the human body to exploring methods to prevent species extinction. The flexibility embedded into our programme structure enables you to adopt an interdisciplinary approach to biology, or focus on a specialism closely aligned to your career aspirations and interests.

Our Single Honours programme weaves three key themes of animal biology, environmental ecology and conservation, and human biology through its structure. From year two, you can choose to either focus on one of these areas in more detail or combine modules on different topics to give a broader view of the biological world.

**About Keele***

Keele University was established in 1949 by the former Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. Founded to meet the needs of a changing world, Keele has always had a pioneering vision to be a different kind of university.

We excel in both teaching and research, with some of the most satisfied students in England, and research that is changing lives for the better at a regional, national and global level.

Our beautiful 600-acre campus is one of the biggest in Britain – but all the most important services and facilities are on your doorstep, with accommodation, teaching spaces, facilities including a medical centre, sports centre and pharmacy, and a range of shops, eateries and entertainment venues – including the Students’ Union – clustered around the centre.

Modules

For a list of indicative modules please visit the course page on the Keele University website.

The Uni


Course location:

Keele University

Department:

Foundation Year

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

75%
Biology

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)

Teaching and learning

69%
Staff make the subject interesting
81%
Staff are good at explaining things
69%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
50%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

88%
Library resources
90%
IT resources
92%
Course specific equipment and facilities
50%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

95%
UK students
5%
International students
43%
Male students
57%
Female students
80%
2:1 or above
10%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
D
C

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.

£19,000
med
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
47%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

22%
Natural and social science professionals
20%
Science, engineering and production technicians
12%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

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.

£20k

£20k

£23k

£23k

£27k

£27k

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.

Explore these similar courses...

Lower entry requirements
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UCAS Points: 48
Nearby University
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UCAS Points: 96
Higher entry requirements
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BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 120
Same University
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UCAS Points: 120

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here