Course description
The best bits
- Focus on contemporary and future focused environmental and biotechnological applications of Biology
- The Programme design is informed by and continually improved through dialogue with our accrediting body the Royal Society of Biology and other professional interactions of our academic staff
- Facilities include an Aquatic Research Facility, glasshouse, insectary, and specialist laboratories
- Your studies won’t be confined to the laboratory as fieldwork is an essential part of the course
- Many of our teaching team are active researchers whose work is shaping debates in areas such as coral reef diseases, animal ecology, cell biology and insect reproduction, so your learning will be informed by the very latest research and developments
- The content of this course is aligned to the priorities of global initiatives, like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, to ensure you graduate with a skill set that can help tackle global challenges
- Get career-ready through work placement and internship opportunities. This course can be studied with or without an Industrial Placement Year
The Biology programme at Derby encourages and enables students to become game changers in the modern economy, through developing knowledge, skills, and personal effectiveness in an integrated programme which is supportive of diverse needs and interests.
It takes an inter-disciplinary approach where all scientific skills are valued in the context of potential applicability in the biosciences and collaborating with other subject specialists, supported by the staff of different discipline areas
Why study Biology
Many Biological processes are essentially circular in nature, providing a model for transitioning society to a circular economy which engineers out material and energy wastage. Governments, companies and inter-governmental agencies are investing in Biology because they see this potential and the economic need not only for environmental solutions, but also for the significant business opportunities enabled by recent progress in the Biosciences. Enormous advances in DNA sequencing technologies and related “omics”, plus the computational capacity to support these are transforming our understanding of Biology, leading to opportunities for enhancing health, wellbeing, and environment. Hence, Biology is a highly inter-disciplinary subject where collaboration with the other sciences is of key importance to success, ensuring that Biologists can play a role in all walks of life.
The world is being severely impacted by human pressures including climate change, overexploitation of natural capital, and irreversible biodiversity loss on a massive scale. These and other issues collectively represent an existential threat to humanity, and biology is at the cutting-edge for providing sustainable solutions. This programme answers the call from the UN, through UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), to address the urgent and dramatic challenges to our planet, and to people. The module content and practical skills within the curriculum prepare graduates to make a positive impact on climate change, biodiversity loss, unsustainable resource use and inequality.
For people who want to be part of these solutions Biology is the ideal subject - enabling graduates to enter the workplace doing jobs that make a difference whether that is in the lab, in the field, or in the office.
How you will learn
You’ll learn through lectures, seminars, tutorials, e-learning, hands-on laboratory practical work and fieldwork in the UK and overseas. Our varied teaching methods help you show your individual strengths and enhance your understanding. Prioritising personal development in terms of skills, knowledge, and career planning.
The programme has at its core 40 credits worth of “through” modules in every year stage. These modules are used by programme leaders to ensure continued contact and coaching of students throughout their programme of study, thus provisioning a built-in capacity for the scaffolding of personal development which is co-delivered through tutorials
Work placements
Placements allow you to develop the skills you learn at University and apply them to real world situations. This is something which potential employers are always looking for. We encourage you to gain experience with potential employers by offering a range of internships. BSc (Hons) Biology graduate, Eryk Gadomski carried out a work placement at Peak Wildlife Park and developed many transferable skills.
My name is Kavisha Prince Anthony, and I always had a dream of studying abroad. Thankfully, that dream came to life since I applied to the Study Advisor. I was able to receive my visa within four days. I also had some visa refusals in the past; I had about six UK visa refusals in the past, but thankfully, it was not an issue since the Study Advisor was able to make things work this time. I highly recommend Study Advisor for your dreams of going abroad, whether it be the UK or any other European country there is.