Course description
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 and transferable skills within or outside of the bioscience industry in areas including market research, communications or business development. It’s a great opportunity to test out a career path that you’re considering 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 zoologist academics focused on everything from genetics to biodiversity and climate change.
The course is about animals, their evolution, and their interactions with each other, the environment and biodiversity conservation. It spans microbes, invertebrates, birds, fish, mammals and humans. You’ll learn how they evolved, how their physiology works, how they behave, and how they respond to global change. You’ll discover how their biodiversity is maintained and lost, and use this knowledge to help us to address important issues such as tropical wildlife conservation, disease outbreaks and maintaining functioning ecosystems.
You’ll cover three main themes at Sheffield:
- their comparative physiology – the functional characteristics of animals
- their evolutionary biology – how animals adapt to their environment
- their behaviour, ecology and conservation – how animals interact with their environment and each other to support biodiversity on the planet
Alongside your specialist zoology modules, from your first year you’ll have the freedom to study topics across the breadth of biology to complement your knowledge. Topics range from ecology and molecular genetics that underpin conservation, to pharmacology, neuroscience and even human physiology. This flexibility allows you to study zoology in greater depth, keep your interests broad or even switch to another degree programme within the biosciences.
No matter what modules you choose to study, you’ll develop 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 too. 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 zoology, or study a range of topics across the biosciences, 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 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.
Modules
A selection of modules are available each year – some examples are below. There may be changes before you start your course.
In your first year, you’ll spend your first week on a field course in Sheffield, collecting and analysing data on animals throughout the city’s green spaces and out to the edge of the Peak District. Throughout the year, you’ll study topics from physiology, genetics and speciation to behaviour, food-webs, biodiversity, conservation and climate change. You’ll develop practical skills in the lab, including microscopy and genetics, complemented by regular field trips to zoos, aquariums and nature reserves. You’ll also have lectures and take part in small group tutorials where you’ll enhance your writing, data analysis and presentation skills as you learn about the latest research findings from our world-leading academics.
Core modules:
- Principles of Zoology
- Animal Behaviour
- Principles of Evolution
- Skills in Biology
Optional modules:
- Molecular & Cell Biology
- Principles of Ecology and Conservation
- Climate Change and Sustainability
- Introductory Developmental, Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology
- Maths for Molecular Bioscience
- Biochemistry 1
- Principles in Plant Science
- Introduction to Neuroscience
- Microbiology 1
- Genetics 1
- Ecological identification skills
- Introduction to Physiology with Pharmacology
The content of our courses is reviewed annually to make sure it’s up-to-date and relevant. Individual modules are occasionally updated or withdrawn. This is in response to discoveries through our world-leading research; funding changes; professional accreditation requirements; student or employer feedback; outcomes of reviews; and variations in staff or student numbers. In the event of any change we’ll consult and inform students in good time and take reasonable steps to minimise disruption. We are no longer offering unrestricted module choice. If your course included unrestricted modules, your department will provide a list of modules from their own and other subject areas that you can choose from.
Entry requirements
The A Level entry requirements for this course are:
AAA
including Biology and a second science
A Levels + additional qualifications AAB, including Biology and a second science + B in the EPQ; AAB, including Biology and a second science + B in Core Maths
International Baccalaureate 36, with 6 in Higher Level Biology and a second science
BTEC Extended Diploma D*DD in Applied Science or Forensic Science with Distinctions in all Biology units
BTEC Diploma DD in Applied Science or Forensic Science + A in an A Level science subject
Scottish Highers + 2 Advanced Highers AAAAB + AA in Biology and a second science
Welsh Baccalaureate + 2 A Levels A + AA in Biology and a second science
Access to HE Diploma Award of Access to HE Diploma in Science, with 45 credits at Level 3, including 39 at Distinction (to include Biology and a second science) and 6 at Merit
Other requirements
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Second science subjects include Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Psychology, Environmental Science or Geography. Human Biology is accepted in lieu of Biology, but Biology and Human Biology cannot be accepted in combination as the two science subjects
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English language requirements |
You must demonstrate that your English is good enough for you to successfully complete your course. For this course we require: GCSE English Language at grade 4/C; IELTS grade of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each component; or an alternative acceptable English language qualification
Fees
£9,250
Home students2022 annual tuition fee
£25,670
Overseas students2022 annual tuition fee
key dates
September start
Monday 29 August 2022
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Last date to request a deferral to September 2023 entry. You can request a deferral via your online application. We’re not able to consider deferral requests for applications to courses using our staged admissions process.
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Friday 9 September 2022 (17:00 British Summer Time)
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Applications close for September 2022 entry
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Monday 17 October 2022
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Last date to register for most courses
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