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Biology with a Year in Industry

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B-A,B,B

To include Biology or Human Biology

Pass with Distinction overall to include 24 distinctions (3 in Biology), plus 15 Merits. Only Science based Access course considered (excluding Health Sciences)

We recognise the EPQ as an excellent indicator of success. If you are predicted a Grade B or above in the EPQ, you will receive an offer with a one grade reduction, to include your EPQ with a grade B.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32-33

To include 5 in Higher Level Biology or Human Biology

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDD

From Science based BTEC Extended Diploma (excluding Animal Management and Health Science) plus at least one grade B in GCSE Science

ABBCC to include Biology Grade B

Requirements are as for A levels where you can substitute the same non-subject specific grade for the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Level Core Grade

UCAS Tariff

120-128

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Biology

Biology is a wide and fascinating subject, involving the scientific study of living organisms from bacteria to the largest mammals, and this course will help you to develop knowledge and skills to open up a range of exciting career opportunities.

As a student on the BSc Biology with a Year in Industry degree, you will study in our new laboratories within a state-of-the-art £4.2m science lab facility. The £1.3m Visualisation Centre, which displays and manipulates multi-dimensional information from animal tag monitoring, is unique in the world; and we also have a £1.6m purpose-built 18m catamaran-class survey vessel equipped with state-of-the-art survey and research equipment.

This subject gives you a wide range of specialist and generic skills that can lead to career opportunities around the world in fields such as medicine, veterinary science, environmental management and conservation, and teaching.

You will study in a research-intensive environment and you will learn from academics at the cutting-edge of their fields. Our renowned team includes Professor Rory Wilson, Rolex Laureate and Chief Scientific Consultant behind National Geographic’s Great Migrations, who invented the Daily Diary tag to monitor animal movement and behaviour; and Professor Tariq Butt, who specialises in the bio-control of crops (fungi) and develops products and strategies for pest control.

The BSc Biology course is **accredited by the Royal Society of Biology**, and covers themes including animal and marine welfare and conservation, the biological control of invertebrate pests, microbiology, and ocean and climate.

Our proximity to a diverse range of contrasting environments plus our own facilities provides a wide scope for customising your learning experience. Local, residential and international field courses will allow you to work in habitats such as the spectacular marine coastal ecosystems, freshwater/wetland environments and terrestrial habitats of Gower.

You will spend the third of your four years on an industrial placement, putting your skills into practice and greatly enhancing your employability.

**We guarantee that you will be made a conditional offer for a course at Swansea University. Subject requirements will apply. Please come along to our next Open Day or get in touch for further information.**

Modules

Year 1: Areas studied typically include: animal diversity; form and function; cellular and microbial biology; marine and terrestrial ecology and animal behaviour; molecular and evolutionary biology; plants and algae – diversity, form and function and core skills for bioscientists.

Year 2: Areas studied typically include: animal physiology; cell and immunobiology; coastal marine ecology; ecological microbiology and the cycles of life; ichthyology; molecular ecology; parasitology; plant ecology; terrestrial vertebrates; field ecology (residential) and animal conservation and welfare.

Year 3: You will spend this year on an industrial placement, putting your skills into practice and greatly enhancing your employability.

Year 4: Areas studied typically include: biodiversity; biological control of invertebrate pests; epidemiology of infectious diseases; physics for biologists; plant conservation and ecology; sensory ecology; laboratory or field professional skills, phylogeny and macroevolution, hormones and behaviour, international field courses.

Assessment methods

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars and discussion groups supported by practical classes and field courses. You will be assessed through a variety of methods, including examinations, coursework and a practical research project.

The Uni


Course location:

Singleton Park Campus

Department:

Biosciences

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.

85%
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

94%
Staff make the subject interesting
94%
Staff are good at explaining things
73%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
67%
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

91%
Library resources
81%
IT resources
91%
Course specific equipment and facilities
67%
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?

92%
UK students
8%
International students
49%
Male students
51%
Female students
77%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
B

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.

£17,200
low
Average annual salary
100%
high
Employed or in further education
41%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

13%
Leisure and travel services
9%
Business, research and administrative professionals
9%
Business, finance and related associate professionals

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

£18k

£23k

£23k

£26k

£26k

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...

Higher entry requirements
University of Nottingham | Nottingham
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Lower entry requirements
Swansea University | Swansea
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BSc (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 72-80
Same University
Swansea University | Swansea
Biology
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 120-128
Nearby University
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UCAS Points: 96

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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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Teaching Excellence Framework (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

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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here