Biological Sciences, BSc (Hons)

We operate a modular system in which you will study six modules each year. The Biological Sciences BSc (Hons) three-year degree course has been designed to allow you more choice between modules in each successive year so that you can follow specialised routes within Biological Sciences, or address specific areas of interest, as you progress.You will learn by lectures, supplemented by practical classes and workshops. Lectures represent the largest proportion of the contact hours and allow the effective delivery of large amounts of knowledge, which forms the factual basis of a science subject.At Year 1 the emphasis is on core knowledge across the broad spectrum of the sub-disciplines of biological sciences. At Years 2 and 3, there are more specialised modules enabling you to focus on a particular sub-discipline, with elements of choice in the course.As the degree progresses, there is an increasing emphasis on showing that biosciences is based on experimental evidence gained through research. At Year 3 lecturing is research-led and based on staff research interests. The proportion of the course delivered through lectures is less at Year 3 than in preceding years, to allow a greater emphasis on your own research activities. The lectures are supplemented by timetabled surgery sessions, which are used for revision and problem-solving. Lecturing staff answer specific questions about the material they have taught through email, and by personal meetings when necessary; the Department has an "open-office" policy for responding to such queries. Typically, taught modules contain 35 one hour lecture slots, two workshops, and one surgery session. You will take five compulsory taught modules at Year 1, six taught modules at Year 2, and three taught modules at Year 3, with three modules aligned to major pieces of research work.Practical classes are a major component of contact hours and are an essential part of training in an experimental science like biology. Year 1 classes are used to train you in the basic techniques required for experimental work in the full range of biological sciences, you will specialise in specific techniques and areas of experimental work through module choice at Year 2.The practical classes are supplemented by workshops in which you will learn data handling techniques. At both Years 1 and 2, the load of practical classes overall is one-two three-hour sessions per week. There are no practical classes at Year 3 since you will carry out three research modules at this level. The first is a field course or laboratory-based extended workshop, both of which offer you approximately two working weeks' contact with staff. The second is a literature review, with a topic chosen from current areas of interest in biological sciences. This involves approximately six-eight hours of non-timetabled contact with a supervisor. The third research module is a project, either in the lab or in the field, or in interfacing with the commercial sector (biology enterprise), or in school-based education, or in research programme design, or in science communication of contemporary topics in biosciences. All will involve you in a large amount of contact time with staff that is not formally timetabled, but which averages approx. 16-40 hours.Academic support is provided by a dual system of tutorials and academic advisers. Tutorials are in small groups and are used to deliver specific content related to academic support, whereas the academic adviser sessions are on a personal level, and are used to deal with issues relevant to you, such as feedback on exam performance. The tutorial/academic adviser system offers students fortnightly sessions with a tutor or academic adviser throughout their academic career. A course leader provides overall academic support.